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Joplin Tornado Recap
August 22, 2016 at 08:34 AM EDT
By WeatherBug's Doug Kahn
Five years ago this weekend (May 22nd, 2011), the deadliest tornado since modern recordkeeping began in 1950 punished southwestern Missouri.
In total, 75 tornadoes were reported in an area extending from Oklahoma to Wisconsin over the course of one day. Most notably, an EF-5 tornado with winds in excess of 200 mph and more than three-fourths of a mile wide decimated Joplin, Mo., killing 158 and injuring more than 1,000 people.
Not only was this tornado deadly, but it was equally destructive. More than $3-billion worth of businesses and residential buildings were destroyed.
At its peak, the tornado ravaged the Joplin High School and Greenbrier nursing home where 21 fatalities occurred. Luckily, there were no deaths at Joplin High School as nobody was inside at the time. The EF-5 tornado also caused considerable damage to the St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin which later had to be demolished. The sheer destruction of this tornado easily ripped off tightly-welded manholes and reduced metals to scraps.
This EF-5 tornado occurred in a year that featured the historic Super Outbreak of 2011 in April, which set the record for the largest tornado outbreak in history. The year also saw more than 1,400 tornadoes. To put the rarity of EF-5’s in perspective, fewer than 10 have occurred since the scale’s implementation in 2007 - four were associated with the Super Outbreak of 2011 while one EF-5 occurred during this event.
As we reach the peak of severe weather season, be sure to heed your local weather service office’s severe weather warnings and check forecasts daily. Also be sure to have an emergency kit and plan in place in case severe weather strikes.
Credit Photo - DVIDSHUB
In total, 75 tornadoes were reported in an area extending from Oklahoma to Wisconsin over the course of one day. Most notably, an EF-5 tornado with winds in excess of 200 mph and more than three-fourths of a mile wide decimated Joplin, Mo., killing 158 and injuring more than 1,000 people.
Not only was this tornado deadly, but it was equally destructive. More than $3-billion worth of businesses and residential buildings were destroyed.
At its peak, the tornado ravaged the Joplin High School and Greenbrier nursing home where 21 fatalities occurred. Luckily, there were no deaths at Joplin High School as nobody was inside at the time. The EF-5 tornado also caused considerable damage to the St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin which later had to be demolished. The sheer destruction of this tornado easily ripped off tightly-welded manholes and reduced metals to scraps.
This EF-5 tornado occurred in a year that featured the historic Super Outbreak of 2011 in April, which set the record for the largest tornado outbreak in history. The year also saw more than 1,400 tornadoes. To put the rarity of EF-5’s in perspective, fewer than 10 have occurred since the scale’s implementation in 2007 - four were associated with the Super Outbreak of 2011 while one EF-5 occurred during this event.
As we reach the peak of severe weather season, be sure to heed your local weather service office’s severe weather warnings and check forecasts daily. Also be sure to have an emergency kit and plan in place in case severe weather strikes.
Credit Photo - DVIDSHUB