Cold/Wind Chill — Reynolds, Missouri

2013-01-13 · Reynolds, Missouri

Event narrative

A father and his two young sons, as well as their 4 month old Labrador retriever, went on an approximately 16 mile round trip hike on the Ozark Trail in Mark Twain National Forest on January 12th. They were heading south to Sutton's Bluff. The weather had been unusually warm with a high of 62 degrees recorded at the co-op station at Belleview 4SE on January 12th. The family was dressed for the warmer weather so they were not prepared for a strong cold front moved that through during the day, bringing in much colder temperatures as well as heavy rain. On their way back to their camp, they missed the turnoff to the Brushy Creek Lodge where they were staying and became lost further north along the trail. Other family members became concerned when they did not return and a search party was sent out to find them Saturday evening. However, the search was called off a little after midnight. The search resumed the next morning, just after daybreak. By Sunday morning the temperature had dropped to 28 degrees at Belleview 4SE. The search party found the father and boys about a mile north of the turnoff to the lodge. The father, 36 years old, was pronounced dead at the scene. The two boys, 10 and 8 years old, were pronounced dead several hours later at a local hospital. The puppy survived.

Wider weather episode

A cold front moved south through the region, triggering showers and a few thunderstorms over southern Missouri. Between one and three inches of rain fell over an extended amount of time onto partially frozen ground causing runoff. Numerous creeks and rivers rose due to the runoff. Several low water crossings were flooded.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 431749. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.