Thunderstorm Wind in Ripley County, Missouri

Destructive straight line winds impacted much of southeastern Ripley County, Missouri on the afternoon of Tuesday April 28, 2026 as a surging portion of a storm line created a macroburst, tracking approximately 10mi and expanding to its widest width near Naylor-Hemenway at 3.5mi.

The damage swath began just southeast of Doniphan where a home suffered roof, siding, and fascia damage. Moving east-southeast, damaging wind impacted the Oxly community and locations near and south of the Naylor community. In Oxly, dozens of trees were snapped or uprooted, causing damage to outbuildings and downing power lines. To the south and west from Naylor to Hemenway, a grain bin rolled hundreds of yards and a large farm outbuilding was shifted off its foundation. A child sustained minor injuries when they were struck by debris. Along the damage path, hundreds of trees were snapped, uprooted or lost large limbs. A few power poles were broken as well.

Before the survey, many reports of damage along this line were relayed by fire officials, with additional reports from broadcast media and emergency management. Numerous photos were posted on social media of damage along this route. Beyond the storm survey information, fire officials noted carports in Oxly blown a block away or leaning sideways on vehicles, 4 or 5 outbuildings damaged in Oxly, and a grain augur snapped in two south of Naylor. A public report of damage on Hwy W included a tree hitting a pump house and a truck while a flag pole was broken.

With a west-east oriented boundary positioned through the Ozarks region of Missouri with low pressure positioned in Southwestern Missouri, a small but potent surging storm line pushed through Carter, Ripley, and Butler Counties mid-afternoon on the 28th. Large hail and winds in excess of 70mph were associated with this bowing segment as it dove east-southeastward from South Central Missouri into the Bootheel. A more intense pocket of wind known as a macroburst produced winds up to 100mph across portions of Ripley County from southeast of Doniphan to south/southwest of Naylor, uprooting dozens of trees and damaging several structures and multiple vehicles.

For the Carter-Ripley-Butler corridor, environmental parameters included: MLCAPE of 1000-2000J/kg, DCAPE of 500J/kg, very strong effective bulk shear of 60-70kts, and mid-level lapse rates of 6-7C/km.