3 dead as storms batter Missouri
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — An outbreak of nasty storms spawned tornadoes that razed homes, flattened trees, tossed cars across a dealership lot and injured dozens of people in Missouri’s capital city and killed at least three others elsewhere in the state.
The National Weather Service confirmed that a large and destructive twister moved over Jefferson City shortly before midnight Wednesday.
The tornado cut a path about 3 miles long and a mile wide from the south end of Jefferson City north toward the Missouri River, said police Lt. David Williams. Emergency workers reported about two dozen injuries, Williams said, and around 100 of people were in shelters. Hospitals reported treating injuries such as cuts and bruises.
There were no immediate reports of any deaths or missing people in the capital city of about 40,000, but door-to-door checks were being done Thursday.
Many in Jefferson City considered themselves fortunate to survive.
David Surprenant watched the storm approach then rushed to join the rest of his family in the basement. By then, the windows had started shattering and the pressure dropped.
“It was just the eeriest sound ever, and it felt like it was taking your breath right out of you,” Surprenant, 34, said. He and his family were unharmed.
Kevin Riley operates a car dealership next to Surprenant’s home, where he sells Chevys and Toyotas. He figured that 98% of the approximately 750
vehicles on the lot were damaged.
Lincoln University President Jerald Woolfolk rode out the tornado in the basement of his official residence, and it may have saved his life. University spokeswoman Misty Young told the Jefferson City News-Tribune that the home, built 103 years ago, was so badly damaged it appeared to be uninhabitable.
Weather forecasters had been tracking the storm before it arrived in the capital city, and sirens first sounded in Jefferson City at 11:10 p.m. — about 30 minutes before the first property damage. Gov. Mike Parson credited the warning system in central Missouri for saving lives.
The three deaths happened more than 150 miles away near Golden City in Missouri’s southwestern corner.
Kenneth Harris, 86, and his 83-year-old wife, Opal, were found dead about 200 yards from their home, and Betty Berg, 56, was killed and her husband, Mark, seriously injured when their mobile home was destroyed, authorities said.
The National Weather Service said preliminary information indicates the tornado at Jefferson City was an EF-3, which typically carry winds up to 160 mph. Meteorologist Cory Rothstein said it’s possible the tornado had a 50-mile path and could have been on the ground for 80 minutes. Teams were surveying the path Thursday and trying to determine whether one or multiple tornadoes had touched down.
The severe weather moved in from Oklahoma, where rescuers struggled to pull people from high water. This week has seen several days of twisters and torrential rains in the Southern Plains and Midwest.