As a powerful tornado moved toward Laurel County late Friday, Zach Wilson drove through the storms to get to his parents. Inside their home, David and Edwina Wilson were hoping to get to the bathtub before the tornado hit.

Disastrous systems sweeping across the Midwest have left at least 26 dead, including nine people killed after a tornado sparked what authorities called a mass casualty event in southeastern Kentucky.

At least 28 people have died in severe weather that swept from the lower Midwest to the South over the weekend, with Missouri and Kentucky suffering the worst of it, authorities said.