Thunderstorm Wind — Polk, Missouri

2009-05-08 · near Knox, Polk, Missouri

Event narrative

Seventy to 90 mph winds caused massive damage across much of Polk County. The central and southern sections of the county was impacted the greatest. Hundreds of outbuildings were either heavily damaged or destroyed. The communities of Bolivar and Pleasant Hope experienced damage to several hundred structures. At Southwest Baptist University, a large tree fell on a car that was occupied by a student. The student was injured and transported to the hospital. The Marion C. Early High School gymnasium experienced significant damage. In Tin Town, a farm experienced signficant damage to the home and all outbuildings.

Wider weather episode

An intense squall line impacted extreme southeast Kansas and the Missouri Ozarks with mainly damaging winds. However, 19 tornadoes along with large hail was also observed. Due to the straight line nature of the winds, damage was widespread and intense.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.4751, -93.6121)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 174705. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.