LEPC evaluates storm damage

The Liberty church in Virgil City is now a heap of rubble -- one of the structures destroyed when tornadoes struck in Vernon and Cedar counties on Sunday. Diagonal lines on a map show the path taken when a tornado traveled from just outside Sheldon on a northeasterly track through a sparsely populated area of Vernon County and into Cedar County, ending near Vista, in St. Clair County. A second tornado touched down briefly near Montevallo. The damage assessment indicates that the maximum intensity of this tornado was F2, on the Fujita scale, when it passed just south of El Dorado Springs.

Sunday's storms damaged a number of Vernon County homes, but unlike some other parts of Missouri no one was killed or seriously injured.

"Overall, we were very lucky. We were lucky we didn‚t have any fatalities and only one injury," Dennis Kimrey, Vernon County emergency manager, told the members of the Vernon County Local Emergency Planning Committee Wednesday.

Kimrey told the LEPC that the National Weather Service has classified the tornado that cut a swath across the southeast corner of the county as an F1, or moderate tornado with winds between 73 and 122 mph.

When it crossed into Cedar County it strengthened to an F2, or significant tornado with winds of 113 to 152 mph, just south of El Dorado Springs. Tornadoes are rated on the Fujita scale, which runs from F-0 at the weakest end to F-5 at the top with winds over 260 miles per hour.

According to the Springfield National Weather Service's Web site, the tornado that caused most of the damage in Vernon County was the second tornado of the day in Missouri, touching down near Sheldon at about 8:47 p.m. The tornado moved northeast from Sheldon, crossing into northwest Cedar County near Virgil City and continuing northeast into south central St. Clair County, near the town of Vista. This tornado was on the ground for 38 miles.

Vernon County also had a second tornado touch down briefly near Montevallo about 8:55 p.m. and produced some F1 damage. This tornado was generated by the same supercell thunderstorm that spawned the tornado at 8:47 p.m.

Kimrey said that he and Peggy Tedlock, Vernon County Red Cross director, were doing damage assessment in southeastern Vernon County until 2 a.m. Monday and he was back out at daylight Monday.

On Monday Kimrey said that he drove along the path of the tornado from near Sheldon where it entered Vernon County to Virgil City where it left the county and that as the storm moved to the northeast it got larger.

"It was quite an eye-opener," Kimrey said.

Tedlock said that Vernon County had six homes destroyed, with three others having major damage and four with minor damage.

There were also numerous barns and sheds that were damaged or destroyed.

Tedlock said that one place there was a dairy barn that was destroyed and the owner was out looking for his 70 dairy cattle in the dark.

"We really got lucky that it only went across the edge of the county," she said.

Kimrey said that our damage was minimal compared to other counties.

"Almost every county in the state was affected by Sunday's storms," Kimrey said.

Lt. Pat McCarty, LEPC chairman, said that although the tornado warning Sunday night was for southern Vernon County the city activated the storm sirens because of its proximity to the city.

Southern Vernon County starts at U.S. Highway 54.

"We have a lot of people who live on the edge of the city who may be able to hear the sirens," he said, noting that the decision to activate the storm sirens is a judgment call and can be made by the on duty shift supervisor, or by the fire chief, the police chief or the city manager.

"The city will probably activate the storm sirens if the city is in the warned area or if the city is in close proximity to the warned area," he said.

McCarty said that several apparent Nevada residents, instead of taking shelter, were driving up and down Austin Boulevard after the warning issued.

"There was more traffic on the streets than there usually is during the busiest time of the day," he said.