CSW Weather: NWS-SPC- "Slight" Chance of Severe Storms- Tornadoes Later Today in Kansas City MetroRegion

A warm front (yay!) is supposed to lift north across our area later today and with it comes the "slight" risk of severe thunderstorms and all modes of severe weather.


All of MetroRegion K.C. is included in this risk area that was issued early Saturday morning by the NWS' Storm Prediction Center- all except far northwestern portions of Missouri and southeastern Nebraska that is.

The risk of tornadoes is fairly small- "5-percent-" but that risk extends from the Metro K.C. area eastward into Illinois.



Please stay alert to rapidly changing weather conditions today- especially this afternoon and evening- and ANY severe weather watches affecting the MetroRegion will be posted here at CSW.

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CSW BREAKING: Pedestrian Critically-Injured by Hit and Run Driver in Independence MO

A 25-year-old male suffered critical injuries after being struck on U.S. 24 highway near Sterling early Saturday morning.


The incident occurred about 1:13 a.m.- reportedly "in front of the Sticks and Stones bar" in that area.

That bar is listed as being at 11404 East U.S. 24 in Sugar Creek.


Witnesses told emergency crews that a "red- 4-door car driven by a white male and going 50 to 60 m.p.h." struck the man while he was "in the middle" of the roadway.

The driver and the red car left the scene.


The victim was found lying in the middle of U.S. 24- according to an AMR-EMS paramedic- and rushed to Centerpoint Medical Center with head and other injuries.

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First List of Joplin Tornado Fatalities Issued

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NYT Maps Show Deadliest Tornado Years Since 1950

More than 500 people have already died from tornadoes this year- and if you count the tornado deaths in Oklahoma and Arkansas on May 25- we have surpased 1953 as the deadliest since detailed records were kept by the U.S. government.

Here are maps- courtesy of the NEW YORK TIMES- showing what was prior to this year- the 3 deadliest tornado years since 1950.

Prior to this year- those deadly tornado years were 1953- 1974 and 1965.

I also included the map from 1957- the year of Metro Kansas City's deadliest tornado in modern times when a tornado travelled 71-miles across eastern Kansas on May 20 and struck Ruskin Heights which was at the time not in Kansas City MO city limits. 

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Joplin Tornado Death Toll Now at 132- List of Missing Reduced

The death toll from the massive EF-5 tornado that struck Joplin MO Sunday evening now stands at 132- according to the ASSOCIATED PRESS and JOPLIN (MO) GLOBE.

In addition- the list of persons missing after the torando has been pared from the 232 yesterday to 156 today (Friday).


The AP found 10 of those who were listed missing alive and well Thursday.

There have also been at least 2 reports of people who were missing family members have been denied access to morgues in Joplin.


As of late Thursday- officials had not commented on that aspect of the disaster.

Damage estimates from the tornado have surpassed $1-billion while aid continues to pour into Joplin from around America. 

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AP: Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant NOT "Tornado-Proof"

Imagine the EF-5 Joplin Tornado striking the Wolf Creek nuclear power plant north of Burlington KS..


Oh yeah- the containment buildings are said to be "tornado-proof-" but- according to this story from the ASSOCIATE PRESS via the TOPEKA (KS) CAPITAL-JOURNAL- some of the critical backup systems necessary at the plant are NOT built to withstand a powerful tornado.


This should make us Kansas Citians who are generally upwind from Wolf Creek just a tad jittery.

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"Historic" Levels of Missouri River Reservoirs Mean Flooding

Huge releases of water from the series of Pick-Sloan dams on the upper Missouri River in the Dakotas will mean high water and flooding on the middle and lower reaches of the Missouri through July- states a story in the ST. JOSEPH (MO) NEWS-PRESS.


The releases are due to record snowfalls in the Missouri's source regions- as well as excessive rainfalls.


Let's hope no weather system sets up over Nebraska- Iowa- Kansas or Missouri that produces heavy or excessive rainfalls for the next month.

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CSW Weather: "Slight Risk" Severe Weather Chances Over Central States Later Today- Saturday

After a break of a whole day- parts of the Central States- including Metro Kansas City on Saturday- are under the gun for a chance of more severe weather for about the next 48 hours.

The good news is that the chance for any more tornadoes is low- as the "slight risk" of severe weather  is expected to be mainly large hail.


Later today- the storms are expected to develop over parts of southeastern Kansas- southwestern Missouri- northeast into central and southern Oklahoma and extreme northwestern Arkansas along an old frontal boundary.

That front is expected to lift north on Saturday as will the severe weather risk- from about the northeastern quarter of Kansas eastward across about the northern half of Missouri into central Illinois.

Once again- large hail is the primary severe threat with any chance of tornadoes very small.

Summer-like weather will prevail into the last part of this Memorial Day weekend locally- with highs in the upper 80's and high humidities with some rain chances later next week.

CSW wishes all of you a safe and relaxing Memorial Day weekend!

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CSW BREAKING: Child Struck by Vehicle in Kansas City KS

Around 7:15 a.m.- KC-KS emergency services were dispatched on a reported "child pedestrian struck" by a vehicle at "72nd Street and Leavenworth Road."

A fire department pumper- No. 14- arriving on that scene at 7:21 a.m.- reports being involved in an accident themselves.


The pumper's crash didn't involve injuries.

A "13-year-old male" was taken to Children's Mercy Hospital in KC-MO with possibly life-threatening "internal injuries.

Initial reports are that a "bus" was involved- but a police officer told CSW News that "no school bus was involved."

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List of People Still Missing After Joplin Tornado

The graphics shown on this post are lists of persons still reported missing after the EF-5 tornado struck Joplin MO last weekend.



Click on each graphic for full size.

On the bottom of the last image are telephone numbers to call if  1)  you are the or know the whereabouts of a listed missing person and  2)  if you want to report a person possibly missing after the tornado.

At last report- the death toll from the Joplin tornado was 225- with at least 900 injured.

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Necessity of Economics Don't Allow Some to Have Home Insurance for Tornadoes

Found an interesting story from the ASSOCIATED PRESS via the KANSAS CITY STAR newspaper's Web site regarding how an probably increasing-number of people in weather hazard-prone states do not have insurance on their homes.


For one I totally understand this- for when your income is decimated by this so-called "recession" or pooring down of the population- you HAVE to make cuts in your budget (unlike governments) that you may not want to.

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Some Tornado Videos From Sedalia MO

Continuing the CSW tradition of bringing you the most compelling tornado videos available- here are some citizen videos of Wednesday's tornado in Sedalia MO:


From "originalbird1980-"



From "wheelingrabbit-"


From "branzstock5-"


From "jayyoung45003" (aerial damage vid from KC news helicopter)-

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Aerial Photo Shows Massive Destruction of Joplin MO Tornado

The image shown here is courtesy of GeoEye- a mapping company located right here in Mission KS..


In the center of the photo is what used to be the Joplin High School- showing not only the destruction to that institution- but to the surrounding neighborhood.

Many thanks to GeoEye- and continued prayers for a swift and full recovery for the folks in the great city of Joplin!

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Fund-Raiser Today in Emporia For Reading KS Tornado Victims

I was invited on Facebook to attend this function and if not for having to care for Dad I'd be there...


The Pizza Ranch- at 3000 West 18th Avenue in Emporia- beginning at 11 a.m. this Thursday May 26 and continuing through 8 p.m. tonight- will donate a portion of their pizza sales proceeds to the Salvation Army helping the victims of the Reading EF-3 Tornado last Saturday evening.


A damn fine gesture from those folks and CSW hopes you will help support their effort!

Next time I stop in Emporia I'll stop in to the Pizza Ranch and tell them so between bites.....

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Tornado With Damage Reported in Sedalia MO

A tornado reportedly touched down in Sedalia MO about 12:15 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.

Shortly before 1 p.m.- CSW spoke to Dave Clippert of the Pettis County Emergency Management who confirmed that a tornado touched down south of Sedalia- then moved into southern and eastern parts of that western Missouri city of around 20000.


Mr. Clippert confirmed damage to buildings- but he could not yet say the extent of damage or if there were any injuries at that time.

Later we learned the extent of damage.


The tornado apparently first touched down just outside the southern city limits along U.S. 65 highway- where it struck a truck stop and damaged a Sutherland's Lumber Co. building.

The tornado then moved northeast into a residential area and a trailer park.

News helicopter video shows a few homes with roofs and some walls collapsed- as well as a school bus barn damaged.

Damage from the air appears to be EF-2- possibly low-end EF-3 in spots.


A roller rink south of 32st Street and Grand was severely damaged.


There are reported to be up to 2 dozen "minor" injuries according to news reports.

The SEDALIA DEMOCRAT has more on their Web site HERE.

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Minor Tornado Damage in Louisburg KS

At 10:55 a.m.- Miami County Sheriff's department (MICO-SO) reported a brief touchdown of a small tornado at K-68 and Metcalf in Louisburg.

The funnel lifted back into the clouds a minute or two later.

A pickup truck travelling on a roadway was picked up about 5-10 feet- rolled and dropped onto it's top.

The male driver made it out on his own- and refused EMS treatment/transport.

MICO-SO also reported pockets of "minor damage" around the north side of Louisburg- but no injuries.

The brief tornado came from a "low-top" thunderstorm that then moved north-northeast along the state line into the heart of Metro Kansas City.

At 12:26 p.m.- KC-MO fire crews were being sent to "31st Street and Main" on the report of "debris from a possible (tornado) touchdown."

At that time- the storm cell was well north of Downtown KC-MO..

Also at that time- there was the report of a tornado on the ground in Sedalia.

A tornado watch is in effect for Metro Kansas City and eastward over the Missouri MetroRegion until 6 p.m..

More on this breaking situation as received....

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WEATHER BULLETIN: Tornado Warning For Southern Metro Kansas Cityy

Miami County KS sheriff is reporting "severe rotation" in the clouds at 183rd Street near Metcalf at 11:07 a.m.- after damage to structures was reported in northeastern Miami county near Louisburg.

Please refer to graphic 1 for details on the tornado warning that includes eastern Johnson county KS- southwestern Jackson and northwestern Cass counties MO..

THIS APPARENTLY WAS A CONFIRMED TORNADO- PLEASE SEEK SHELTER NOW!

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Denning Arkansas "Destroyed" By A Tornado

One person is reported dead- three are missing- and several others are injured after a tornado struck Denning AR around 12:15 a.m. CDT Wednesday morning.


Denning- population around 270 people- is in western Arkansas about 40 miles east of Fort Smith.

Witnesses said the tornado was "a mile wide" right before it chewed through Denning- according to KHBS-TV 40/29 in Fort Smith.


A reporter saw a young girl being transferred to another ambulance because of downed power lines.

He also witnessed structure damage throughout the small community.

By dawn Wednesday morning- the death toll in Denning had risen to 2.


Five tornadoes were reported in Franklin and Johnson counties AR- with damage in the communities of Bethlehem- Harmony- and Ozone.


There were also reports of some people trapped in their damaged homes in those areas- as reported by KLRT-TV FOX-16 News in Little Rock.

The death toll from the latest series of tornadoes and severe weather Tuesday into early Wednesday stood at 12.



Eight died in Oklahoma said Oklahoma City's THE OKLAHOMAN- and 2 died in Kansas. 

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CSW WEATHER: Tornado Watch No. 363 Includes Metro Kansas City- St. Joseph- Joplin

The newest tornado watch will include those cities- including Pleasanton KS- until 3 a.m. Wednesday morning.

There are currently severe thunderstorms from south of Topeka south into southeastern KS and northeastern OK..




CSW will remain on-duty here until the Kansas City (and Pleasanton) areas are clear of any additional severe weather.

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CSW WEATHER: New Tornado Watch Includes Topeka- Lawrence- Ottawa and Emporia KS

I'm assuming before the SPC evacuated their office that they issued Tornado Watch No. 362 which includes much of eastern Kansas except that tier of KS counties next to the Missouri border.




This watch also includes the tier of Nebraska counties next to the KS and MO borders.

TW-362 is valid until midnight.

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