Death Toll Jumps to 89 in Missouri Tornado

Overnight the death toll in Missouri has jumped from 31 to 89 as rescue workers have struggled overnight to find people in the wreckage.  The city of Joplin, MO took the worst hit in what is now the deadliest single tornado in 60 years:

At least 89 people were killed in Joplin, Mo., which received the worst of the severe weather. Damage was widespread across the city as homes, schools and a hospital were hit by a massive tornado.

According to AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Alan Reppert, x-ray films from the hospital were found 70 miles away in a driveway.

Meanwhile, school has already been canceled on Monday with one of the Joplin School District’s buildings receiving catastrophic damage.

Many of the dead were residents looking to seek shelter when the buildings they were in collapsed.

The tornado traveled 6 miles from the west side of the city to the southeast. The southern edge of the city was the hardest hit. The tornado ranged from half a mile to three-quarters of a mile wide. While the exact strength of the storm is yet to be determined, it could be upwards of an EF4.

According to Kathy Dennis of the American Red Cross, “75% of the town is virtually gone.”

Scenes from the city look much like those of the tornadoes that claimed more than 300 lives in the Southeast last month.

Dr. Greg Forbes at The Weather Channel took a look at the Doppler radar image of the tornado as it hit Joplin and identified a debris ball on radar that was a mile wide and nearly 18,000 feet high. In other words, pieces of buildings, cars, trees, etc., were being lifted over 3 miles into the storm by the force of the tornado. I'm pretty sure this one will get at least an EF-4 and quite possibly an EF-5 rating.

Another storm with 60+ mph winds is expected to hit the Joplin area with the hour, adding more misery to that which has already struck the town.