Power Outage in Joplin, MO

Debris from a damaged barn was blown into a fence row. Several power lines were also reported down.

The ASOS at KJLN reported a 63 mph wind gust. Several power outages were reported in Joplin.

The ASOS at KJLN reported a 63 mph wind gust. Several power outages were reported in Joplin.

Thunderstorm winds downed a tree onto a vehicle on McConnell Avenue. Several additional reports of trees and power lines down were also received across the city of Joplin.

Up to 15 power poles were reported down. Near the Northpark Apartments. Several cars suffered minor damage with the power lines also down.

Multiple reports were received of trees, power lines and poles down across the county from multiple sources. Winds of 60-75 mph were reported along the gust front of a line of severe thunderstorms. The ASOS at the Joplin Airport measured a 62 mph gust. Reports were received from the cities of Joplin, Jasper, Duquesne, Diamond, Carrytown and Sarcoxie. On I-49, at the Jasper exit, a Semi-Truck was overturned though no injuries were reported. Law enforcement also reported a possible funnel cloud west of Sarcoxie. No evidence of a tornado was found or reported.

Power lines and large limbs were reported down by the fire department.

Power lines and large limbs were reported down by the fire department.

A National Weather Service storm survey determined that a tornado touched down north of Galena in Cherokee County, Kansas and moved quickly across the Missouri state line along SE 118th Street. The tornado increased in intensity as it tracked along West Evergreen Road and North Pheasant Lane before crossing Turkey Creek, causing damage to outbuildings and roofs. Sporadic minor damage continued to Fir Road before damage intensified, including throwing several cars from a salvage yard east of Highway JJ. It then increased further to EF-3 intensity as it carved a path through the Briarbrook Country Club subdivision with dozens of well-built two and three story homes suffering significant damage. Numerous other homes had light to moderate roof damage. The tornado uprooted or snapped numerous trees and several power poles were snapped or leaning. Damaged occurred to several outbuildings between Highway 171 and Ivy Road before the tornado then lifted as it crossed 24th Drive.

A National Weather Service storm survey confirmed an EF-3 tornado with maximum winds of 142 mph. This was the last in a series of at least four tornadoes produced by a supercell that tracked out of northeast Oklahoma and southeast Kansas into Jasper County, Missouri. The tornado touched down near the intersection of Redbud and CR 100, downing power lines and uprooting trees. Wind speeds increased to an estimated 120 mph as it took the roof off a residence on Redbud before tracking northeast and damaging homes and outbuildings as it crossed the intersections of Sumac and County Road 90, Thorn and Highway T, and then into Barton County.

Several power lines were blown down in Joplin.

Several trees and power lines were blown down in Joplin.

Several trees and power lines were blown down and blocked a road.

A car was crushed by a tree falling on it in north Joplin. This report was from social media. The Joplin ASOS reported a 55 mph wind gust around the same time. There were several reports of power lines and poles blown down. Firefighters battled numerous grass fires which many started from downed power lines and transformers.

Several lightning strikes damaged transformers in downtown Joplin which caused power outages.

The 911 center reported power lines and poles down in Waco at the intersection of Collins and Depot Street.

Law enforcement reported several power lines down and power outages around the city.

National Weather Service survey teams rated the tornado that tracked across the southwest through east central portion of Joplin, Missouri, as an EF5 tornado. Maximum winds were estimated to have exceeded 200 miles per hour. The tornado had a maximum width of one mile and an overall path length of nearly 21.6 miles, nearly nine miles of which occurred in Jasper County.||The tornado killed 158 directly, three indirectly, and injured over 1150 people. Sadly, on May 24 a police officer who was volunteering from another department, was struck by lightning while serving in the response efforts and later died. Equally, a 56 year old man who had been included as a direct fatality was later determined to have died of a heart attack. Over 10,200 people filed for disaster assistance following the tornado.||The EF-5 rating (greater than 200 mph wind speeds) was mainly arrived at by the total destruction of vehicles, including some vehicles tossed several blocks and semi trucks thrown a quarter of a mile. Parking stops weighing over 300 pounds and re-barred into asphalt were uprooted and tossed. Other factors in the rating included damage to reinforced concrete structures, and that St. John���s Hospital building structure was compromised. ||Seven thousand homes were severely damaged or destroyed and another 900 damaged. Other substantial buildings damaged or destroyed included the Joplin High School and Technical Center along with five other city schools. Numerous retailers including Home Depot, Sports Academy, Dillons, and Walmart were also destroyed. The most substantial building impacted was St John's hospital which will be razed due to the tornado. It was calculated that 2 million cubic yards of debris is attributable to the storm across its relatively short length on the ground.||The tornado initially touched down one half mile southwest of the intersection of JJ Highway and Newton Road in Newton County where several large trees were toppled. ||The tornado rapidly intensified as it moved toward the intersection of Country Club Drive and 32nd Street where it crossed into Jasper County. Damage became more widespread as the tornado crossed Maiden Lane, breaking nearly all windows on three sides of St. Johns Hospital as well as damage to the roof and exterior walls on several floors. Two patients on oxygen were indirectly suffocated when the generator and a backup generator were damaged after power was cut off. Three additional patients may have succumbed similarly though sufficient data as to the cause of death was not available. An additional indirect fatality occurred due to psychological trauma.||The tornado further intensified as it destroyed homes and businesses to the immediate east and north of the hospital. A church school was completely destroyed with the exception of a portion of the sanctuary. Significant damage to the Greenbriar Nursing Home resulted in the death of 20 mostly elderly patients. ||The tornado continued to destroy hundreds of frame homes between 32nd and 20th Streets, leading to nearly a fifth of the deaths. Three story apartment complexes had the top two floors removed; other two story complexes were partially leveled. Fourteen deaths occurred in apartments along the track. Eleven additional deaths occurred in churches along this path. There were two fatalities in a mobile home (Joplin has a city ordinance prohibiting mobile home parks). ||Well built structures that were heavily damaged or destroyed along this area included the Joplin High School, Franklin Technical Center and Irving Elementary, all of which were free of students due to the weekend. The tornado also damaged three additional elementary schools. A bank was totally destroyed with the exception of the vault. A large grocery store was also destroyed. ||The tornado crossed Rangeline Road near 20th Street. Damage included significant to complete damage to several restaurants and large long-span retail buildings; including Home Depot, Sports Academy and Walmart in this area. Twenty deaths occurred indoors or in the parking lots of these structures. Semi trucks on the back side of Walmart were thrown more than a quarter mile.||The tornado continued to move eastward along and south of 20th Street destroying numerous warehouse style facilities, a portion of Joplin East Middle School, and residences through Duquesne Road.||The tornado continued destroying numerous homes as it began weakening. It turned southeast toward Interstate 44 where it threw several semi trucks as it crossed the interstate and moved into Newton County at 32nd Street just west of Kodiak Road.

Sixty to 90 mph winds impacted nearly all of Jasper County. Damage to trees, structures, buisiness signs, and power poles was widespread. The most significant damage occurred from winds knocking over a television tower at KSN TV on the west side of Joplin. This television tower fell into portions of the studio building, and caused the station to be off-air for several weeks. Part of the tower also fell on a nearby residence, destroying a vehicle and damaging a house. Thousands of Jasper County residences were left without power for several days. Several other homes were damaged from large trees falling on them. The Joplin Globe estimated that at least 2,000 homes had some roof damage and nearly 1500 trees were knocked over.

Strong winds downed trees, damaged roofs and caused widespread power outages.

Thunderstorm wind gusts downed a few power lines in Joplin.

Ice accumulations up to one and a half inches were observed across the northwest section of the county, while accumulations of one half inch to an inch were observed over the city of Joplin and other areas of the county. Asbury and Jasper were hit the hardest, with widespread power outages lasting for several days. Major tree and power line damage resulted along and north of a line from Joplin to Dudenville.

Numerous trees and power poles were blown down across western Joplin. Shifferdecker Park was hit the hardest as almost all large trees on the golf course were blown down.

Severe thunderstorm wind gusts downed a power line east of Joplin.

Trees and power lines were downed from thunderstorm wind gusts in Joplin.

Ice accumulations over Jasper County mainly impacted power lines and trees. Costs for debris removal and power line damages were estimated at $225,000.

Thunderstorm winds downed trees and power lines in the city of Joplin.

A few powerline poles and lines were downed from severe thunderstorm wind gusts.

Thunderstorm wind gusts downed a few power poles in Joplin.

A derecho developed over southeast Kansas and northeast Oklahoma, and tracked across Jasper county during the early morning hours of July 4th. Sustained winds up to 75 mph were estimated from the National Weather Service storm survey. Numerous power lines and trees were downed along with random structural damage to homes countywide.

A potent storm system lifted northeast from Oklahoma through Arkansas and Missouri on January 24th and 25th, bringing widespread precipitation across the Missouri Ozarks beginning as rain during the late morning and afternoon on January 24th before changing over to snow during the afternoon and evening. This snow continued into the morning hours of January 25th before coming to an end as the storm system exited the region.||Snowfall amounts generally ranged from 1 to 3 inches for areas along and northwest of a Joplin to Stockton to Lake of the Ozarks line. There was a sharp cutoff in heavy snow near Interstate 44, with many locations seeing 6 to 8 inches south of Interstate 44 and up to 12 inches near West Plains. Roads became completely covered and slick across the region for the evening commute of January 24th and also into the morning commute on January 25th due to the ongoing snow. Several slide offs and vehicle accidents occurred as a result of the slick road conditions. Numerous schools were closed across the region on January 25th, with some even doing early dismissals on January 24th. Some schools also remain closed into January 26th in the areas that received higher snow amounts across south central Missouri. Total power outages reached over 50 thousand across southern and south central Missouri from the heavy snow, with numerous power outages continuing in Howell, Shannon and Oregon Counties into January 27th.

A storm system initially brought one to two hours of freezing drizzle during the early morning hours of December 22nd before precipitation changed over to light snow. A brief band of moderate to heavy snow then moved southeast across the area during the mid morning into afternoon hours, leading to visibilities as low as one quarter of a mile or less along with very gusty winds and blowing snow at times. Light snow lingered for another hour or two behind the heavier snow band before coming to an end. The light glaze of ice became covered by generally 1 to 3 inches of snow, leading to slick roads, numerous vehicle crashes and slide offs across the area, and power outages across portions of the area. Numerous schools that weren't already off for the Christmas Holiday cancelled school for both December 22nd and December 23rd.||Brutally cold temperatures and wind chills also settled into the area with and behind the snowfall. Record to near record low temperatures were common on the morning of December 23rd with subzero lows, highs in the single digits above zero, and minimum wind chills as low as -20 to -37 degrees. Cold low temperatures in the single digits above zero and wind chills in the single digits to teens below zero continued into the morning of December 24th, as well.

A southward shift in the Westerlies forced a slow moving front to move southeastward into the Ozarks Region on the 8th. The front then stalled and interacted with several upper level disturbances to produce heavy rainfall and severe storms over the area through the early afternoon of the 9th. The strongest storms occurred during the afternoon and evening of the 9th, producing widespread damaging wind gusts which blew down trees and powerlines, and hail to the size of ping pong balls. The hardest hit areas were along and south of Interstate 44 from Joplin to Springfield to south of Lebanon. Rainfall accumulations of two to over four inches occurred from the Lake of the Ozarks to Stockton Lake and then southward toward Springfield, Mount Vernon and Neosho.

Thunderstorms developed over Oklahoma and Kansas during the afternoon of the 10th and moved eastward into southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri from the late evening of the 10th to the late morning of the 11th. Two tornadoes touched down across extreme southwest Missouri during the early morning of the 11th. An EF-1 tornado occurred over southern Newton County near Goodman, and an EF-0 tornado occurred near Dudenville, along the Jasper and Barton County Line. Damage was reported to large trees, power lines, a barn and a manufactured home.

Strong to severe storms developed during the afternoon and evening ahead of a cold front approaching from the northwest. Numerous reports of wind gusts over 60 mph and damage to trees and powerlines occurred across portions of southwest Missouri.

A storm system lifted northward through Arkansas and into Missouri from New Years Eve into New Years Day. Freezing rain spread into southeast Kansas and southern and central Missouri during the evening hours of Thursday, December 31. The freezing rain continued into January 1, 2021 before transitioning over to minor accumulations of snow. Ice accumulations overnight and into January 1, 2021 resulted in tree damage and scattered power outages. Once the freezing rain changes to snow with a dusting to 1.5 inches of accumulation was reported.

A storm system lifted northward through Arkansas and into Missouri from New Years Eve into New Years Day. Freezing rain spread into southeast Kansas and southern and central Missouri during the evening hours of Thursday, December 31. The freezing rain continued into January 1, 2021 before transitioning over to minor accumulations of snow. Ice accumulations overnight and into January 1, 2021 resulted in tree damage and scattered power outages.

Strong to severe thunderstorms moved out of southeast Kansas into southwest Missouri during the mid to late afternoon hours as a very unstable airmass interacted with a stalled front. Severe straight-line winds produced damage to trees and powerlines in Taney, Stone, McDonald and Jasper counties in southwest Missouri.

Multiple rounds of storms producing heavy rainfall, severe winds, hail and tornadoes moved across the Missouri Ozarks from May 20th and into the early morning hours of May 24th as upper level disturbances interacted with a slow moving but powerful storm system over the central Plains. Tornadoes occurred with each round, with the strongest and most numerous tornadoes occurring during the late afternoon and evening of the 22nd. On the anniversary of the Joplin Tornado off 2011, another tornado, rated EF-3 struck the north side of Joplin. This storm system eventually produced subsequent tornadoes in Golden City, Eldon and Jefferson City. Unfortunately there were three fatalities as a result of the tornado in Golden City. The cumulative rainfall caused areas of flash flooding with some flooding lingering across the region. Some locations in southeastern Kansas and southwestern Missouri reported in excess of 8 inches of rainfall over the 72 hour period. .

Severe pulse storms occurred across the area on an afternoon basis from August 7-11. The most impactful afternoon/evening occurred on August 10 when severe pulse storms affected the Springfield metropolitan area. The Route 66 Festival with estimated 60,000 people was in both a Severe Thunderstorm and Flash Flood Warning with eventual cancellation of activities for the night. On August 7-8���A storm complex that developed during the late evening of the 6th and early morning hours of the 7th over Kansas pushed an outflow boundary into southwest Missouri.||Strong to severe storms developed along the boundary intermittently from the late morning of the 7th to the late afternoon of the 8th . The strongest storms impacted areas to the south and east of Springfield, and produced straight line wind damage to trees and roofs. One barn in Oregon County was destroyed due to the strong winds and a boat dock on Table Rock Lake was flipped over. Several roads in Branson flooded as a result of heavy rainfall during the afternoon of the 8th. Two-day rainfall totals averaged between one and one and a half inches along and south of Highway 60. Localized accumulations over two inches occurred near Branson. From August 9-12, a weak front stalled over the region and interacted with a very moist and unstable air mass to produce scattered late afternoon and early evening strong to severe storms across the region each day. Several of the storms produced hail up to the size of golf balls, wind damage to trees, powerlines, boat docks and roofs, and localized flash flooding. The majority of the storms affected the western half of the region on the 9th and 10th , with storm coverage becoming more isolated on the 11th and 12th.

Severe storms impacted the region during the afternoon and evening of July 19, 2018. The most significant of which included a derecho that began in north central KS during the morning hours that moved southeast toward Kansas City into the early afternoon and then into southwest Missouri through the early evening hours before ending in northern Arkansas. Most notably were several observations of 70+ mph winds, numerous reports of trees and power lines down, and a mass fatality incident on Table Rock Lake.

Strong non-thunderstorm gusty winds caused minor wind damage across the Missouri Ozarks region. Several weather observing stations measured wind gusts between 50 and 60 mph across the area. Scattered power outages were reported across southwest Missouri.

A significant ice storm impacted the Missouri Ozarks with sporadic power outages and some tree damage.

A powerful storm system and a dry line produced several rounds of severe thunderstorms with some super cells. There were reports of tornadoes, wind damage, and large hail.

A powerful upper level low pressure system moved across the Ozarks causing numerous strong to severe storms to develop with several supercells as well.

A thin line of strong to severe thunderstorms impacted the Missouri Ozarks during the evening of October 25th. Several reports of wind damage were received as these storms raced east at nearly 50 mph. These storms developed along a strong cold front which extended south from a powerful low pressure system centered over the northern plains.

Severe thunderstorms associated with a cold pool from an upper level low developed during the early morning hours of May 13th. The storms produced hail, winds up to 60 mph, flooding and three confirmed tornadoes. Tornadoes impacted the communities of Monett, Sparta and Hurley in Missouri. The tornadoes were responsible for destroying one business and damaging at least five others as well as causing minor to moderate damage to two homes, several outbuildings, power poles, high tension utility lines and trees. Heavy rainfall from the storms on the 13th produced flooding across portions of the region as storms developed and moved across a stationary front across the Missouri Ozarks. Several rounds of storms producing heavy rainfall continues the flooding across the region lasting into the 15th before flood waters receded.

Widespread strong to severe thunderstorms impacted portions of southwest and central Missouri. The primary hazard with these storms were severe wind gusts that caused damage to trees, power poles, and a few structures. Two weak tornadoes also occurred from these storms.

Strong and damaging winds developed in the wake of an intense squall line. These non thunderstorm winds reached gusts to 90 mph resulting in damage to trees, power lines, and some structures. It was too difficult to determine what damage occurred from thunderstorm winds compared to the wake low winds. Therefore all damage estimates were documented under thunderstorm winds.

A significant winter storm brought a combination freezing drizzle, freezing rain, sleet and snow to the Missouri Ozarks January 26 and 27, 2009. Freezing drizzle and light freezing rain developed area wide at the onset of the event causing multiple traffic accidents. Freezing rain persisted for much of the event across far southern Missouri resulting in significant ice accretion of one half to one inch. This ice storm downed tree limbs and power lines causing numerous power outages. As many as 20,000 residences lost power along the Arkansas border from Branson to Alton. Sleet was the predominant precipitation type for much of the area with accumulations of 1 to 3 inches common. As much as 6 inches of sleet fell across far south central Missouri. The weight of freezing rain and sleet across far southern Missouri caused the roofs of several buildings and a boat dock to collapse. The sleet transitioned to snow toward the end of the event with 2 to 4 inches of snow common on top of the freezing rain and sleet.

Storm total rainfall amounts ranged from one to six inches during the evening and overnight hours of 13 September into the morning of 14 September. Widespread flooding of small streams, creeks, and main stem rivers resulted, which was only one of two primary hazards that occurred this night. The other hazard included a belt of non-thunderstorm high winds that likely gusted up to 65 mph at times. These winds mainly damaged trees and power lines.

A broken squall line caused widespread damaging winds over portions of the Missouri Ozarks. Damage was mainly to trees, powerlines, and a few structures. Localized flash flooding was also observed.

An ice storm brought significant accumulations of sleet and freezing rain to the Missouri Ozarks. Ice accumulations of one quarter to three quarters of an inch were common. Higher amounts of one to three inches fell between the Interstate 44 and Highway 60 corridors from east of Springfield to Houston and Rolla. These ice accumulations resulted in power outages to as many as 34,000 southern Missouri residents. The sleet and freezing rain was accompanied by thunder and lightning.

One of the greatest disasters to ever impact southwest Missouri, including the Springfield metro area, occurred in the form of an ice storm. Several counties, mainly along and north of the interstate 44 corridor, experienced ice accumulations up to two and a half inches. Power outages and catastrophic tree damage were the main impacts resulting from this historic event. Power outages occurred for over three weeks in many areas. Several indirect fatalities due to the extreme elements were documented. Carbon monoxide poisoning occurred within a few homes as gas generators were being used in garages, which allowed for dangerous levels of carbon monoxide to seep into houses.

High winds, measured as high as 67 mph at the Joplin ASOS and estimated up to 80 mph in Vernon County, downed trees and powerlines as well as causing some structural damage across several counties in southwest Missouri. The high wind damaged the roof of the Carthage Junior High School in Jasper County. Three hangers were heavily damaged at the Neosho airport in Newton County. Numerous power outages were reported.

A large cluster of thunderstorms affected much of extreme southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri during the morning hours of 13 May 2003. In the wake of this feature, a small scale area of low pressure developed that induced surface winds to gust to over 60 mph. Trees and power lines were downed along with some minor structural damage.

70 mph straight line winds caused numerous trees and power lines to be blown down across southern Jasper and portions of northern Newton County from near Carl Junction, to Seneca and Neosho. It left thousands without power and the Joplin area, especially downtown Joplin where power wasn't restored until the following morning. A few places experienced property damage as cars were hit by falling tree limbs. Several areas around Neosho were blocked by fallen trees and debris from the flooding and high winds.

Winds of 60 to 70 mph blew through Joplin and surround communities causing numerous power outages and damage to local businesses. These severe winds pushed in a sliding door at a garage at a local trucking company and caused part of a supporting wall to collapse. Nickel size hail was also reported north of Joplin.

Trees and power lines were blown down around Carthage.

A squall line formed over eastern Kansas prior to midnight and swept through western and central Missouri early morning March 9th. Although no major damage was reported, minor damage was reported to homes, outbuildings and power poles.

Power lines were blown down near Sarcoxie.

Power lines were snapped by estimated 60 mph winds near Jasper.

Power lines were blown down in Carl Junction.

Straight line winds toppled numerous power lines and trees around Joplin. Structural damage occurred to homes and businesses along 32nd street, concentrated in a 3 to 4 block wide area approximately 4 to 5 miles in length. Empire Electric Power estimated 7500 customers were without power during the height of the storm, and some power was not restored for three days.

Sleet, freezing rain and embedded thunderstorms caused ice accumulations from one quarter, up to two inches in some places across southwest, central and south central Missouri. The heaviest ice accumulations occurred along and north of Highway 60, and along the I-44 corridor. Howell-Oregon electric cooperative reported numerous power outages due to the ice around the communities of Willow Springs, Birch Tree, Mountain View, Winona, Eminence and Dora.

A winter storm produced a mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain over portions of extreme southern Missouri. The freezing rain was locally heavy at times, producing one quarter inch of ice on area roadways. Numerous accidents were reported, however, no deaths or serious injuries were noted. No major power outages occurred.

A major winter storm dropped as much as 14 inches of snow across the Missouri Ozarks. The hardest hit areas were along I-44 from Joplin to Lebanon. In these areas, over a foot of snow was reported. Lesser amounts were found near the Arkansas border where some sleet and freezing rain mixed in with the snow. Due to the weight of the heavy snowfall, some roofs and carports were damaged along with some minor power outages. In addition, a turkey farm was damaged in Ozark County, an appliance store outdoor canopy collapsed in Nevada, and a sports complex dome collapsed in Joplin due to the heavy snowfall. Although numerous accidents and road closures were reported, no serious injuries occurred.

Thunderstorm winds downed large tree limbs and power lines.

Thunderstorm winds uprooted trees and downed power lines.