EF0 tornado in Phelps County, Missouri

A National Weather Service storm survey confirmed an EF-0 tornado. The tornado initially touched down in a field west of the river and uprooted and snapped/twisted numerous trees in a convergent manner as it proceeded to the northeast across the river and up a bluff. A vehicle and home at the bottom of the bluff sustained minor damage along with numerous trees. Several large oak and hickory trees in excess of two feet in diameter were snapped off or uprooted in a convergent pattern at the top of the bluff in front of a home overlooking the river. Some minor damage occurred to an expansive deck and retaining wall with some minor shingle damage to the home. The tornado then lifted and damaged several trees northeast of the home before dissipating. The maximum wind speeds were estimated at 85 mph.

Very moist and unstable conditions developed over the Missouri Ozarks ahead of an intense low pressure system over the southern Plains. Widespread severe storms developed over Oklahoma and eastern Kansas during the early morning hours and tracked eastward into the Springfield county warning area during the afternoon and evening. Very heavy rainfall, hail to tennis ball size, damaging winds in excess of 70 mph and 27 tornadoes occurred with this system as storms tracked repeatedly over the region. Four injuries were reported as a result of severe storms. One injury was near Mountain Grove and three were in southeastern Greene County were an EF-2 Tornado tracked. The resulting rainfall led to widespread flash flooding, which continued into the morning of May 1st, on head water streams and low water crossings. One live was lost when a camper along Hunter Creek in Douglas County drowned as the campground flooded.