Devastating tornado strikes Joplin, Missouri

[mappy]

BTW, getting back to the warning system and whether or not it's adequate..I heard a story from silver lining tours. They almost got caught in Joplin when the tornado hit, but quickly tore ass out of there before it came into town. They warned everyone going west into Joplin to turn around...that a tornado is coming. Many just laughed and headed right into Joplin. It just goes to show you people sometimes will never believe warning. There are stories from other instances where sirens went off and people called dispatchers saying..."well I don't see it..." It's human nature. People get complacent when warning after warning goes off and a tornado never happens. They hear a siren and if they go out and don't see it...it doesn't exist. Of course many know to take warnings seriously, but there will always be a large part of the population that just doesn't get it.

We have all these things now...Tornado warning...tornado emergency...heck most people don't even know what the difference is between a watch and a warning.

This. My mom, who has watched me become obsessed with the weather over the years, still doesn't know the difference between the two... no matter how many times I try to explain it to her. Also, the radio station I listen to during my commutes always mix up watch and warning when there is one for us. The last tornado watch we had, the radio host kept saying "and we have a tornado warning until 8pm". I wanted to call in and correct her, but didn't.

As for those who don't take warnings seriously - a coworker from St Louis called me yesterday to tell me about her evening on Wednesday, how warning after warning was issued for the area and she said she eventually got tired going to the basement. She said she just sat in her living room and watched the news, heard about the baseball size hail falling in downtown St. Louis and laughed to herself about I would be upset that she wasn't taking the warnings seriously enough. I didn't get upset, but did voice my concern over how she really shouldn't do that because one of those times where she decides not to go to the basement is the time the tornado will actually be there.

[hurricaneman]

my mistake, sorry

[LocoAko]

Not only do people not know (or sometimes care?) what the difference is between a watch and a warning, but I think some of the media does an awful job of communicating it.

Example: My very first day here in Oklahoma last Saturday, a supercell erupted to our SE in Ada that had a tornado warning, and there were other storms around that had severe thunderstorm warnings associated with them. To my surprise, the scroll on the bottom of the screen on the local news (in Oklahoma of all places!) simply said "...A severe thunderstorm has been issued for _____".

Seriously?

[HurricaneJosh]

my mistake, sorry

Nothing to be sorry about. It's a good place to learn. (I'm no expert on tornadoes, either.)

[janetjanet998]

JoMO,

how soon did the tornado hit after you made your last post on here

[baroclinic_instability]

It's almost too bad WeatherData is part of Accu... since it seems people will make judgments before even knowing what they are doing there.

Weatherdata is there to make money with respect to a very defined user base with different expectations and impacts. What is too bad is the poor comparison they use in their quote.

[janetjanet998]

death toll now 132

156 still missing

[JoMo]

JoMO,

how soon did the tornado hit after you made your last post on here

I'm guessing about 3-4 minutes.

I think at 5:17 I posted:

"nd there go the sirens, rotation just NW of here."

This was the 2nd couplet that formed and not the actual tornado I don't think. This slid off to the north of me.

Then at 5:27 I posted:

"Pitch black out, couplet nearly on me... Joplin, MO"

This was the 3rd storm and the EF-5 couplet. It rolled through about 3-4 minutes later.

After I posted that, I looked out west and saw the lowering, then a minute or two after that, heard the rumbling.

[Amped]

Still haven't seen any ground scouring pics, but thedamage is still pretty incredible.

[HurricaneJosh]

I'm guessing about 3-4 minutes.

I think at 5:17 I posted:

nd there go the sirens, rotation just NW of here."

This was the 2nd couplet that formed and not the actual tornado I don't think. This slid off to the north of me.

Then at 5:27 I posted:

"Pitch black out, couplet nearly on me... Joplin, MO"

This was the 3rd storm and the EF-5 couplet. It rolled through about 3-4 minutes later.

After I posted that, I looked out west and saw the lowering, then a minute or two after that, heard the rumbling.

Wow-- just fascinating. I was wondering how soon after your post the tornado struck. I figured it was a couple of minutes.

I have to say, your last few posts kind of haunted me for a couple of days-- specifically, the red ones.

[Ginx snewx]

I'm guessing about 3-4 minutes.

I think at 5:17 I posted:

"nd there go the sirens, rotation just NW of here."

This was the 2nd couplet that formed and not the actual tornado I don't think. This slid off to the north of me.

Then at 5:27 I posted:

"Pitch black out, couplet nearly on me... Joplin, MO"

This was the 3rd storm and the EF-5 couplet. It rolled through about 3-4 minutes later.

After I posted that, I looked out west and saw the lowering, then a minute or two after that, heard the rumbling.

Glad you are safe bro!, perhaps the most heart rendering weather tragedy of my life which has included many. The stories coming out are so sad. Our thoughts, prayers,donations are with your community. Like you said after the media hype dies the reality begins. Let us know what we as a weather community can do.

[lsross]

JoMo! YAY!! So glad you are OK. Even the southeastern states region peeps were checking on you. :-)

I'm very sorry about the loss of your friends. Somehow, words don't seem adequate right now....but

just know I will keep praying for everyone there.

[cyclone77]

Just watched the radar loop of the Joplin storm and noticed something kind of interesting. As the parent supercell was moving through Joplin another supercell had quickly developed just to the south. This supercell quickly moved northeast and seemed to interact with the Joplin sup. The FFD on the northern edge of the southern sup may have helped to tighten up the RFD on the Joplin sup, and may have also helped tighten/funnel the inflow on the east/southeast side of the meso. That could explain why the thing exploded in intensity so quickly, and also why it only lasted 6-7 miles.

http://www.rap.ucar....e=23&duration=2

NOTE: The above radar loop will not be viewable after today, as it will fall off the 5-day archive.

[dan11295]

Still haven't seen any ground scouring pics, but thedamage is still pretty incredible.

I am guessing one reason there was little ground scouring was that the winds, although strong at the ground surface were not able to travel unimpeded over soil for enough distance. i.e. Almost all areas where strongest winds occurred were developed. Also I don't think all EF-5's produce scouring. Ability to scour also depends on soil type and shape of the landscape I imagine. It is much easier to scour a plowed field then lawn. an 4/9/11 EF-1 in Souix Falls was able to scour a plowed field

[JoMo]

Just watched the radar loop of the Joplin storm and noticed something kind of interesting. As the parent supercell was moving through Joplin another supercell had quickly developed just to the south. This supercell quickly moved northeast and seemed to interact with the Joplin sup. The FFD on the northern edge of the southern sup may have helped to tighten up the RFD on the Joplin sup, and may have also helped tighten/funnel the inflow on the east/southeast side of the meso. That could explain why the thing exploded in intensity so quickly, and also why it only lasted 6-7 miles.

http://www.rap.ucar....e=23&duration=2

NOTE: The above radar loop will not be viewable after today, as it will fall off the 5-day archive.

I suspected it was the interaction with the northern cells, perhaps they produced an OFB that the southern cell merged and traveled on that boundary. That would be why the HRRR was picking up insane somewhat localized helicity of 500+ coupled with the rapid updraft due to 5000 CAPE.

And...

Was just informed that they found a car with 5 people in it, in a pond not far from me. They are going to drain the pond and look for more bodies. Was informed earlier they found a body on someones pasture near here :-\

[MJW155]

JoMo,

Glad you are OK. Did you actually see the tornado or just hear it?

Also, what do people there think of not being allowed to visit bodies in the morgue?

[cyclone77]

I suspected it was the interaction with the northern cells, perhaps they produced an OFB that the southern cell merged and traveled on that boundary. That would be why the HRRR was picking up insane somewhat localized helicity of 500+ coupled with the rapid updraft due to 5000 CAPE.

And...

Was just informed that they found a car with 5 people in it, in a pond not far from me. They are going to drain the pond and look for more bodies. Was informed earlier they found a body on someones pasture near here :-\

Horrible news there.

I'm sure there will be many case studies done on this tornado. This has been an especially active year for violent tornadoes, but this tornado is the most unusual in how quickly it evolved, and how violent it was.

[dan11295]

That would explain why the death toll jumped by 6 today. We can note that none of them were found in buildings. Makes me still hope that very few are still to be found. As far as the morgue, I imagine there reasoning is many of the bodies are probably in very bad shape, not readily identifiable. I understand the families want closure but if the winds are as strong as suggested above you can imagine what that could have done, without getting too gruesome on here. So they are getting them identified via other means then cleaning them first then releasing them at that point.

[JoMo]

JoMo,

Glad you are OK. Did you actually see the tornado or just hear it?

Also, what do people there think of not being allowed to visit bodies in the morgue?

I just heard it. I'm not sure if I would have wanted to see it. I can replay the moment with perfect clarity in my head when I figured out that it was a tornado and not thunder though.

There's a lot of frustration when it comes to that. People want to know if their loved one is dead or alive. They are wondering what is taking so long and they think they can identify their loved ones by tattoos, etc. However, at least one person misidentified someone as being theirs.

[Srain]

Good to see you back and posting like 'old times', JoMo. We wish you and yours the very best.

[Paweatherguy1]

I just heard it. I'm not sure if I would have wanted to see it. I can replay the moment with perfect clarity in my head when I figured out that it was a tornado and not thunder though.

There's a lot of frustration when it comes to that. People want to know if their loved one is dead or alive. They are wondering what is taking so long and they think they can identify their loved ones by tattoos, etc. However, at least one person misidentified someone as being theirs.

I don't post on this forum often, but it is good to see you are OK....

I can't even begin to imagine what it was like to experience what you experienced. And you going into the closet was something we actually talked about, because there are some of us who would have been tempted to run outside and see the thing.

I know you were very close, but did your house sustain any damage at all, and I know it is early, but what is the recovery plan like there? What is the general feeling on rebuilding? I mean, even after Katrina, a lot of places were still salvageable, and could be repaired. Here, they are just gone, with nothing left...How does a city recover from this.

Oh, and btw, I hope you don't think we are a bunch of stalkers

[gusfront]

Glad to see JoMo your back with us again, and also is there anyone else on the forum here in Joplin besides myself and JoMo ?

[HurricaneJosh]

Glad to see JoMo your back with us again, and also is there anyone else on the forum here in Joplin besides myself and JoMo ?

You're from Joplin, too?? So what did you experience? Please share!

[jhamps10]

I don't post on this forum often, but it is good to see you are OK....

I can't even begin to imagine what it was like to experience what you experienced. And you going into the closet was something we actually talked about, because there are some of us who would have been tempted to run outside and see the thing.

I know you were very close, but did your house sustain any damage at all, and I know it is early, but what is the recovery plan like there? What is the general feeling on rebuilding? I mean, even after Katrina, a lot of places were still salvageable, and could be repaired. Here, they are just gone, with nothing left...How does a city recover from this.

Oh, and btw, I hope you don't think we are a bunch of stalkers

I've never been to Joplin in my entire life, but if it's like the rest of the midwest, it will take time yes, but I'm sure Joplin will recover, and end up being stronger than before. I know I was watching nightly news last night and already a hair salon was in the middle of rebuilding with all the debris around it, and were only 4-5 days post storm.... Joplin will be back, look at Greensburg for example, everyone thought oh they'll never come back, but sure enough abit slowly Greensburg is coming back...

[JoMo]

I don't post on this forum often, but it is good to see you are OK....

I can't even begin to imagine what it was like to experience what you experienced. And you going into the closet was something we actually talked about, because there are some of us who would have been tempted to run outside and see the thing.

I know you were very close, but did your house sustain any damage at all, and I know it is early, but what is the recovery plan like there? What is the general feeling on rebuilding? I mean, even after Katrina, a lot of places were still salvageable, and could be repaired. Here, they are just gone, with nothing left...How does a city recover from this.

Oh, and btw, I hope you don't think we are a bunch of stalkers

Some shingle damage is all and even the tree in the back yard could be saved. It's now tied back up and standing up. The next block over sustained more damage and even one block farther sustained even more. It was mostly tree and roof damage until you got to where there were no houses one block from there. I was mostly worried about flying glass and other airborne projectiles so that's why the closet. There were a bunch of 2x4's with nails, ceiling tiles, glass, and other items in the yard including a piece of someones desk or entertainment center and other assorted objects in the yard.

We are still in rescue and recovery mode. A couple of places already have frames for new buildings going up though. I've talked to people that are moving away due to the storms and others aren't sure what to do yet. Many are still in shock.

Only about what, 30% of Joplin was hit?

[gusfront]

Basically what I experienced was , I heard noise that sounded like a constant rolling thunder , then it got darker than the hubs of hell. So i figured we should probably go to the storm chelter and get in , when I figured out that it didnt stop the constant low roll and like Jomo said it did sound like a low loud growl and also like 5 freight trains going by and the hellacious wind , that was pretty much it then .

After it was over i got my CERT tean stuff out and was going to head out to the ploice station where we knew they would stage rescue and emergency operations from , and i was told to wait a little bit to come down since the situation was not know by fire and rescue yet. But when i did get called the side of town I live on wasnt damaged by the way, except for tree damage and lots of debris thrown up our way like papers, a little insulation etc the town was a big clusterflop and many are agencies were already headed in or were here already. Some of the recue workers I talked to within an hour of what took place ( the tor ) said that when they saw the broadcast from area news stations they went ahead and activated teams while this took place and shortly after they were rolling in here , Especially the local towns from missouri Kansas and Oklahoma , and so far there has been a huge huge response on the relief effort where I am working at in the clean up and clearing recovery operations . I can tell you one thing the pictures on the news and the media and papers dont do this devastating disaster justice, it looks like hell on earth in my opinion. and I WOULD NOT WISH THIS ON MY WORST ENEMIES! I just hope that the volunteers dont get bored and go home after a couple weeks because this will be a long and grueling clean up for everyone involved from the victims, ( my heart goes out to them because I have no clue what they have been through emotionally , since I am there after it went through. But I wsh i could give my soul and my heart to them so they could find relef and comfort , because the stories I have heard and what I have seen so far is just freakin un godly in terms of scale and reach of sorrow and pain and suffering from the citizens of my town. But it does seems like in Joplin when something happens its either all or nothign around here, and the strength and the charity and steadfast of the people of this geographic area makes me think we are some of the toughest s.o.b. s out there . So thanks everyone for being there for Jomo and the concern that everyone on the forums has had over this event for this area..this is a caring community forum we have here and God Bless everyone involed here or elsewhere

[JoMo]

Basically what I experienced was , I heard noise that sounded like a constant rolling thunder , then it got darker than the hubs of hell. So i figured we should probably go to the storm chelter and get in , when I figured out that it didnt stop the constant low roll and like Jomo said it did sound like a low loud growl and also like 5 freight trains going by and the hellacious wind , that was pretty much it then .

After it was over i got my CERT tean stuff out and was going to head out to the ploice station where we knew they would stage rescue and emergency operations from , and i was told to wait a little bit to come down since the situation was not know by fire and rescue yet. But when i did get called the side of town I live on wasnt damaged by the way, except for tree damage and lots of debris thrown up our way like papers, a little insulation etc the town was a big clusterflop and many are agencies were already headed in or were here already. Some of the recue workers I talked to within an hour of what took place ( the tor ) said that when they saw the broadcast from area news stations they went ahead and activated teams while this took place and shortly after they were rolling in here , Especially the local towns from missouri Kansas and Oklahoma , and so far there has been a huge huge response on the relief effort where I am working at in the clean up and clearing recovery operations . I can tell you one thing the pictures on the news and the media and papers dont do this devastating disaster justice, it looks like hell on earth in my opinion. and I WOULD NOT WISH THIS ON MY WORST ENEMIES! I just hope that the volunteers dont get bored and go home after a couple weeks because this will be a long and grueling clean up for everyone involved from the victims, ( my heart goes out to them because I have no clue what they have been through emotionally , since I am there after it went through. But I wsh i could give my soul and my heart to them so they could find relef and comfort , because the stories I have heard and what I have seen so far is just freakin un godly in terms of scale and reach of sorrow and pain and suffering from the citizens of my town. But it does seems like in Joplin when something happens its either all or nothign around here, and the strength and the charity and steadfast of the people of this geographic area makes me think we are some of the toughest s.o.b. s out there . So thanks everyone for being there for Jomo and the concern that everyone on the forums has had over this event for this area..this is a caring community forum we have here and God Bless everyone involed here or elsewhere

yeah, that's right. It looks like a nuclear bomb hit, or those old WWII photos where the cities have been shelled. Lots of volunteers and faith based organizations are helping out... for now. I hope they stick around for the long haul.

We see our share of severe storms and tornadoes but nothing like this has happened in a long time. I think the last actual tornado that did a lot of damage was the one in 1971.

http://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/digitized/joplin_tornado_booklet.php

[gusfront]

Yeah I think you're right about that JoMo wasnt that the one that went up either 13th street or was it the one that hit lots of everything on 7th ..Either way it tore the hell out of things regardless..

[jhamps10]

I find this interesting what you mentioned about oh just another tornado warning JoMo, the met at KSN there in Joplin is on James Spann's podcast Weatherbrains right now and he mentioned the EXACT same thing that by now you are used to about a dozen tornado warnings by now in a season so you get oh it's just another warning...

[Snowman99]

Great to hear you're OK Jomo!

My sister lives in Springfield, and she has talked to a state trooper in Joplin. According to him, part of the reason the ID-ing of people is going slow is because they are finding 'parts' of people, and it's taking a while. Sorry to be gruesome..he said it's like being sucked up into a blender.