Missouri..

[lamin8r]

Saw the news here earlier today about the tornado that ripped through Joplin,Missouri..Not good,,death toll not pretty either.Our prayers go out to those of you who are in the area..

[NTFDAY]

Thanks, lamin8r, I'm not sure but I think there are some members not too far from Joplin. Springfield, where I live, is about 80 miles East and we got the tail end of Joplin's storm, but no tornado, thank God. The last I heard the death toll was 116 and the weather has been crappy all day and that has to hamper rescue efforts.

[Don Dalton]

Prayers for all in the area. It is hard to realize how powerful it was. The loss of life was sad.

I wonder if they have or had an early warning system?

[rspears]

Prayers for all in the area. It is hard to realize how powerful it was. The loss of life was sad.

I wonder if they have or had an early warning system?

They had about twenty minutes of advance warning, but there have been so many warnings this Spring many people have become jaded to the sirens. Also, this one was reported to have been a mile wide as opposed to a more normal narrower swath, so getting out of the path was not an option for anyone seeing it coming.

[shine]

you just have to have a hole in the ground. i spent part of my youth in a dirt cellar. it is sad .

[Dave Severson]

Terrible deal, for sure... and it was a monster, 190+ mph winds and huge in the area it covered! Sometimes it doesn't matter where you hide, it's not a good enough place. Hey Ken, South Joplin, you remember if that's where the Peterbilt shop is??? Got some friends there, tried to get through on the phone today but so far all the lines must be down still.......

[rspears]

Terrible deal, for sure... and it was a monster, 190+ mph winds and huge in the area it covered! Sometimes it doesn't matter where you hide, it's not a good enough place. Hey Ken, South Joplin, you remember if that's where the Peterbilt shop is??? Got some friends there, tried to get through on the phone today but so far all the lines must be down still.......

Dave,
This morning's report is that 75% of Joplin is leveled. The Peterbilt shop is just north of I44 which is south of 20th street, and initial reports were that everything south of 20th was level ground, but you did not say what part of town your friends lived in, so they could be fine. Land lines are not going to be working for a long, long time.

[NTFDAY]

Terrible deal, for sure... and it was a monster, 190+ mph winds and huge in the area it covered! Sometimes it doesn't matter where you hide, it's not a good enough place. Hey Ken, South Joplin, you remember if that's where the Peterbilt shop is??? Got some friends there, tried to get through on the phone today but so far all the lines must be down still.......

The last time I was down there, 15 or so years ago, it was still there and there is also a good sized one just North of Springfield right off the Interstate

[Dave Severson]

Thanks Ken, yeah, I meant the old shop. Thought it was kind of on the South side.... Thanks

[lamin8r]

What I saw on the news at 7.00am,was not nice..Footage of a big black ''thing'' racing towards the camera didnt excite me a great deal,,and the semis lying on the side of the road,and in ditches didnt help either..Dave,I hope your friends,and everyone elses friends in the area are okay..Watching ABC news coverage now,[havin lunch]the hospital got nailed,mate,thats scary stuff..

[NTFDAY]

I helped put an a/c condenser on the roof of that hospital about 15 or so years ago. I believe it was about a 400 bed hospital and it took a direct hit.

[MelloYello]

Thoughts and prayers go out to all involved in this tragedy.
The last death toll I heard was 116.
Thanks for posting this Robin.

[choppedchevy]

Hey everyone, First off i want to say thanks for all the prayers and thoughts. I live about 40 miles south of joplin.I have one friend still not accounted for. Alot of my coworkers still have family not accounted for either. I work for walmart. The store on range line was destroyed. There were several hundred customers in the store at the time.I dont work in the retail division. We were told in a meeting at bentonville, that six customers died in the store.We are all bracing for more bad weather in the next few days. It rained pretty much all day. Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers. Don

[lamin8r]

Saw the Walmart store on tv at lunch time..[NZ time]Also googled,google Earth and had a look at the layout of Joplin..Just heard on the ABC news,14 tornados in Missouri,5 in Kansas,just lately...and the storms going up into Minnesota,etc too..
Don[chopped],glad to hear you are safe,and I hope the missing friends turn up safely..

[rspears]

Dave,My information above was based on an early newscaster's on-scene report, where he said "...everything south of 20th street is gone, simply leveled." Looking at the map, the storm came into town around 30th, and was at its widest at Connecticut to Range Line area and more west to east, spanning from 7th to 32nd through the heart of the city for more than five miles. Sorry for any concerns that may have arisen from my earlier statement on coverage area extending farther south.