this is kentucky's most devastating tornado event in our history. we have lost far too many of our brothers and sisters the damage is devastating, an entire -- entire blocks, more than one block, with nothing standing >> emotion running deep as residents and rescuers continue an urgent search for possible survivors from friday night's historic tornadic destruction

and leveling of communities and entire towns >> the sheer size and ferocity of the tornados that hit are forcing scientists to search for answers. new evidence in the january 6 investigation involving mark meadows. could he be held in contempt of congress a very moving story of a photograph sent hundreds of miles by the tornadoes and what happened next. it's monday, december 13 "early today" starts right now >> good morning. i'm frances rivera >> and i'm philip mena this morning, we're getting revealing look at the aftermath of one of the largest tornado outbreaks in american history. those tornados merslessly barreled through six states this weekend. it was the deadliest twister in history for kentucky joe biden saying the federal government will provide whatever is needed for the state. nbc's jay gray is in mayfield, kentucky

>> reporter: i want to give you a firsthand look at some of the devastation here, and scenes like this playing out across at least five states. you can see the debris in along with the situation on the ground, a and the terrible loss of life is just overwhelming for dozens of communities, dealing with all of this right now. more and more recovery teams were pouring into areas like this one mayfield seems to be the hardest hit in a string of towns and communities that are dealing with remnants of the storm these teams are pouring through rubble, doing what they can, and trying to find anything that may help those most affected by what happened here. there are still dozens of people missing, and talking to the crews, talking to those that are working here and continue to work around the clock. they say it will be several days before the mission to locate, identify all of those missing is complete the national guard is on the ground here at this point, and

more federal resources are pulling in that's something that is helping here initially but what you hear from a lot of people, that's something that's needed right now but what you hear from people on the ground is that they're going to need this long-term to get back from all of this is going to take some significant time and finally, it appears talking to survivors that some of the shocks, some of the stunned disbelief is wearing off at this point and giving way to the realization of just what has happened here and how difficult the task ahead will be that's the very latest from here in mayfield, kentucky. i'm jay gray now back to you. >> jay, thank you. now, stories of resilience and survival the charity in connecticut is gearing up to send warehouse supplies to every state affected and the community of bowling green coming together to help displaced families >> reporter: hey, guys, good morning. we are in hard-hit bowling

green, kentucky, where in this one neighborhood alone, home after home is now left in pieces i spoke with many residents here who shared their horror stories as they lived through this tornado. entire neighborhoods in bowling green, kentucky, unrecognizable. the second floor apartment completely blown away by the tornado, with jennifer lock still inside >> i heard the train coming, they say it sounds like a freight train. i heard the train coming and i just hunkered down and stayed there until it passed. and then i was stuck, trapped in my bedroom for two hours until they came. >> reporter: christopher is combing through pieces of his brother's home it flew off its foundation and crashing down. so your brother and his wife were inside the bathroom when literally the house was lifted off -- >> lifted off the foundation >> reporter: in warren county, the death toll is now at 11 and

climbing hundreds of homes and businesses flattened as a tornado unleashed winds of 150 miles per hour. it travel ed so fast, frank and vickie barely made it out alive. >> his dad was in this room right here trying to get out, as well as he got up off the coach, the whole wall just collapsed on him. >> reporter: in western kentucky university, this live camera may have captured the moment the tornado made impact. the school canceled graduation ceremonies saturday. every student stayed safe from the storm, but a young man died while at home off campus the mayor today sharing a grim assessment >> there's a lot more that has to happen. it's going to be a while before we pull ourselves out. it is a major catastrophe. >> reporter: the storm hitting hard and moving out in minutes,

leaving behind a massive cleanup ahead. >> i never expected to see anything like. this>> reporter: a community still in shock, but jumping into action to help and each if folks haven't been directly impacted by a tornado, they want to help. many are coming from near and far to begin the rebuilding process, even offering food and supplies to anyone who needs it. >> kathy, thank you. could this unprecedented weather disaster be part of a bigger weather crisis in scientists are asking whether they're related. >> reporter: scientists working to understand this monster tornado. we slowed down and have frozen the video so you can get a better look at how huge it was here, lit up by lightning. just one of many rare and powerful december twisters that ripped through six states across the south and midwest on friday,

leveling nearly everything in its path >> you really get the path >> reporter: residents describing its overwhelming force. >> i heard a loud, loud -- like a lot of trains coming towards you. like metal noise like you're putting a lot of metal on each other. >> krumpking, crashing, twisting, roaring. i thought we were going to die i thought this was it. >> reporter: those reactions not surprising the tornado lifted debris an astonishing 30,000 feet in the air. among the most intense ever recorded so why was it so strong? one reason, the unseasonably warm temperatures. >> nchit was in the 80s in the mississippi, and that flowed into the main low pressure center that spawned the two really bad storms. >> reporter: scientists say the

tornado's path and just how far it traveled was also unusual >> what we do know is the signature of a tornado was ech dent on the radar for more than 200 miles. that alone is incredible only a few storms have been in that league. >> reporter: and now new certains that tornado alley may be shifting. >> now the most damaging tornadoes will many places like tennessee, alabama, arkansas that's a shift over several decades. >> reporter: a terrifying trend. >> dasha, thank you. the house january 6 committee recommends holding former trump chief of staff mark meadows in contempt of congress after refusing to testify on documents he provided to the panel. according to the report, they should have questioned him on january 5. that's where he indicated the national guard would be present to professional pro trump

people they would have asked him about messages to encourage republican legislators to send other lectors to congress. one of the nfl's oldest rivalries closed out an intense sunday of football the bears got out to an early 10-0 lead in lambeau, poking holes in the packers defense with some trick plays. both teams combined for 45 points in the second quarterer but after halftime, it was all green bay. aaron rodgers with four touchdowns the packers win 45-30. but rodgers big game may have been overshadowed by history in tampa. >> blitzing. brady has to launch it and it's caught. >> tom brady broke drew brees' passing completions record with that toss in the first half. the bills would rally all the way back in the fourth and force overtime but the bucs would withstand

that comeback. that is rashad perryman ending it with a 58-yard catch to the house. the bucs stay perfect at home, winning it 33-27 and in denver, the broncos intentionally left a man off the field on their first play, in honor of demaryius thomas, a former wide receiver who died thursday the prbroncos would take care of business winning 38-10 the washington football team put up 20 unanswered points. but the cowboys defense ran the clock out before washington could complete the comeback. dallas holds on to the 27-20 win. it was a party in l.a. for justin herbert the quarterback threw for three touchdowns as los angeles ran away from the giants 37-21 the chargers' win moves them into the number five spot in the playoff standings. but the next 16 are separated by just half a game let's turn back to the

devastating weather for the weekend and see what's ahead with meteorologist janessa webb. good morning, janessa. >> good morning. first and foremost, my thoughts and prayers go out to people impacted by these storms there is a climate connection with this severe weather last week we were talking about hawaii and the storms impacting that area, the blizzard conditions and the flooding. that is the same system, some of that moisture lifted and collided with some warmer air temperatures in the 80s. we're still talking about a very warm gulf. the wind sheer was really in place, but temperatures in this area, 20 to 25 degrees above average, fueling those storms. also, wind sheer in place, so this was just the perfect recipe for that severe weather event. now, for our febriends across t west coast, winter weather warninr

texas today. desert southwest with windy conditions phoenix at 71. 96 inches of snow in some areas of california. we'll talk about that with the forecast coming up >> sounds nbelievable. eight feet janessa, thank you here is a special ode to blue eyes frank si eninsinatra. he passed away in 1998 at the aim of 82. the work of art is courtesy of sculptor carolyn palmer. covid's recent surge has led to hospitals being short staffed. "early today" is back in one minute with what we're learning this morng ayitusni we do it every night. every night.

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the exclusive reveal of the 2021 "time" person of the year is upon us profiling a person or idea that has done the most to influence the event of the year. you can catch the big reveal on the "today" show at 7:30 plus, nominees for the golden globe award also be anno announced this morning the 79th annual event will be live streamed. starting today and lasting until january 15, all indoor public places in new york that the not require fullproof of vaccination for entree must implement a mask mandate according to an nbc news tally, more than 800,000 lives have been lost to this pandemic. >> reporter: covid wards packed

and health care workers exhausted, as hospitalizations climb across much of the country, skyrocketing from 40% a month ago. >> we are in a crisis management situation in new hampshire >> reporter: in michigan, some hospitals reporting there were surges since the start of the pandemic >> it is so draining and so difficult. >> reporter: a grim milestone, 800,000 deaths from covid-19 that's more people than the population of north dakota we had more deaths this year with the vaccines available than last year. why is that the case >> the majority of deaths have occurred in unvaccinated individuals and we saw 2021 with the arrival of a much more transmissible variant. >> reporter: it's been one year since the first doses of vaccine rolled out fast forward, 72% of adults are fully vaccinated that does not include booster shots. though dr. anthony fauci saying they're constantly

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the #1 toothpaste brand in america. crest. in today's top stories, famed novelest anne rice has died she revitalized the gothic general a with beth sellers like "interview with a vampire. her books sold more than 150 million copies according to her son, she died from complications from a stroke she was 80 years old we've also learned the mexican singer vicente fernandez has died at the age of 81. he told more than 65 million records and appeared in over 35

movies won agree grammys and nine latin grammys. he also has a star on the hollywood walk of fame vicente fernandez was 81 years old. in today's ground breaker, history is made in louisiana susan hutson ousted sheriff marlin gusman when she was voted the first female sheriff of orleans pearish. he's also the first black woman to hold the office in louisiana. she worked as an independent police monitor for new orleans police department. tornadoes causing catastrophic damage in states, including kentucky a family photo traveled hundreds of miles here's more. >> reporter: crossing the bridge over the ohio river is one way to get from kentucky to indiana.

that's where katie poston lives in new albany. there are no signs of damage in front of her home, but saturday morning, remnants of the storm made way through her driveway by wind >> it looked like someone let me a note it looks like it's probably a picture of a picture, which means that who knows if the original is still around and it might be the only one. >> reporter: on the back, the names girdy and j.d. >> it was dated 1942 so i took a picture of it, put it on social media if i don't find either of them, the likelihood that we find a family member is high. but it's still a needle in a hey stack. >> reporter: instead, it turned out to be a perfect match. family members say it came from dawson springs, kentucky that piece of history, flying nearly 130 miles in the wind what was the reaction like from that family member, surprised, excited? >> he was really surprised

initially because he didn't recognize the names. he was surprised to see that it was his family but also that it had traveled so far. >> reporter: his family says the photo is theirs, but they just aren't sure which home it came from >> just incredible ou

yes, we need to rebuild and be more resilient. yes, there were a lot of warnings but this was so powerful, i don't think there is any blame. we are just people together trying to move forward >> kentucky's governor trying to reassure the public as destruction sinks in in six states >> scientists working to study the historic tornadoes that

struck six states to see