The National Weather Service has confirmed that a powerful EF-4 tornado tore through southern Kentucky on Friday night, devastating communities across multiple counties.

The Jackson, Kentucky, weather service office recently cut overnight staff but meteorologists were called in to handle the deadly tornado outbreak.

Additionally, there was no evidence that tornado sirens in the area had been deactivated by the Trump administration's budget cuts — if there was, the people affected by the storm certainly would have noted that fact in interviews.

Did alerts go out? What type of alerts did people receive? National Weather Service and others have said the Jackson office was staffed Friday night despite staffing shortages.

Gov. Andy Beshear praised the Trump administration’s response to a deadly tornado in his state, even as he worried about cuts at NWS.

States like Kentucky, along with several that stretch from Texas to Iowa, remain at risk of severe conditions.

Due to staffing shortages, the National Weather Service in Jackson no longer has overnight staff. But NWS and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear say the office was staffed Friday night and early Saturday.

As nasty tornadoes popped up from Kansas to Kentucky, a depleted National Weather Service was in scramble mode.