Transportation Archives - Page 2 of 164

Cristobal expected to bring heavy rain and possible flash flooding to parts of Missouri (AUDIO)

June 8, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service (NWS) says Tropical Depression Cristobal will cause widespread rain across the state, especially in mid-Missouri. Columbia, Jefferson City, Sedalia and Lake of the Ozarks are expected to receive two to three inches, by Tuesday evening.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in St. Louis says Tropical Depression Cristobal is expected to bring heavy rainfall, severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes to parts of Missouri (June 8, 2020 map courtesy of NWS St. Louis Twitter)

NWS St. Louis meteorologist Sally Johnson says rain should begin falling in far southern Missouri by 6 p.m. Monday. The rain should arrive in Jefferson City by midnight.

“It continues through most of the day (Tuesday), but it does move through fairly quick,” Johnson says. “By Tuesday evening, we only have a 30 percent chance and that’s by 7 o’clock,” Johnson says.

Tropical Depression Cristobal is expected to bring heavy rainfall, severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes to parts of Missouri. Johnson tells Missourinet that flash flooding is also possible.

“Since a lot of this is falling at night, if you are driving at night, it is very difficult to tell how deep the water is you’re about to drive through. So, make sure that you know your routes,” says Johnson.

The NWS also says the heavy rains will likely cause new river flooding.

The St. Louis and Kansas City areas should see less than an inch of rain.

The NWS St. Louis office says while it’s not rare to see the remnants of tropical systems impacting Missouri, they normally happen in late summer or early fall.

The NWS says this is the earliest a tropical system has impacted the area on record. Before today, the two earliest occurrences were for remnants of unnamed storms that impacted far eastern Missouri on June 14, 1906 and on June 15, 1901.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with NWS St. Louis meteorologist Sally Johnson, which was recorded on June 8, 2020:

Weak tornadoes hit Archie and Blue Springs Lake areas in Missouri; no injuries reported (AUDIO)

June 4, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service (NWS) confirms there were two separate overnight tornadoes in far western Missouri. NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Sarah Adkins says there were no deaths nor injuries.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Pleasant Hill says a weak tornado touched down in Archie at about 2:56 a.m. on June 4, 2020 (map courtesy of NWS Pleasant Hill Twitter page)

Adkins describes both EF-0 tornadoes as weak. She says one damaged homes in the small town of Archie, which is in Cass County.

“It had a max wind speed of 80 miles per hour, it was only on the ground for about a mile-and-a-half and only about 40 yards wide,” Adkins says.

She says a line of storms ran into each other overnight, causing the tornadoes. Adkins says the other tornado touched down at about 2:20 a.m., near Blue Springs Lake.

“That tornado was a little bit stronger but still an EF-0, it had max wind speeds of 85 miles per hour, was on the ground for almost six miles,” says Adkins.

That tornado traveled southeast, ending near Lake Lotawana. Damage was minor.

The severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall also caused flash flooding overnight in parts of northern Missouri. Adkins says that within a 12-hour period, Moberly received 3.67 inches of rain. Nearby Salisbury, which is in Chariton County, had 4.1 inches.

Missourinet Moberly affiliate KWIX Radio reports more than six inches of rain fell near Madison.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Sarah Adkins, which was recorded on June 4, 2020:

Northern Missouri sheriff killed in automobile crash

June 3, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

(News director Brent Martin from Missourinet St. Joseph affiliate KFEQ contributed to this story)

The sheriff in northwest Missouri’s DeKalb County has been killed in a car crash that happened late Wednesday morning on Highway 36 at the Osborn junction. Our Missourinet St. Joseph affiliate KFEQ reports Sheriff Andy Clark crashed his patrol car, while attempting to assist one of his deputies.

The sheriff in nearby Buchanan County, Bill Puett, describes the news as a shock to fellow sheriffs.

“What we’ve been told is that Sheriff Clark was responding to a deputy who needed some assistance,” Sheriff Puett tells KFEQ. “And in that response, there was a car crash. Sheriff Clark was severely injured. He was transferred to Mosaic (Hospital in St. Joseph), where he later passed away, due to injuries from the crash.”

The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s crash report says Sheriff Clark was traveling southbound on Highway 33 in a Chevrolet pickup, when he crossed over eastbound Highway 36. Another vehicle struck the passenger side of the sheriff’s truck.

The Patrol’s report says the crash happened at 11:20 this morning, and that Sheriff Clark was pronounced dead at Mosaic at 12:07 p.m.

Clark, who lived in Maysville, was 43 years old.

Sheriff Puett tells KFEQ that Mr. Clark was a good man and an outstanding sheriff, who was passionate about serving his community. Puett says it’s a hard loss to take.

“Andy was a really good man and an outstanding sheriff, very passionate about serving his community and citizens. Always had a smile on his face. Everybody loved Andy. It’s just heartbreaking to hear that,” Puett says.

The Patrol’s crash report says there were four occupants in the second vehicle. The driver of that vehicle, a 71-year-old Nebraska man, suffered moderate injuries. The three passengers sustained minor injuries.

Firefighters from Dekalb County, Osborn and Cameron responded to the crash scene, as did the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Missouri’s Hawley: It’s time for the Coast Guard to act on duck boats (AUDIO/VIDEO)

May 28, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s junior senator says the deadly 2018 duck boat tragedy which killed 17 victims on southwest Missouri’s Table Rock Lake should never have occurred.

Missouri State Highway Patrol crews assist the U.S. Coast Guard during the duck boat recovery efforts on July 23, 2018 (file photo courtesy of the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Twitter page)

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R) tells Missourinet that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) made several recommendations to the U.S. Coast Guard after a similar 1999 tragedy in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

“If the Coast Guard had implemented the NTSB’s recommendations from the late 1990’s, almost 20 years ago now, 20 years from the time of the accident, then this (Table Rock Lake incident) would not have happened,” Hawley says.

The 1999 Arkansas incident killed 13 of the 21 passengers on board.

Senator Hawley has filed legislation that would require amphibious passenger vessels to be equipped to stay afloat, in the event of flooding. His bill would also require additional life preservers, and would require duck boats to remove canopies. It also requires additional ways to pump water out.

Hawley, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, says it’s time for the Coast Guard to act on the issue of duck boats. He says it’s critical to keeping Missourians and others safe.

“Over a year ago, I introduced legislation that would write these requirements and these protections into law,” says Hawley. “It is time for the Senate to act on that legislation, and I hope that they will.”

Hawley’s legislation is similar to one filed by former U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D). Hawley unseated McCaskill in Missouri’s 2018 Senate election.

Hawley’s letter to Coast Guard Admiral Karl Schultz reads, in part: “It is in your power to ensure ‘duck boat’ is not synonymous with ‘floating metal death trap.’

17 victims died in the Table Rock Lake incident, including nine from one family. The victims drowned when the vessel sank quickly, during a storm.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Brian Hauswirth and U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, which was recorded on May 21, 2020:

Northern Missouri could see small tornadoes on Tuesday afternoon (AUDIO)

May 26, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

UPDATE AT 3:10 PM: The National Weather Service (NWS) in Pleasant Hill says the threat for severe weather over north central Missouri has diminished and moved north into Iowa. The NWS says there will still be scattered showers in the area, but that they’re not expecting them to be severe.

BRIAN’S ORIGINAL STORY:

The National Weather Service (NWS) says parts of northwest, north-central and northeast Missouri could see brief tornadoes Tuesday afternoon. NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Andy Bailey says damaging winds are also possible.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Pleasant Hill says brief tornadoes are possible across north Missouri on Tuesday afternoon (May 26, 2020 map courtesy of NWS Pleasant Hill Twitter page)

“And really any of the towns from, say, Carrollton to Bethany to Kirksville would kind of be in that area that are possible to see these types of storms,” Bailey says.

Maryville, Moberly, Macon, Chillicothe, Trenton and Brookfield could also be impacted by brief tornadoes.

The NWS is urging residents across northern Missouri to be ready to take shelter quickly this afternoon. Winds of up to 60 miles-per-hour are possible.

“This is going to sound contradictory, but the storms are not going to be all that strong,” says Bailey. “However, any storms (that) can get rotating will have the potential to produce a brief, relatively weak tornado.”

The NWS says lightning is also possible, through about 4 p.m.

“They (possible tornadoes) should be relatively short-lived, should be just dropping down, hitting the ground, coming back up. Whether or not they hit anything is anybody’s guess at this point,” Bailey says.

The NWS is still investigating a possible tornado that touched down Monday evening near Mendon, in north-central Missouri. That’s west of Moberly.

Click hear to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Andy Bailey, which was recorded on May 26, 2020:

Missouri congressman: Some flood victims in danger of being victimized twice

May 22, 2020 By Missourinet Contributor

Northern Missouri Congressman Sam Graves says some flood victims from last year could be victimized twice if Congress doesn’t act. Graves says the Federal Emergency Management Agency is attempting to reclaim some federal disaster assistance it allocated last year.

Flooding in Crag, MO (Photo courtesy of Brent Martin)

“This may not be a whole lot of money to FEMA, but in one case I know for instance it was $12,000 for an individual to be able to fix their home, to be able to repair their home, and then what happens is FEMA comes back and says we gave that to you mistakenly; we want it back,” Graves tells Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph.

Graves says the problem seems to be most pronounced in Holt County, especially in the city of Craig. He says the problem arose when the state of Missouri made two separate flood disaster assistance requests to the president that created a 15-day gap in which victims weren’t technically eligible for federal aid.

The bill Graves is pushing would not apply to efforts by FEMA to recoup federal disaster assistance obtained through fraud.

“These are not fraud situations. These are individuals, through no fault of their own, they applied, they were told that they should apply, and FEMA granted them those dollars,” according to Graves. “And, then, to come back and say that well, now you have to pay it back is just flat out wrong. And so, what we have said is if this is not the fault of the individual, if this is FEMA’s fault, then FEMA’s going to have to bear it.”

Concerns about the coronavirus have dominated Washington, D.C. and delayed work on other issues. Graves’ legislation made it out of the Transportation Committee in February, then got pushed aside as Congress worked to address the pandemic.

A spokesman for the Congressman says Graves hopes to revive the measure whenever Congress returns to regular order and will push for flood action in the United States House.

By Brent Martin of Missourinet affiliate KFEQ in St. Joseph

Every available Missouri state trooper is on the road and water this Memorial Day weekend (AUDIO)

May 21, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

You’ll notice extra Missouri state troopers on the road throughout the long Memorial Day weekend.

A Missouri state trooper clocks a motorist driving 115 miles-per-hour in April on eastbound I-44, near Highway 141 in Valley Park (photo courtesy of the Missouri State Highway Patrol)

Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain John Hotz describes the holiday weekend as the unofficial start of the summer season.

“We know that a lot of people are ready to get out and enjoy the outdoors and travel is part of that,” Hotz says. “Again, we just urge people to be careful.”

During Missouri’s 2019 Memorial Day weekend, eight motorists were killed and another 433 suffered injuries in more than 1,000 traffic crashes.

Troopers are focusing this weekend on speeding, impaired drivers and seat belt use.

Every available trooper will be on the road throughout the weekend, enforcing traffic laws and also helping motorists. Captain Hotz says the Patrol is participating in Operation C.A.R.E., which stands for Crash Awareness Reduction Effort.

“There will be of course overtime projects, saturating areas that we know there is going to be a high number of traffic violations or traffic crashes,” says Hotz.

Troopers are especially concerned about speeding and increasing fatalities, despite traffic being down 50 percent in parts of Missouri because of COVID-19.

There have been 288 traffic fatalities statewide in 2020, compared to 271 at this time last year.

In April, at least three state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) trucks were struck by motorists, despite the falling traffic volumes. And state troopers also clocked a man driving 143 miles-per-hour on Highway 65 near west-central Missouri’s Sedalia in April.

Troopers will also be visible on lakes, rivers and streams this weekend. The Highway Patrol is assigning additional state troopers to the waterways.

Captain Hotz urges boaters to wear a life jacket, and to never ride with an impaired operator.

“We know particularly with COVID-19 and all the CDC guidelines on social distancing, we’ve seen a lot of people taking to their waterways to enjoy that,” Hotz says.

There were seven boating crashes during Missouri’s 2019 Memorial Day weekend. Those crashes killed two people and injured three.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Missouri State Highway Patrol Captain John Hotz, which was recorded on May 19, 2020:

Plane makes emergency landing on I-470 near Kansas City

May 19, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

A small twin-engine Beechcraft BE50 plane landed Tuesday afternoon on eastbound Interstate 470 in Lee’s Summit near Kansas City. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said no injuries were reported and the pilot told police he had to make an emergency landing.

Photo courtesy of Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop A Twitter Page

“At approx. 2 p.m., a pilot was making his final approach to land at the Lee’s Summit airport when he experienced sudden engine failure in one of two engines,” the MSHP says on Twitter.

The incident caused traffic problems in the area for a while. KMBC-TV in Kansas City reports the plane was taken off the I-470 around 3:30 p.m.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.

UPDATE: Power restored in southeast Missouri’s Portageville; storms described as worst since 2009

May 5, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

(Missourinet Cape Girardeau television partner KFVS and Missourinet Portageville affiliate KMIS contributed to this story)

UPDATE ON WEDNESDAY AT 11:55 AM: Missourinet Portageville affiliate KMIS reports power has been restored to all of Portageville, and that 75 residents in the Gideon area are still without power. Ozark Border Electric says 1,964 residents in southeast Missouri are still without power. KMIS also reports crews are now repairing about a dozen broken utility poles along Highway 412, in the Bootheel’s Dunklin County … Brian

ORIGINAL STORY IS BELOW:

A utility company that serves eight southeast Missouri counties describes Sunday and Monday’s severe storms as the worst to hit the region since the 2009 ice storm.

Poplar Bluff-based Ozark Border Electric Cooperative says that, as of late Tuesday night, 2,504 of their customers remain without power. The highest number is in Carter County, with 709 outages.

Monday’s storms caused major problems throughout the region, deep into the Bootheel. The entire town of Portageville lost power, and two tractor trailers were blown over on I-55 near Wardell. The storm also destroyed two homes in the Bootheel town of Campbell, where a tree fell on a woman’s house.

“It (the storm) kind of came up on us quick, there was so much hail that we really didn’t even realize that the tree had fell until we looked a little bit later, because it was hitting the house so hard that we really thought it was going to break our glass door,” the homeowner tells our Cape Girardeau television partner KFVS.

Ozark Border Electric notes some of their linemen were in the field for 31 hours straight, on Sunday and Monday. While much of Missouri enjoyed bright sunshine on Sunday, weather in far southeast Missouri was stormy.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Paducah has confirmed that an EF-1 tornado with estimated peak winds of 95 miles per hour hit the Bootheel town of Marston on Sunday. The tornado was on the ground for six miles, according to NWS. No injuries are reported.

Meantime, officials in far southeast Missouri’s Portageville hope power is restored to their entire community by Wednesday afternoon. U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, who represents southeast Missouri on Capitol Hill, tells Missourinet that Monday’s severe storms knocked power out to the entire town of Portageville.

“The communities of Gideon, Wardell and then near Portageville were hit pretty hard,” Smith says.

Portageville, Gideon and Wardell are all in the Bootheel. Portageville is working with emergency management officials to receive large generators at the water plant by Wednesday morning, to ensure efficient water supply. Our Missourinet Portageville affiliate KMIS reports power was restored to about 1,000 residents late Tuesday afternoon.

KFVS reports more than 10,000 residents across southeast Missouri were without power, at the highest point.

Storms blow semis over on I-44; 6,000 without power in southwest Missouri’s Laclede County

May 5, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

(Missourinet Springfield television partner KOLR-10 and our Lebanon affiliate KBNN contributed to this story)

Monday afternoon’s severe weather across southern Missouri prompted numerous severe thunderstorm warnings from the National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield, and has left several thousand residents without power in southwest Missouri’s Laclede County.

There are no reports of serious injuries, at this time.

Missourinet Springfield television partner KOLR-10 reports Laclede Electric Cooperative (LEC) has about 6,000 members without power. LEC says those members should be prepared for a 24 to 48-hour outage.

Missourinet Lebanon affiliate KBNN reports Monday’s severe weather caused damage at the Floyd Jones Airport in Lebanon (May 4, 2020 photo courtesy of KBNN Radio website)

Laclede Electric Cooperative says there is extensive damage to its power infrastructure in the Lebanon area, including multiple broken poles and transmission lines. There are also numerous reports of trees falling on power lines.

National Weather Service Springfield meteorologist Michael Albano tells Missourinet the NWS’ Springfield office has already issued a combined total of 54 severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings today. 52 of them were severe thunderstorm warnings, and the tornado warnings were in the Goodman area and in the Barton/Cedar/Vernon county area.

Mr. Albano tells Missourinet the greatest damage appears to be in Laclede County, from apparent straight-line winds.

The strong winds blew several tractor trailers over on heavily-traveled I-44 in Laclede County, near the Durham Company in Lebanon. Truckers from across the nation use that route every week, delivering goods.

KOLR-10 showed video of the semis. It appears that one blew over on eastbound I-44, while the other blew over on westbound I-44.

Missourinet Lebanon affiliate KBNN reports there is also damage at Lebanon’s Floyd Jones Airport.

KOLR-10 also reports severe storms have destroyed the roof at Mansfield High School in southern Missouri’s Wright County.

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