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Picher Tornado (2008)

Tornado May 10, 2008 · Barry County, Missouri

EF2
Rating
75.5 mi
Whole path
200 yd
Path width
21
Deaths
350
Injuries
$60.6M
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Craig County, Oklahoma → Ottawa County, Oklahoma → Newton County → Barry County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

This tornado is an extension of the Newton County tornado. A National Weather Service storm survey revealed that an EF-2 tornado tracked across much of Barry County and directly impacted the community of Purdy. One man was killed as he was taking shelter in a mobile home. Numerous structures, trees, and power poles were destroyed.

The wider storm

Three tornadoes were spawned from supercell thunderstorms that developed over southeast Kansas. These storms quickly moved into southwest Missouri causing devestating damage to homes, businesses, and trees in Newton, Barry, and Jasper counties. One tornado, with an intensity that ranged from EF-4 to EF-1, killed 15 people as it tracked through Newton and Barry counties, while another tornado killed one person in Jasper County.

Began near Pioneer (36.8593, -94.0612).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

2 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 99247. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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