The Glen Allen, Mo., tornado killed at least five people in the early stages of a major tornado at 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday
GLEN ALLEN, Mo. — A large tornado tore through southeastern Missouri before dawn on Wednesday, killing at least five people and causing widespread destruction as a broad swath of the Midwest and South kept a wary eye out for further storms that could spawn additional twisters and hail.
The tornado touched down around 3:30 a.m. and moved through a rural area of Bollinger County, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of St. Louis, said Sgt. Clark Parrott of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Trees were uprooted and homes turned into piles of splinters. The building was flipped over. Emergency crews were shown looking into the crash with their flashlight footage.
More than 20 agencies were part of the search for survivors and victims, with the damage so bad that they sometimes were forced to use chainsaws to cut back trees and brush to reach homes, Parrott said.
Larry Welker, the public administrator of the county said that he hadn’t been able to inspect the damage because law enforcement weren’t allowing people to go to the area.
At least five people were killed, Graham wrote, noting that he was withholding the names of the dead to make sure their families could be notified first.
Missouri tornado deaths in midwest storms: Josh Wells tries to avoid a tornado, but his brother-in-law does not think so
“Please understand the scope of this operation,” he said. “I know everyone wants updates and news of what happened. As your Sheriff, I am focused on ensuring those who still need help are receiving it, and we account for all our citizens.”
“That was a sad, sad sight — knowing there was bodies in there,” said Collier, who wasn’t entirely relieved when he saw his facility was spared. I was so numb that I had to think about all the other people.
Josh Wells said that the tornado tore half of the roof off his Glen Allen home and pushed in his bedroom wall. Luckily, he fled beforehand with his son to his sister’s home because it has a basement.
He said that he heard the sound of the wind and debris crashing around him before his brother-in-law made it down.
Justin Gibbs, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Paducah, Kentucky, said the tornado remained on the ground for roughly 15 minutes, traveling an estimated 15-20 miles (24-32 kilometers).
A weather service team was going to investigate the tornado but they were told it was too big. It was a significant tornado.”
“I’m getting reports that it was pretty bad,” he said. He described it as a rural area, where residents mostly farmed, cut timber or worked construction jobs.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/04/05/1168207850/missouri-tornado-deaths-midwest-storms
Flaring in Springfield, Illinois, after a heavy tornado struck on Tuesday evening: State Rep. Mike Parson and Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt and Josh Hawley
Gov. Mike Parson plans to join emergency personnel to assess damage and determine what resources are needed. They planned a news conference in the afternoon.
Missouri’s U.S. Sens. Eric Schmitt and Josh Hawley, meanwhile, said they’re in touch with local leaders and ready to help. Schmitt also warned Missouri residents in a statement to stay alert “as there’s more severe weather on the horizon.”
The storms moving through the Midwest and South on Wednesday threaten some areas still reeling from a deadly bout of bad weather last weekend. The Storm Prediction Center said up to 40 million people in an area that includes major cities including Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit and Memphis, Tennessee, were at risk from the storms later Wednesday. As of late morning, the the greatest threat appeared to be to an area stretching from lower Michigan into Tennessee and Kentucky.
Schools in Little Rock, Arkansas canceled classes on Wednesday because of the storms that were expected to move through the area.
In central Illinois, authorities said five people were hurt and about 300 homes were without power due to a tornado that struck in Fulton County on Tuesday evening. One of the people injured is in a critical condition, according to Chris Helle, the director of the Emergency Services Disaster Agency.
Helle said the damage was concentrated around the town of Bryant, which is a 200 mile southwest of Chicago. Fire departments and other first responders were still cataloguing the damage there, but Helle said numerous homes had been destroyed. He said people listened to warnings and took shelter.
Collisionless homes in Bollinger County, Fla., during the week of March 23rd afterward, a tornado was fatally injured
The National Weather Service also received reports of semitrailers that had been tipped over by winds in Lee County, about 95 miles (153 km) west of Chicago.
After the suspected tornado ripped through Bollinger County, residents who lost their homes in the storm were trying to salvage what they could Wednesday as the sun came up.
The storm tore a path of destruction across several communities in the county, reducing homes into piles of wood, scraping the roofs off buildings, splintering trees and littering roads with debris.
“When you look at the devastation of this, it’s going to be weeks upon months to be able to recover,” Gov. Mike Parson said after touring Bollinger County. It is a long journey ahead for those who live here.
Last week, violent storms and tornadoes killed at least 32 people in the South and Midwest.
Now, as crews in different communities work to clear debris, the severe weather threat is expected to decrease Thursday, with only a marginal risk of isolated severe thunderstorms possible in the Mid-Atlantic and parts of Texas, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
“I never thought our house would ever get hit, our neighbors would ever get hit,” Sear said. “But we have such wonderful neighbors. They were checking on everybody and I have a great church group that will help clean up when they are allowed in.
Glenallen, Missouri, resident Erica White said she and her family had to seek shelter in the bathroom as the roof of their rental home was damaged in the storm.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/06/us/us-severe-storms-tornado-threat-thursday/index.html
The Bollinger County Sheriff’s Office in the Aftermath of a Large Levee Storm on September 30, 2003. The Associated Firefighter
The sheriff said hundreds of personnel from over 25 agencies converged on Bollinger County Wednesday in the storm’s aftermath. The crews were going to search for damaged homes and clear debris.
“Even in difficult times, it certainly is humbling to see how in our rural communities here in Missouri, that we all come together to work through these very difficult times,” Olson said.