![]() ![]() I was with The Weather Channel at the time and we had a live crew stationed within 15 minutes of Joplin that afternoon ready to cover severe weather. The tornado then weakened and finally dissipated at 6:12 p.m.Ī map showing the path and categories of a destructive tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, on May 22, 2011. An industrial park and several subdivisions were destroyed as the tornado departed Joplin and over toward Interstate 44. Nearby, a Walmart Supercenter was left in shambles. He couldn’t completely shut the door, however, and as he was holding the door shut he was sucked out and killed as the tornado hit. At a Pizza Hut restaurant, the store manager took four employees and fifteen customers to a walk-in freezer. The tornado became rain-wrapped and difficult to see as it moved toward the southeast side of the city. To the east, a bank was destroyed and a concrete vault was all that remained. Fortunately, the high school was unoccupied, A graduation ceremony for the high school had just concluded at Missouri Southern State which was north of where the tornado hit. Unfortunately, there were 21 fatalities at the nursing home. Mary’s Catholic Church, Franklin Technology Center, Joplin High School, and the Greenbriar Nursing Home were all destroyed. Photo Credit – Bob Webster/Public Domain. Some residents never did find their vehicles after the tornado passed by.Īn aerial view of subdivision damage inflicted by an EF-5 tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri on May 22, 2011. There was more extensive damage to homes and parts of concrete driveways were destroyed. It barely missed the downtown area to the south, however. The tornado paraded eastward, as an EF5, damaging every building in its path. Every house in the vicinity was totally destroyed and trees were either uprooted or debarked! One large truck was thrown 125 yards and wrapped around a tree. Vehicles in the parking lot were tossed around and crashed beyond recognition. Johns Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Missouri. The photo shows EF-5 tornado damage to the St. The nine-story building was so damaged that it had to be torn down. A life-flight helicopter on the roof was completely blown away. The most prominent building was the St, John’s Regional Medical Center which ended up with missing windows, walls, and ceilings. Concrete parking stops were picked up and thrown some 60 yards away. More vehicles were thrown around and some were found wrapped around trees. Steel girders were ripped away and they twisted like pretzels. Within a minute, it was an unbelievable EF-5 unleashing unimaginable destruction.īusinesses and medical buildings were gone in an instant as concrete walls came smashing down. The tornado became a large wedge, nearly a mile wide, as it strengthened to an EF-4 as it entered a more commercial area. Debris was blowing all over and vehicles were lifted into the air and some crashed into homes. The tornado strengthened to an EF-3 with multiple vortices, as it continued to destroy more subdivisions. Several homes were destroyed in the southwest portion of the city. Trees and power lines were toppling all over as the tornado strengthened to an EF1 and then EF2 as it entered the first subdivisions of Joplin. The tornado produced damage in the rural area outside of Joplin as it moved toward the city. ![]() There were observations from storm chasers reporting multiple vortices circulating around the original tornado.Ĭivil defense sirens blared in Joplin a full 20 minutes before the tornado struck but very few residents responded to the warning. This tornado was unique, however, because it intensified rapidly on its journey toward Joplin. a tornado touched down west of Joplin near the Missouri/Kansas border and it was moving eastward. There was a severe thunderstorm that was capable of producing a tornado moving toward the city.Īt 5:34 p.m. on May 22, 2011, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for the Joplin, Missouri, area. Thirty-Eight Minutes Of HorrorĪt 5:17 pm. residents were unaware that within two minutes there would be a tornado warning issued and within 20 minutes a large and powerful tornado would plow through their city and in less than an hour there would be unbelievable death and destruction in its wake. That afternoon was a hot and humid one in Joplin, Missouri. Atmospheric conditions were just right for a widespread severe weather outbreak on Sunday, May 22, 2011.
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