Thunderstorm Wind in Carter County, Missouri

Within the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, a tree fell on a boat on the Current River. The boat was traveling downstream in the vicinity of the Waymeyer Shute river access point. The 22-year-old male driver of the boat was killed, and two passengers in their 20's were moderately injured. The injured parties were from the local area and were treated at a local hospital. In the same general vicinity, trees and large tree limbs were down on the north end of M Highway.

A severe weather outbreak occurred during the afternoon and early evening hours. An organized line of severe thunderstorms formed over the central Plains states during the night of the 20th. This bowing line of storms progressed southeast across the St. Louis area during the midday hours, then down across the lower Ohio Valley and southeast Missouri during the afternoon. Large areas of wind damage were reported in parts of southeast Missouri. The atmosphere ahead of the storms became strongly unstable, with surface-based capes exceeding 4,000. Given the strong buoyancy, wind profiles were sufficiently strong for widespread severe weather. Deep-layer (0-6 km) wind shear values were no higher than about 30 knots, and 0-1 km shear was about 20 knots. Even though the region was under a broad 500 mb ridge, a moderately strong low-level feed of very moist and unstable air fueled the intense storms as they propagated southeastward.