Town and Country Supermarket in Hartville Archives

Lone grocery store in southern Missouri town, struck by May tornado, reopens

October 20, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

A small southern Missouri town whose only grocery store was struck by a May tornado has good news.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield issued a tornado warning for Hartville on May 21, 2019. They issued seven other tornado warnings that day as well (file May 21, 2019 map courtesy of NWS Springfield Twitter}

Hartville’s Town and Country Supermarket re-opened on Thursday, almost five months after taking a direct hit from the May 21 tornado. The storm caused the grocery store’s ceiling to cave in and windows to blow out.

Hartville is about an hour east of Springfield. The National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield issued eight tornado warnings that day.

State Rep. Hannah Kelly, R-Mountain Grove, whose district covers Wright and Webster counties, says the grocery store’s re-opening is crucial to her constituents in Hartville, especially elderly residents and those without transportation. Kelly tells Missourinet residents have had to drive 45 minutes to Lebanon or 40 minutes to Mountain Grove to get to another grocery store.

Hartville has about 600 residents. There were no fatalities nor serious injuries in the May tornado.

Kelly has credited the Town and Country Supermarket’s manager for saving lives during the tornado, by huddling everyone inside the freezer. Manager Josh Dugger told Missourinet Springfield television partner KOLR-10 in May that 25 employees and customers went inside the produce cooler to wait out the storm. He said the storm “popped all our ears.”

The May 21st tornado also caused damage outside the Wright County Courthouse, where people huddled inside the basement during the storm.

National Weather Service warns of possible tornadoes and flash flooding in southern Missouri tonight (AUDIO)

May 22, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield says severe weather is possible again late Wednesday afternoon and tonight across parts of the Ozarks, including Joplin and Nevada.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield says tornadoes, tennis ball-sized hail and flooding are possible tonight in the Ozarks (map courtesy of NWS Springfield Twitter page)

NWS Springfield meteorologist Cory Rothstein tells Missourinet all modes of severe weather are possible, including tornadoes.

“Primarily looking at some supercell thunderstorms developing this afternoon and evening, mainly along and northwest of a line from Neosho to Osage Beach,” Rothstein says.

He says Lamar and Stockton are also included in the “moderate” category, which is the fourth-highest of five categories.

“We’re looking at a strong tornado to even possible with these supercells, large hail up to the size of tennis balls and damaging wind gusts to 70 miles per hour,” says Rothstein.

The NWS also warns that significant flash flooding is possible tonight in the Ozarks. They remind you that 12 inches of water can sweep a car off the road.

Meanwhile, NWS survey crews have confirmed that a tornado struck southwest Missouri’s Marshfield on Tuesday. Mr. Rothstein says there were no injuries in the Marshfield tornado.

“That one was an EF-1 tornado that was confirmed,” Rothstein says. “There was damage to a roof on a house and then multiple trees as well.”

The NWS says the Marshfield tornado began two miles west of Mansfield and was on the ground for 23 minutes on Tuesday, from 3:17 to 3:40 p.m. Its peak winds were 110 miles per hour.

The tornado’s path length was almost 22 miles.

The NWS is also confirming this was the tornado that struck the Town and Country Supermarket in Hartville, the town’s only grocery store.

The supermarket’s storefront has collapsed and the back of the store has blown in. The ceiling has also fallen in, and store owners have been working to remove debris.

There was no deaths nor serious injuries reported in any of Tuesday’s tornadoes or storms in southwest Missouri.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with National Weather Service (NWS) Springfield meteorologist Cory Rothstein, which was recorded on May 22, 2019:

Storm hits southern Missouri town’s only grocery store; store manager praised (AUDIO)

May 22, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield will be sending two survey teams across the Ozarks on Wednesday morning to view storm damage and try to confirm if tornadoes caused the damage.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield issued a tornado warning for the Hartville area on May 21, 2019 (map courtesy of NWS Springfield Twitter page)

NWS Springfield meteorologist Tom Olsen tells Missourinet they issued eight tornado warnings on Tuesday. Olsen says the survey teams will be working to determine if tornadoes caused the damage, and if so, the intensity of them.

One of the survey teams will be heading to southern Missouri’s Hartville, which is about an hour east of Springfield. State Rep. Hannah Kelly, R-Mountain Grove, says there is major damage to the town’s only grocery store.

“You’ve got to drive 45 minutes to Lebanon (to get to another grocery store), you’ve got to drive probably at least 30, 45 minutes to Mountain Grove to get to a Walmart,” Kelly says.

Representative Kelly credits the Town and Country Supermarket’s manager for saving lives.

“The manager, of course, was quick on his feet and got everybody into the freezer from what I’ve been told, and because of that, they were able to see no loss of life,” says Kelly.

No fatalities nor serious injuries have been reported.

The store manager, Josh Dugger, tells our Springfield television partner KOLR-10 that 25 employees and customers went inside the produce cooler to wait out the storm. He says the storm “popped all our ears.”

Dugger tells KOLR-10 that the supermarket’s ceiling has fallen in and that the structure needs to be boarded up. He says the store’s top priority now is removal of the debris.

Insurance adjusters and debris removal crews are expected to arrive at the store in the morning.

Meantime, the NWS Springfield survey team is also expected to visit the Wright County Courthouse in Hartville on Wednesday. Representative Kelly tells Missourinet there is damage outside the courthouse, where she says people huddled in the basement during the storm.

“There’s a lot of debris all around the courthouse from the storm and from what we presume to be a tornado,” Kelly says. “All of the fences, the construction fences are all wiped out and everything.”

Construction crews have been working to build a new jail in Hartville, which is the county seat.

Kelly says volunteer firefighters have been working to remove debris there and at the nearby supermarket.

She also says volunteers have delivered hot food, including chili and spaghetti, to Hartville first responders. Kelly is asking people to pray for those impacted by the storms.

Kelly also says the storm system destroyed about 40 trees at her aunt’s home in nearby Mansfield.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with State Rep. Hannah Kelly, R-Mountain Grove, which was recorded on May 21, 2019: