Survey teams are assessing damage from Friday night’s severe storms that produced a multitude of tornadoes. The National Weather Service has confirmed at least ten tornadoes thus far.
The most recent was an EF-1 tornado that hit Sikeston, as confirmed by the National Weather Service. In addition, an EF-3 tornado was confirmed in Poplar Bluff, EF-2 tornadoes in Jefferson, Franklin, Phelps, and Perry Counties, and EF-1 tornadoes in Wright and Franklin Counties. In Iron County, a tornado has been confirmed with damage rated at least an EF-3.
NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist Kevin Deitsch told Missourinet most of what hit Friday were tornadoes.
“So, when we’re looking for tornadic damage, you know, obviously the degree of damage is something that we really pay attention to,” he said. “You know, in this case, a lot of the damage, you know, had insulation lofted into the trees, and roof shingles into the trees. Typically, when you have lofted debris like that, that’s a pretty clear sign of a tornado.”
In Iron County, a tornado has been confirmed with damage rated at least an EF-3. In St. Louis County, the National Weather Service rated a tornado there at least an EF-2.
Dietsch said the damage was “pretty substantial.”
“But a lot of these tornadoes that we’ve been surveying so far, the winds have been in excess of 100 mph, which has given us much more confidence that it was indeed a tornado versus straight line winds,” said Dietsch.
The twisters left widespread destruction in 27 Missouri counties. Hundreds of homes, schools, and businesses have been either destroyed or severely damaged. At least 12 people have been killed, and one person is still missing from the weather.
Dietsch said a lot of risks are involved with surveying the damage.
“So, we’re looking at if there’s any live wires down, which is certainly something that I know I dealt with on Saturday when I was surveying,” he said. “You’ve got, you know, trees blocking roadways, you have some buildings that aren’t structurally sound. You’ve got nails and, you know, 2×4’s laying all around. So, definitely got to watch where you step and kind of where you drive to keep everyone safe.”
Dietsch said damage assessments will take time because it’s too early to determine how many tornadoes touched down and what size they were.
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