TornadoLookup

Home / Missouri / Jasper

F3 tornado in Jasper County, Missouri

Tornado May 4, 2003 · Jasper County, Missouri

F3
Rating
25.0 mi
Whole path
880 yd
Path width
5
Deaths
34
Injuries
$23.9M
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Cherokee County, Kansas → Jasper County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 880 yards (0.50 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F3 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F3 meant severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned; the scale paired it with winds of 158–206 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

The wider storm

This tornado is a continuation of the Cherokee County, Kansas tornado. This feature crossed the Kansas-Missouri state line near the community of Smithfield, and then wreaked havoc through the center of Carl Junction. Around 112 homes and outbuildings were destroyed while 487 were damaged. The tornado claimed the lives of two local residents and injuring 15.Kenneth and Ethel LaNear ages 71 and 62, were taking shelter in a closet of their frame home when the tornado struck. Both were deceased from being struck into the ground and hit by flying debris.

Began near Carl Jct (37.1667, -94.6167).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5358178. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.