NWS storm survey confirms that a tornado was on the ground for about 3 minutes last night(8:20-23 pm), about 2 miles to the northwest of Nixa. The damage path was 1.64 miles long and 150 yards wide. The tornado crossed N. Gregg road, W. Tracker road and ended around highway 160. The tornado was rated an E-F0 with winds speeds estimated around 80 mph. Trees and fences are damaged and there is minor damage to more than a dozen homes.
2 months ago
It was a pretty hairy situation in S. Springfield and the Nixa area. Thank you for the great coverage of the storms last night!
ReplyDeleteThanks. We got lucky, it could have been a lot worse. The spring is young and last night was good practice for the rest of the spring.
ReplyDeletethere seems to be a lack of instability / moisture involved every time we have a chance for severe weather this year, is there a reason for that?
ReplyDeleteA. It's early in the season and this is typical.
ReplyDeleteB. The mountains in Arkansas slow moisture return from the Gulf.
There are so many factors and ingredients that go into whether or not supercell thunderstorms develop. Cloud cover usually is the killer and that was the case yesterday. Great question!
Do you also notice when a squall line comes through the ozarks they tend to split up when they enter Springfield and rejoin east of the city?
ReplyDeleteThere is something definitely happening to those storms and I've noticed that for years. Topography could have an influence, instability, and wind direction and speed at all levels of the atmosphere.
ReplyDelete