2011 Joplin Tornado (5/21 - 5/23 Outbreak)

[harlequin]

NWS Norman upgraded 3 tornadoes to EF4 and are still assessing. I doubt they will go higher but it's possible. I haven't really looked through damage photos from there anyway.

[Fred Gossage]

They have specifically said that they may go higher on any or all of the three. At least two of them had rotational shear of over 260-270 kts on radar... under 2000 ft. It's entirely possible for at least one of them to get upgraded. The fact that they haven't even tried to guess at a path width on any of them yet... may mean that the damage is severe enough to warrant an "OMG" type of initial reaction from the surveyors, and they already know that the bare minimum for the ratings will be very high.

[harlequin]

Interesting. They should have their final ratings this week. It will be exciting to read them.

The Denning, AR tornado was upgraded to EF4 also.

[harlequin]

The El Reno tornado was upgraded to an EF5.

http://newsok.com/largest-and-deadliest-may-24-tornado-in-oklahoma-ranked-an-ef5/article/3573389

The rating was apparently based on Doppler On Wheels measurements.

[Dave R]

I haven't seen this posted.... Pretty heart-wrenching stuff.

Editor’s note: The following is a note from Dr. Kevin Kitka, an emergency room physician who was on duty the night St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Mo., took a direct hit from a powerful EF-5 tornado. As of May 26, 126 people were reported killed and more than 200 missing in the southwest Missouri town of 50,000 people. The City Wire received Kitka’s note and permission to post from Dr. Cole Goodman with St. Edward Mercy Medical in Fort Smith. The note is posted with few edits.

http://www.thecitywire.com/?q=node/16072

[Kevin]

The El Reno tornado was upgraded to an EF5.

http://newsok.com/largest-and-deadliest-may-24-tornado-in-oklahoma-ranked-an-ef5/article/3573389

The rating was apparently based on Doppler On Wheels measurements.

As posted by Matt Grantham on Talkweather...apparently the DOW measurements peaked with a pure velocity measurement of about 120 m/s...which correlates to 268mph...at a height of just 60 meters (~195ft). Even conservatively correlating to a ground-level reading...that's going to be well in excess of the 200mph EF5 limit...which is why the DOW measurement was enough to go with an upgrade.

[Kevin]

More sad news from Joplin as local media reports the death toll now at 150. 12 People have died in the last week who were initially hospitalized for injuries sustained in the tornado.

[harlequin]

CNN is now reporting 151. Also apparently a rare fungus has infected 8 of the injured there. 1 has died of it and two others may also have.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/10/missouri.joplin.fungus/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn

[Thundersnow]

I was just sent this Youtube of a video recorded from an 18 wheeler that was flipped by the Joplin tornado last May.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcUkArSFiIc

...includes of audio.

The truck is flipped at 3:25, and the sound from about 3:30 forward in the video is horrifying.

[Eric]

I was just sent this Youtube of a video recorded from an 18 wheeler that was flipped by the Joplin tornado last May.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcUkArSFiIc

...includes of audio.

The truck is flipped at 3:25, and the sound from about 3:30 forward in the video is horrifying.

Holy .....chills.  Nothing but chills..... 

[Charles L.]

I can't image the horror you go through when a tornado is actually hitting you...on Feb. 5th, 2008 I saw enough to last me a lifetime...and a tornado wasn't even one of those.

[Bigm33]

I can't image the horror you go through when a tornado is actually hitting you...on Feb. 5th, 2008 I saw enough to last me a lifetime...and a tornado wasn't even one of those.

You really don't even have to have one hit you directly to scare the crap out of you either...the one six years ago here went about a eighth of a mile by the house we were in at the time, and we were scared stiff. I actually thought it was hitting our house but what i was hearing was just tree limbs and such being dropped on our roof and the old TV antenna being bent onto the roof by the winds...but the winds I heard that night do not even come close to the audio in that clip  that is truly a terrifying sound.

[jmundie]

The first time I watched it, I thouoght he just flipped once.

The second time I watched it, I realize that the loudest part of the video is because the truck is rolling over and over again. At one point when its dark, there is enough light to see that its still flipping.

Surely some folks died in the cars that were around him.

[Bigm33]

Surely some folks died in the cars that were around him.

If not, it was nothing short of a miracle. I'm honestly not sure how the truck driver survived it.

[NashRugger]

Today is a big day for Joplin. President Obama is giving the commencement for Joplin High School's graduation the day before the 1-year anniversary. This is a significant moment as they get to close a chapter today and start a new one tomorrow as they reflect.