Early morning storms roar through Southeast Missouri

Four tornado-producing storms roared through Southeast Missouri on Sunday morning, May 26. The storms damaged homes and businesses, uprooted trees and downed power lines. Luckily, no one in the region lost their life. That was not the case elsewhere, as nearly two dozen people died during a multi-day storm event in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kentucky.

The first tornado in the region spun up around 6:15 a.m. near the Arkansas border in Ripley County. Its path covered nearly 47 miles before it finally weakened as it approached the west side of Poplar Bluff. At its peak, wind speeds hit 115 mph, making it an EF2-rated tornado. The twister grew to be 400 yards wide. Its worst damage was southwest of Doniphan.

The next tornado, also an EF2 with winds up to 120 mph, knifed through Stoddard County, starting at 7:09 a.m. That storm formed on the east side of Dexter and tracked for nearly 26 miles. It damaged buildings, farm equipment and power lines near Dexter, Crowder and Vanduser.

The strongest storm of the morning hit the Sikeston area. Rated an EF3 with winds up to 140 miles per hour, the storm formed at 7:15 a.m. and tracked for nearly 20 miles. Its maximum width was 300 yards. Images from in and around Sikeston show damaged buildings, downed trees and even a vehicle rolled up on its side. The Morehouse area also sustained significant damage. That storm maintained enough power to create a tornado for hundreds of miles, originating in Oklahoma and passing through Arkansas before finally reaching Southeast Missouri.

NWS is also investigating a possible tornado that passed through Bollinger County that morning.

The nature of these storms calls attention to two things.

One, NWS officials had been signaling the probability of severe weather for a few days ahead of the outbreak. The severe weather did not come as a surprise. While predicting exactly where tornadoes will strike is an imperfect science, the weather experts — especially those at the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma — use ever-advancing technology and skill to home in on where severe weather is the likeliest. In this case, they were spot on with their prediction. When they say bad weather is coming, pay attention and take precautions.

Two, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes don’t always come along in the middle of the day, when everyone is alert to the danger. These storms came fairly early on a Sunday morning, a time at which many people may still be sleeping. Some of the most deadly storms occur during the nighttime hours, catching people unaware. That’s why it’s important to have severe weather alerts engaged on your cellphone and/or have an alert-enabled weather radio handy.

Finally, the time to prepare for severe weather is before severe weather approaches. Know where your safe spot is. Have essentials (water, food, medication) set aside in case of a prolonger power outage. Develop a communications plan to check on family and friends.

Stay safe.