1/7/08 NOW: OK, KS, AR, TX, MO, LA, IA, IL

[Chad Cowan]

0206z scans as the tornado was near the airport:

EDIT 1: I just took a minute away from my computer so that I could take in what is happening right now... this is truly an historic event. My sympathies go out to those affected. There is some amazing data that has been collected tonight by the Springfield radar. If my count is correct, there have been 3 tornadic supercells pass directly over the radar as they were producing. I have been saving some screenshots of the Mesoanalysis page for something to study/review once the arctic airmass returns.

I have to wonder, why didn't the SPC upgrade to a MDT risk in the 1z outlook?


EDIT2: According to 94.7 out of Springfield, there has been a fatality reported in a mobile home north of Marshfield, MO

 

[Scott Udell]

Aw, man, a report of a death now in Webster county.

My folks have lived in the area for 19 years now, and my mom is saying she can't remember a stream of storms with these strong hooks over and over again... and this in January!

 

[jason kissam]

i went to college in polk county north of springfield. this is breaking my heart

 

[Jordan Hartley]

Springfield is under the gun again. LOOK at the massive HP now taking aim. Its rear flank is a bow and its mainbody has a classic sup radar sig. Storm is tornado warned and growing. Storm might miss to the south of town cross your fingers.

 

[Sam Sagnella]

Aw, man, a report of a death now in Webster county.

Oh man. FWIW, the fatality apparently occurred in a mobile home along Corey (sp) Road north of Marshfield. I can't find any information regarding any injuries that may have occurred when that mobile home community was "completely gone" south of the Monett area earlier. E-F scale guidelines suggest that complete destruction and removal of debris of an anchored-down, single-wide manufactured home occurs at roughly 127mph, which is squarely within the E-F2 range.
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/efscale/3.html

 

[Kiel Ortega]

Oh man. FWIW, the fatality apparently occurred in a mobile home along Corey (sp) Road north of Marshfield. I can't find any information regarding any injuries that may have occurred when that mobile home community was "completely gone" south of the Monett area earlier. E-F scale guidelines suggest that complete destruction and removal of debris of an anchored-down, single-wide manufactured home occurs at roughly 127mph, which is squarely within the E-F2 range.
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/efscale/3.html

(sorry, but had to throw this in)Strapped down is a very wide ranging term. I surveyed in Minco, OK, in 2007 and a mobile home was "strapped down"...if you consider an 8 inch anchoring as strapped down...and it went flying; lucky for the lady inside she just had bumps and briuses. All other damage around was EF1, so EF1 was the rating.

Amazing event thus far...does anyone know how long Springfield and the surrounding area were under tornado warnings?

 

[Sam Sagnella]

Yikes, McDonald County is now under its umpteenth tornado warning of the evening. A couple of storms will move into the area over the next half hour, though this go-around the most dangerous areas should stay south and east of the pineville area. Also, OUN now in on the action with its first TOR of the night.

Greene County representative reports that the path width near Strafford is 1/2 mile, with several homes completely destroyed. 100 people in shelters. Paths on both sides of Strafford, big one went north of town; smaller damage path south of there. No major injuries in the county apparently, with a few treated-on-the-scene type of injuries, mainly near Strafford.

EDIT: thanks for the info about damage surveying, Kiel.

 

[Chad Cowan]

Tornado tracking into Lebanon, MO :

 

[Tony Lyza]

TWC is reporting 3 fatalities in SW MO.

 

[Sam Sagnella]

TWC is reporting 3 fatalities in SW MO.

Webster County Sheriff's Dept is apparently disputing the reports of multiple fatalities near the Marshfield area, at least for the time being. They have confirmed the single fatality, however. per KTTS-FM radio.

EDIT: Also, KTTS is also reporting that, in addition to there being no significant injuries in Greene County, the same is true in Barry County, which is fantastic news.

EDIT2: Nice, Kiel! Thanks for the Phased Array link. Also, the number of injuries serious enough to require transport to area hospitals is six. this, too is per 94.7FM.

 

[Kiel Ortega]

OUN TOR warning looks warranted (was doubting it early). FWIW, the phased array radar is up and running. Images available here

EDIT: Doesn't look like it's turning with the storm...hopefully it'll move here in a bit--scratch that just I typed...it's moving again

 

[Dan Dawson]

OUN TOR warning looks warranted (was doubting it early). FWIW, the phased array radar is up and running. Images available here

EDIT: Doesn't look like it's turning with the storm...hopefully it'll move here in a bit--scratch that just I typed...it's moving again

Hey Kiel, while you can clearly see the rotational couplet, the reflectivities look low. Is there some sort of beam blockage issue in that direction?

 

[Kiel Ortega]

Hey Kiel, while you can clearly see the rotational couplet, the reflectivities look low. Is there some sort of beam blockage issue in that direction?

(As long as I remember correctly) No, the PAR's beam is vertical. I think the vertical beam is better for the military application of the phased array radar and we got the panel as was. So dBZs are always lower..it's hard to get used to when looking at the data.

 

[rdale]

[FONT=lucida sans typewriter, lucida console, courier]723 PM CST MON JAN 7 2008 [/FONT]

[FONT=lucida sans typewriter, lucida console, courier]..THIS IS A TORNADO EMERGENCY FOR THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD[/FONT]

[FONT=lucida sans typewriter, lucida console, courier]TORNADO EMERGENCY for springfield. Large and dangerous tornado affecting a major city with over 150k residents.[/FONT]

I'm not hearing a lot out of Springfield - any word on the outcome of the Tornado Emergency? I imagine the damage has to be pretty severe, which might explain why no news?

 

[Jacque Tiegs]

http://ozarksfirst.com/ has storm reports and photos..says 1 dead