Joplin Missouri Hammered Hard by tornadoes!

I can't recall a urban area taking a direct like this since Greensburg. With Tuscaloosa they were lucky in the sense that the F5 managed to avoid the downtown metropolis area and formed in the infancy stage along the edge of the city (although it still doesn't take away the impact and damage caused by it.)

With this however, the F4 went right through the middle of the populus, and combined mesocyclonic winds rotating around the Tornado would have exacerbated things further. I can completely agree to the 75% of this city being impacted or destroyed as a result.

I live in NC. I have never heard the weather people use the term Super Cell here in this area until this year. That was a term used in Kansas and texas. Weird stuff for sure. I think its going to be a long dangerous summer.

reply to post by Cloudsinthesky


Thank God you and Lisa and kids are okay. I am so so sorry this has happened. I know you probably don't have cell service but keep us informed on your status. Did your office survive? I saw some pictures around Main and 24th and it looks like utter devastation!

We are praying for all of you .I want to help in anyway I can. Be careful and stay safe!!

Love you,
Pax

Another weather warning for Joplin:

www.intellicast.com...

I'm getting more reports this morning. My sister-in-law's employer was destroyed, they are having an emergency meeting at another site to make plans. My mom is telling me that the clouds right now look a lot like they did yesterday at this time. She said it is just eerie. Yesterday, they were on the porch during the storm, and they noticed the pillars on the porch vibrating. Dad put his ear up to the post and said it was just roaring like when you listen to the rails on a train track. The cats were going crazy, it was obvious that something major was happening just out of their sight.

The local radio DJs this morning are reporting from offsite locations, because they can't get into the studios.

I have gotten word from some more extended family, and so far there are no injuries in my family to report. One member lost their garage, and all of their vehicles, but their home only has minor damage, so they feel lucky.

reply to post by simone50m


I belong to a meteorology / chase forum and all they do there is make fun of the Weather Channel. As in: It's only good for little old ladies who want to know how humid it will be for their hairdo.

Never -ever rely on a commercial entity like 'The Weather Channel' for emergency info.

Go to NOAA and click on 'watches / warnings ' for up to the minute info. That's where it comes from.

I heard from Cloudsinthesky this morning. He and his family survived but he lost a lot of clients and has not heard
from his staff yet. He is in healthcare.

Please pray for him and his family and the missing employees. That is all we can really do at this time. They need
our prayers, light, and positivity flowing their way. There will be much to do later. This is heart breaking!!

Have they given the official word on whether or not this was an F4 or F5??

Thanks,

pax

reply to post by paxnatus


I think "officially" they are still calling it a 1/2 mile wide EF-4.

From what I hear in the area, they will probably still upgrade that estimate once crews get out on site today.

It was "rain-wrapped" so it was hard to get a visual reference. My Mom said they did catch a glimpse of the tornado on one of the news channels "tower cams" just before the cable and electricity went out. Hopefully there will be some good footage released today.

The morning of the April 27 event I posted a warning for ATS members at www.abovetopsecret.com...

It explains on the first page in the thread this weather pattern and why these things are so destructive now.
With this outbreak I focused on other forum/outlets that were more localized to the midwest as my pre-tornado outbreak warning post on ATS got little interest and my goal is to save lives.

Here is a video by someone who was in a small store near the path of the Joplin monster. If it does not make people stop and check the news/weather and prepare to take cover during the next storm they are in, I don't know what will.

I have chased (and been chased) by tornadoes- survived the 1974 outbreak- been in meteorology for over 11 years now and have never heard a video like this before. I suppose others have been taken video like this.. but the people probably are dead. These people survived. This IS how it is, how it sounds. I could even smell the wood and ozone in the air from personal memories that surfaced listening to this: www.abovetopsecret.com...

If you want to assist Joplin or people from the April 27th outbreak (who are still suffering) go to www.facebook.com... for information and images from the storm damage.

reply to post by antar


1 was observing the devastation caused and it seemed very charged. I think it was data sized about a mile wide and the noise was reported to be so loud from the tornado the emergency sirens where somewhat drowned out. I pray for all those in the paths of these things and for those lost in the area and definitely within the hospitals. God bless

S&F

It may not be over yet. Watching the morning news and there is a chance for more bad weather to come through Joplin again. I live in Middle TN and fortunately it doesn't seem that it will come our way. I just wish it all would die down to at nothing more than a nice rain.

Wow made me cry

reply to post by soaringhawk


Yep.

Check out Accuweather

Top headline is "Severe Storms and 70 mph winds headed for Joplin."

This time yesterday, most had never heard of Joplin, MO unless they happened to pass by it on I-44 one day. Now it is the top headling on every major news and weather outlet.

My Mom is saying the clouds look as bad right now as they did yesterday before the storm. She is pretty dissheveled. Dad went ahead and went to work this morning to assess the damages.

These areas will have little time to clean up as another round of severe weather is expected again today.

Recent radar images show rapid intensification of thunderstorms off to the west of Joplin which are forecasted to move through the city this morning.

Torrential downpours and frequent lightning associated with these thunderstorms will interfere with cleanup efforts. Localized flash flooding is likely as the ground is already saturated due to above normal rainfall the last two months.

High winds could cause additional damage and may topple cranes which are in the city helping with the cleanup.

A 62 mph wind gust was just reported in Coffeyville, Kan. about 65 miles west of Joplin as these thunderstorms rolled through.

The tornado traveled 6 miles from the west side of the city to the southeast portion. The southern edge of the city was the hardest hit. The tornado ranged from half a mile to three-quarters of a mile wide. While the exact strength of the storm is yet to be determined, it could be upwards of an EF4.

According to Kathy Dennis of the American Red Cross, "75% of the town is virtually gone."

Scenes from the city look much like those of the tornadoes that claimed more than 300 lives in the Southeast last month.

reply to post by RUDDD


The total destruction area runs like this: (open google earth or go to the map)
The tornado followed rt 20 all the way through town to Ridgeline.

Look for 7th street to the north - and 32nd street to the south of rt 20. Everything in between 7th and 32nd for the entire length of rt 20 through Joplin is gone.

I believe they will upgrade this in looking at the photo's / video. The 'shredding' of objects that occured that left the damage to metal vehicles is astonishing - there are cars and particularly a helicopter near the hospital that literally look like they have been blasted with machine guns.

reply to post by getreadyalready


Your parents live in MO? I sure hope it weakens. I'll be keeping a look at live radar.

reply to post by Stratus9

The 'shredding' of objects that occured that left the damage to metal vehicles is astonishing

I saw some pictures where pieces of wood had been driven through vehicles. It was unbelieveable to see. Some of the cars look like they were burned out, but upon closer inspection, they were just "sand-blasted" down to the metal. The tornado literally took the paint off of them!

ALERT !! ANOTHER tornadic cell heading towards Joplin

Another one is heading there now, I've heard maybe 45 minutes. This is so heartbreaking, I keep thinking of all the children, too much completely.

reply to post by soaringhawk


I grew up in Joplin. My parents, brother, nephew, and many many others are all still living there! Luckily they live on the North side of Joplin, so they didn't take a direct hit, but the entire community is affected. There are still some people we haven't been able to contact yet. Cell phone service is still bad this morning, no one is able to call out. My Mom, and Brother, and Sister-in-law are within 5 miles of one another but can't talk directly. Instead, I have to call each one of them and relay messages.

Well I hope everyone is safe. This is a reason I'm particularly interested in underground home's. Doing research online, I've seen some nice one's. Someone had commented on a video for the need of more shelters and I agree.

There's live coverage on the Today show.

I am........soooo....sad.

Here's the video of Mike Bettes (Weatherman for Joplin MO) emotional reaction

www.weather.com...

(if someone can embed the video for me, please do so)