Thunderstorm Wind — Bollinger, Missouri

2009-05-08 · near North Patton, Bollinger, Missouri

Event narrative

Thousands of trees were blown down, primarily across northern parts of the county. A lot of structural damage occurred along Highway 72. About 250 homes received some degree of damage, ranging from loose shingles to roofs lifted off. Many barns and outbuildings were destroyed. The Patton and Sedgewickville areas were the hardest hit. In particular, the area from Sedgewickville west to the Madison County line suffered extreme damage. Trees fell on houses, roads, and power lines. Power poles were snapped. Extended power outages lasting 3 to 5 days were widespread. A 28-foot camper was overturned in Sedgewickville. Nearby, a manufacturing company was heavily damaged. Six cars parked in front of the building were crushed by metal beams. The roof of the building was torn off. Across the damage area, emergency workers conducted door-to-door welfare checks. Food and water were distributed to those without power. Blocked roads were a major setback to recovery efforts. The damage was almost all north of Marble Hill.

Wider weather episode

A mature, very intense derecho moved rapidly east along a stationary front across the Mid Mississippi Valley into the Lower Ohio Valley. With a very moist and unstable atmosphere, along with strongly veering winds aloft, embedded tornadic supercells were associated with the derecho. Widespread damaging winds were the primary impact. The bowing portion of the system caused extensive damage from the Poplar Bluff area west. The comma head at the northern end of the bow caused locally catastrophic damage along and north of a Marble Hill to Jackson line. Winds were estimated slightly over 100 mph there.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.5359, -90.0797)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 164142. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.