Devastating tornado strikes Joplin, Missouri

[LithiaWx]

Wow, that story almost brought me to tears. Amazing.

[Ethel975]

Thank you for sharing her story. I have been watching this thread since the tornado hit Joplin and cannot begin to imagine what anyone there is going through, but the posts you and Joplinmet have posted have helped to put it into perspective a little more.

My thoughts and prayers continue to be with everyone in Joplin.

[JoMo]

Yeah, I think they will probably seek some counseling like a lot of people here now are. Every time it rains, people panic. They could not find much in the remains of their house, she found some things her grandma had given her though so I know that meant a lot. The volunteers that cleared their lot had said they had cleared 50 lots, and their area was definitely the worst. He said that he bet they were glad they weren't at home when the tornado happened, so they said that they were there and I guess were interviewed.

A full sized pickup truck from 6 blocks away landed in their driveway. If it had landed a couple feet farther back, they would probably have all been killed. Her neighbor across the street was killed. The neighbor a few houses down was as well. I know of at least 5 who were in that neighborhood, she says there were 17 total, which is possible.

I took this 1 month after the tornado, so a few evenings ago.

Mother Nature is resilient and is in recovery mode as well. The leaves are coming back on this tree that sustained EF-4 damage.

[JoMo]

EDIT: 11:38 Eastern....... 158 now dead after 2 more die at hospitals.

This house was directly in the center of the path when the tornado was EF-4 before it reached max intensity according to the survey. I personally think it crossed a little farther north of this location. The weird thing is, the strongest winds must have been on the north side since the area to the north sustained much greater damage than the area to the south of the track. As you can see in the background, the houses still have roofs on them and are just south of the track. Even weirder, the houses that are 3-5 houses past those do not have a lot of damage. There was tree damage and impact debris damage.

This is the before image of the house:

And the after image. You can see the kitchen area, complete with dishes and cups in the cabinet still.

[JoMo]

Mike Bettes (the weather channel) and his 3 year old golden lab he adopted from Joplin. He named her Joplyn. He also adopted another dog as well.

http://www.koamtv.co...aced-by-tornado

The JopAthon adoption was a huge success.

[Master of Disaster]

I still find the whole calm in the middle like an eye, the most interesting piece of the storm. I have yet to see one person explain why or how that happened beyond a guess. Giving a presentation to Montgomery College and Public Schools tomorrow on lessons learned from this one.

[JoMo]

I checked out Joplin Metro Magazine which had pictures and stories from the tornado. I haven't actually read the articles yet but I did look at the pictures.

One picture was of the piece of wood driven through the concrete curb from a different angle. It gave the location of the picture at Peace Lutheran Church at 2002 Wisconsin Ave.

This area was a couple of blocks east of the high school and was in the direct path. I've circled where the impact likely was based on looking at the image in the magazine and the one posted online. It looks legit, and I don't think there was a PVC pipe there, I think it just went through the concrete.

^{The cell phone image since the other image doesn't appear to be online. Thanks to:}

^{http://www.eversostr...-concrete-curb/}

EDIT: Also found out why the A-10's were here. They have thermal imaging equipment that can detect people's heat signatures under the rubble.

[Professional Lurker]

JoMo, that picture is rediculous! Thanks for sharing!

[Normandy]

I still find the whole calm in the middle like an eye, the most interesting piece of the storm. I have yet to see one person explain why or how that happened beyond a guess. Giving a presentation to Montgomery College and Public Schools tomorrow on lessons learned from this one.

What accounts suggest there was a calm in the center of the tornado? From every video I've seen (One on the lawn and gas station), there was no actual calm. There was an initial burst of high wind (like 70 - 100 mph), followed by the tornado which raged continuously until passing. I've only gathered from discussion that the tornado was wrapped in an envelope of high winds.

[Master of Disaster]

What accounts suggest there was a calm in the center of the tornado? From every video I've seen (One on the lawn and gas station), there was no actual calm. There was an initial burst of high wind (like 70 - 100 mph), followed by the tornado which raged continuously until passing. I've only gathered from discussion that the tornado was wrapped in an envelope of high winds.

There was a def calm during the gas station video. Thats why the guy filming repeatedly says "were good". There was also two different witness statements posted here who said there was a calm in the center as well. The link is on this thread, Ill go back and find it on Tuesday if no one else has.

[JoMo]

I noticed the 'calm' as well, it lasted probably 1-4 seconds and I was in the very edge of the tornado. EF1 damage according to the survey. This was probably just an outer 'core' of some kind or something? I don't think it was a calm at the center or anything like that since the center passed off to the south of me by about 5-6 blocks.

I mean, is it possible that it was an outflow of some kind from the mesos collapsing on the storms to the north? If it was that, it may have enhanced the circulation and what caused it to dip just south before it moved E or ENE along the boundary?

In other news, Rush Limbaugh is bringing himself and a truckload of his tea to Joplin for the 4th. Agree with his politics or not, it's bringing the spotlight back to Joplin for some, which is good news for us.

[JoMo]

Found a great site with a 'birds eye view' that shows the devastation much better than ground shots and satellite shots. These pics were taken 10 days after the tornado from what looks like a plane?

You may have to refresh a few times and the images are big

http://xpda.com/joplinTornado/

It looks like he flies west to east, then back west.

There are a lot of good detailed images but some notable places in the images:

This was the area I was 3 blocks from. According to the survey, the tornado was EF-4 and crossed where the white car is on the street in the center and down a bit (lower left on the 2nd image), which meant the strongest winds were on the N side with a sharp cutoff to EF-2 to the south. The tornado was just starting to widen.

http://xpda.com/jopl...do/P1170170.jpg

http://xpda.com/jopl...do/P1170173.jpg

Neighborhood west of St. Johns Hospital. One of these houses on that street had an above-ground steel storm shelter that survived the direct impact of the tornado which was approaching EF-5 intensity. I'm looking into getting one. On the center-right of this image you can see the Elk's Lodge, in which 4 people perished.

http://xpda.com/jopl...do/P1170178.jpg

Multiple things to note on this image. St. Johns is in the lower left. The new mobile tent hospital is on the bottom right. The weird track looking thing was a walking track. On the top left is the water treatment plant, a building built in 1901 that was part of the original plant did not survive the storm. The tornado was causing EF-5 damage.

http://xpda.com/jopl...do/P1170182.jpg

This is just east of the previous image above. In the upper right portion of this image, you can see a building that looks like a T with an extra dash, this was Greenbriar nursing home where 11 perished.

http://xpda.com/jopl...do/P1170185.jpg

Still heading east a bit. Directly in the center is a Taco Bell, which did extremely well when compared to the buildings around it. It still had glass in some of the windows. Just to the left of the center, the large building with all the parking lot was the Salvation Army store which had opened not long ago. The building itself was very old. There was a truck found in the center of this building, nobody knows how it got there.

http://xpda.com/jopl...do/P1170188.jpg

Still moving east. The neighborhood west of the high school which was probably the hardest hit area in terms of destruction and structures being completely leveled. I believe the tornado was reaching it's peak here. On the bottom left you can see Taco Bell from the previous image above. A little up from the center where the parking lot is was a church. On the top right is Joplin High School. In the top-center, is the remains of Franklin Technology Center.

http://xpda.com/jopl...do/P1170190.jpg

Closeup of Franklin Technology Center.

http://xpda.com/jopl...do/P1170267.jpg

My ex's neighborhood, just west of JHS. Her house is actually pictured here. Each driveway led to a house. Tremendous loss of life in this area.

http://xpda.com/jopl...do/P1170193.jpg

Joplin High School

http://xpda.com/jopl...do/P1170194.jpg

Neighborhood just east of JHS. Towards the far right and up a bit is what's left of Dillions grocery store.

http://xpda.com/jopl...do/P1170197.jpg

Closeup of Dillions

http://xpda.com/jopl...do/P1170256.jpg

Hampshire Terrace apartment complex is on the left. These were 2 story apartments that are now a story or less.

http://xpda.com/jopl...do/P1170203.jpg

Close up of Hampshire Terrace:

http://xpda.com/jopl...do/P1170254.jpg

Lots to be seen on this image. A lot of apartment complexes. On the far left is Hampshire Terrace. To be honest I don't know the names of the rest of the complexes in this image but there are several. Just up from the center of the image was Commerce Bank. All that's left standing is the vault. Just to the bottom right of the center is the Olympic Fitness Center. Their indoor pool and what looks to be a court of some kind is exposed. On the upper right and down a small bit is where some 3 story apartments were that are now 1 story or less.

http://xpda.com/jopl...do/P1170202.jpg

Home Depot cleaned up rather quickly. Their new tent can be seen in the lower left.

http://xpda.com/jopl...do/P1170211.jpg

This looks to be Academy Sports

http://xpda.com/jopl...do/P1170212.jpg

The apartment complex east of Wal-Mart. This 3 story complex I believe had hurricane straps that tied the roof to the walls. You can see a cell phone tower actually fell on the complex. The tornado was starting to weaken as it reached this area.

http://xpda.com/jopl...do/P1170215.jpg

From there the images go into the Duquense area which I know nothing about.

East middle school, which was deemed destroyed because it would cost more than 50% of it's worth to repair. The tornado was back down to an EF-4 or EF-3 when it hit this school and was weakening and moving SE.

http://xpda.com/jopl...do/P1170234.jpg

There are numerous closeup images and images of places I can't remember. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[Normandy]

There was a def calm during the gas station video. Thats why the guy filming repeatedly says "were good". There was also two different witness statements posted here who said there was a calm in the center as well. The link is on this thread, Ill go back and find it on Tuesday if no one else has.

Honestly it wouldn't surprise me. From what I have learned so far about tornadoes is that they seem to parallel tropical cyclones in some ways. This one especially because it was wrapped in an envelope of high winds. Wouldn't really surprise me if the center was calm like they eye of a strong hurricane.

I was thinking earlier, going through Hurricane Wilma while she was 884 mbs wouldn't be much different than the Joplin tornado. It would only be slightly wider damage swath lol.

[aslkahuna]

High resolution Doppler radar imagery of a TX tornado in 1995 (I believe it was the Dimmitt tornado) showed an open center. I once saw a open center briefly in a tornadic hook echo very close to Whiteman AFB with a 3 cm CPS-9 radar in short pulse mode in 1964 but was unable to photograph it.

Steve

[JoMo]

The tornado from the East Middle School surveillance cameras. The best views are the main entrance and the last view IMO.

[JoMo]

High resolution Doppler radar imagery of a TX tornado in 1995 (I believe it was the Dimmitt tornado) showed an open center. I once saw a open center briefly in a tornadic hook echo very close to Whiteman AFB with a 3 cm CPS-9 radar in short pulse mode in 1964 but was unable to photograph it.

Steve

Nice...

Apparently, the Joplin tornado had an 'eye'. The Joplin Globe did a story on it today.

http://www.joplinglo...that-it-had-eye

*"Bill Davis, head meteorologist with the National Weather Service station at Springfield, said the eye of the Joplin tornado might have been as wide as 300 yards. The tornado itself was three-quarters of a mile wide. If the tornado was traveling at 10 to 25 mph, being in the eye would last a few seconds, he said. “If you were in it, you could sense that things had slowed down,’’ Davis said."

*“I had my glasses on. I looked up and saw these vortexes, and saw debris flying in the air. It looked like I could see blue sky at the top,’’ she said. “I can’t put into words what I saw.

*He could see daylight, then, within a few seconds, he said the back wall of the tornado struck, and injured him with flying debris.

*“We thought we were through it because it calmed and you looked up and saw clear, and the next thing you know you saw it coming again.”

*Greg Carbin, head of the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said, “I believe it is possible. We have had very similar eyewitness accounts. You have the initial wall and the backside. In between, there is very little going on.’’

On the wind speeds:

“For the manhole covers, it barely exceeds 200 mph. It’s at least that much. With the parking stops, they are in the 205 mph range,’’ he said.

Said Sarkar: “In a tornado of that size, the wind speed would be zero at the center. There would be a few seconds of no wind at the center line.

“We do know that the front side of this counterclockwise rotation is 25 mph more than the average speed of the tornado and that the backside is 25 mph less because of the forward motion of the tornado,’’ he said.

[Ed Lizard]

I noticed the 'calm' as well, it lasted probably 1-4 seconds and I was in the very edge of the tornado. EF1 damage according to the survey. This was probably just an outer 'core' of some kind or something? I don't think it was a calm at the center or anything like that since the center passed off to the south of me by about 5-6 blocks.

I mean, is it possible that it was an outflow of some kind from the mesos collapsing on the storms to the north? If it was that, it may have enhanced the circulation and what caused it to dip just south before it moved E or ENE along the boundary?

In other news, Rush Limbaugh is bringing himself and a truckload of his tea to Joplin for the 4th. Agree with his politics or not, it's bringing the spotlight back to Joplin for some, which is good news for us.

Not related to any eye like feature, but I'd suspect in a multi-vortex tornado winds may rise and fall as vortices pass near and then move away. It was multi-vortex early on, and I'd think may have remained multi-vortex but not readily apparent visually as debris increased.

Not certain of that, by any means.

[bkviking]

Just re-watched the trampoline video again. Sorry if this has been brought up, I've read so many pages of this thread, but I'm curious about the location of the tornado in that clip. We first see the winds coming almost directly at camera, then it blows away from camera at the end. Is it correct to presume tornado came from the right of the camera and crossed in front heading northeast (typical tornado path)?

[Jonbo]

The tornado from the East Middle School surveillance cameras. The best views are the main entrance and the last view IMO.

I liked the cafeteria one mostly because you could really scrutinize how the debris is reacting in relation to the winds due to the ceiling having collapsed.

[JoMo]

Just re-watched the trampoline video again. Sorry if this has been brought up, I've read so many pages of this thread, but I'm curious about the location of the tornado in that clip. We first see the winds coming almost directly at camera, then it blows away from camera at the end. Is it correct to presume tornado came from the right of the camera and crossed in front heading northeast (typical tornado path)?

The person that uploaded the video said he/she lived at 27th and Minnesota. The tornado tracked to the north of the persons house and the survey has the center crossing 24th and Minnesota moving east-northeastish. The camera in the front was pointed north, so the back camera was probably pointed south so they sustained EF2-EF3 winds at the location of the camera.

[hurricaneman]

The calm in the middle of the tornado is still astounding to me, maybe there's more to tornados we don't know yet and this one is an example

[bkviking]

The person that uploaded the video said he/she lived at 27th and Minnesota. The tornado tracked to the north of the persons house and the survey has the center crossing 24th and Minnesota moving east-northeastish. The camera in the front was pointed north, so the back camera was probably pointed south so they sustained EF2-EF3 winds at the location of the camera.

Thanks. This is one of the few Tornadoes that seems to have attained that unique status usually reserved for

Hurricanes or blizzards which impact far larger areas. It's so fascinating--videos and yours and other's write-ups--but more, just a humbling experience from nature.

[JoMo]

Thanks. This is one of the few Tornadoes that seems to have attained that unique status usually reserved for

Hurricanes or blizzards which impact far larger areas. It's so fascinating--videos and yours and other's write-ups--but more, just a humbling experience from nature.

Yeah it's approximately 400 yards from 27th to 24th, and I'm still not sure if that is where the center actually tracked. It may have tracked farther north based on the survey that stated the baseball field may have been directly tracked over due to the positioning of the poles that were bent to the ground.

[blackjack123]

The calm in the middle of the tornado is still astounding to me, maybe there's more to tornados we don't know yet and this one is an example

I have also had wondered that for some time for I have mentioned it before. It seems like one area in parts of a tornado may have winds that are non existent but like maybe a few feet away from that area winds of 200 mph or more. It may explain why some well-built buildings are completely swept away but a pole or some object you would have expected to be destroyed as well remains untouched.

[JoMo]

Construction is starting on the FEMA trailer park that will house around 350 FEMA trailers.

http://www.koamtv.com/story/14878321/construction-to-start-on-fema-housing-communities

Some of the people have been staying in a tent city by Shoal Creek after the tornado.

http://www.ky3.com/news/ky3-tent-city-camping-out-tornado-victims-volunteers-shoal-creek-clyde-black-ashley-norris-dozens-of-tents-set-up-along-the-creek-have-become-a-temporary-town-20110705,0,8594.story

Lots of areas have been cleaned up, some trees have almost made a full recovery in the EF-4 area over by me. A lot of lots where houses were are now just dirt lots with the occasional caution tape marking the gas line and water hookup areas. Contracted workers still working to clean up the remaining houses and debris, demolition ongoing for those that had insurance.

Chick-fil-A on Rangeline, which was destroyed by the tornado, is looking at a grand opening on Sept 1st

The Cut Loose has completely rebuilt and reopened. I believe this is a salon?

[JoMo]

A couple of updates on a few houses then I'll make a new post for some others.

I forgot to include the after pic in my last update. First pic was taken 3 days after the tornado:

This was a month after the tornado:

I posted this on page 47 but I took an updated cleaned up pic this evening

Before tornado:

A month after:

This evening:

[JoMo]

With the houses and trees gone, there are views that couldn't be imagined before. These two views were just amazing to me and I actually had to make sure I pulled up the correct spot on Google Maps a few times.

This:

Is now:

And this:

Is now this (there was a newer house straight ahead when compared to the Google pic):

[JoMo]

And great news today!

City news release:

In a major step forward for Joplin’s tornado recovery, City officials now are granting building permits for nearly all tornado-damaged residential properties from Picher Avenue west to the city limits.

“This is a really significant step for us to be able to open up these areas to help jump start the rebuilding process,” said Mark Rohr, Joplin city manager. “Many considerations caused the City to temporarily suspend issuing these permits right after the tornado, but we are sensitive to the fact that our residents want to move forward. That’s why we’ve been working very hard with our state and federal partners to quickly remove the debris so that citizens can start rebuilding.”

Building permits are still on hold for residential properties along 20th and 26th Streets, as well as Schifferdecker Road, for safety reasons because those roads are the main routes for trucks hauling out tornado debris. City officials continue to closely monitor these areas and will allow permitting as quickly as possible once traffic loads decrease to safer levels.

The availability of building permits on the city’s west side now allows residents to proceed with one of two options – building a new structure on an existing foundation or basement, or starting from scratch and building a completely new structure from the ground up. When using an existing slab or basement, it’s best to have a structural engineer or qualified building professional do an inspection to ensure that the slab or foundation is safe to hold a new structure.

Building permits can be obtained at the Joplin Building Division, 4th floor of City Hall, 602 S. Main Street, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Permits must be issued in person – either to a resident or contractor. Permit fees, which cover necessary municipal inspections, vary depending on size of the structure. For more information, contact the building division at 417-624-0820 Ext. 520.

All permits will be reviewed for compliance with zoning, future traffic plans and floodplain areas. When obtaining a permit, please be prepared to provide the following necessary documentation: a) completed permit application; survey plot or site plan; c) construction plan showing wall sections and elevations.

The City already has issued nearly 1,500 permits to repair damaged residential properties in the impacted areas. Repair and rebuilding permits in commercial areas also are being issued.

City officials continue to evaluate the debris-removal efforts in the remaining tornado-damaged areas so that citizens can begin getting residential building permits as soon as the progress allows.

[JoMo]

Fascinating story of the woman that was the wife of the Jasper County officer in Payless shoe store. If you listened to the emergency audio he said his wife was trapped in there.

http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x1475587560/Merger-of-storms-added-steroids-needed-to-form-May-22-tornado

Also, Bill Davis, NWS said this about the cell mergers:

“To get a tornado going is, in itself, a rare thing,” said Bill Davis, head meteorologist with the National Weather Service station in Springfield. “Now, just think about what it took to get that to happen with such a massive tornado.

“The mergers, if you will, added the steroids to this storm. We could have had an EF-2 or an EF-3 tornado without the merger. But something happened and it had to fit perfectly to produce this EF-5. The odds of that happening are astronomical.

“This is a tornado that was pieced together from several circulation mergers to make the perfect storm.”

It also mentioned the 2nd siren was sounded at 5:31. The touchdown didn't occur until 5:34 and it was near me at 5:38. I'm pretty sure I heard the siren just before the rumble thunder sound and it had already been on the ground.

[gusfront]

I still dont know what to think on this supposed 24 minute lead warning time on this event . I lean towards what Doug said in his blog JoMo , even though after talking with a few in emergency mgmt, the true times havebeen sugar coated in my opinion and maybe the whole truth isnt being told .. But thats just my opinion on this whole deal FWIW nothing or sumthin who knows...