Story Published:
May 13, 2009 at 11:28 PM CST
Story Updated:
May 14, 2009 at 9:20 AM CST
SPRINGFIELD -- Severe thunderstorms -- including funnel clouds in some areas -- ripped through the Ozarks on Wednesday night, lasting past midnight as the storm system moved east and southeast. Some damage from winds was reported but there were no reports of tornadoes touching down as of 12:15 a.m.
The severity of the winds -- 60mph or more in some cases -- and the potential dangers spotted on radar systems caused the National Weather Service to issue one tornado warning after another from 9 p.m. onward, starting northwest of Springfield and then hopscotching east and southward. Greene, Christian and Webster counties were under tornado warnings from about 11 p.m. until midnight.
A storm spotter reported a funnel cloud in the vicinity of Battlefield Road at Kansas Expressway in Springfield shortly before 11. Later, a funnel cloud was reported along Sunshine Street (Highway D) east of U.S. 65.
Near Pineville in McDonald County, in farthest southwest Missouri, a tree fell on a house, severely damaging it and causing nine people to have to seek shelter elsewhere. The winds blew down other trees in that county and power was out in Goodman and Pineville early Thursday.
High winds damaged a home and injured a person in Purdy in northwestern Barry County just before midnight.
Police officers in Springfield reported swirling debris around Lone Pine Avenue at Sunshine Street. Other damage, including huge trees toppled, was reported along Farm Road 164 just east of U.S. 65 at Battlefield Road in Springfield, an area near the James River where homes were damaged by a tornado in November 1991.
A spokesman for City Utilities of Springfield said power was out in some of CU's service area, and crews were working to repair the damage. At 2 a.m., the number of reported outages was 2,000, down from 2,500 initially.
After the high winds moved through, most counties in the Ozarks -- in both Missouri and Arkansas -- were under flash flood watches and flash flood warnings. Forecasters said the heavy rain would not be able to soak into the saturated soil after many days of rain. The rain was reported to be falling as much as 1 inch per hour in some places.
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