Global Information2011 Joplin tornado information
Clockwise from top: View of the rain-wrapped tornado in Joplin, Strewn debris from the EF-5 tornado that struck the Joplin, St. John's Regional Medical Center in the distance after the tornado, a destroyed building after the tornado, radar image of the tornado entering the city of Joplin | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | May 22, 2011, 5:34 p.m. CDT (UTC−05:00) |
| Dissipated | May 22, 2011, 6:20 p.m. CDT (UTC–05:00) |
| Duration | 46 minutes |
| EF5 tornado | |
| on the Enhanced Fujita scale | |
| Highest winds | >200 mph (320 km/h)[1][2] Unofficial wind speed per University of Colorado Boulder & NWS meteorologist Bill Davis is 225 to 250 miles per hour (362 to 402 km/h)[3][4] |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 158 direct (+8-9 indirect)[5][6][7][8] |
| Injuries | ≥1,150 |
| Damage | $2.8 billion (2011 USD) (Costliest tornado in U.S. history) $3.79 billion (2024 USD)[9] |
| Areas affected | Joplin and surrounding areas |
| Power outages | 20,000 |
| Houses destroyed | 4,380[10] |
Part of the tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011 | |
The 2011 Joplin tornado was a large and devastating multiple-vortex tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, United States, on the evening of Sunday, May 22, 2011. Part of a larger late-May tornado outbreak, the EF5 tornado began just west of Joplin and intensified very quickly, reaching a maximum width of nearly one mile (1.6 km) during its path through the southern part of the city. The tornado tracked eastward through Joplin, and then continued across Interstate 44 into rural portions of Jasper and Newton counties, weakening before it dissipated.
The tornado devastated a large portion of the city of Joplin, damaging nearly 8,000 buildings, and of those, destroying over 4,000. The damage—which included major facilities like one of Joplin's two hospitals as well as much of its basic infrastructure—amounted to a total of $2.8 billion, making the Joplin tornado the costliest single tornado in U.S. history. The insurance payout was the highest in Missouri history, with the previous record of $2 billion being the hail storm of April 10, 2001.
Overall, the tornado killed 158 people (with an additional eight indirect deaths) and injured some 1,150 others. It ranks as one of the United States' deadliest tornadoes: it was the deadliest U.S. tornado since the April 9, 1947, F5 tornado in Woodward, Oklahoma, and the seventh-deadliest in U.S. history.[11] It was the deadliest tornado in Missouri history, as well as the first single tornado since the 1953 Flint–Beecher tornado in Michigan to cause more than 100 fatalities.[12] It was the first F5/EF5 tornado to occur in Missouri since May 20, 1957, when an F5 tornado destroyed several suburbs of Kansas City,[13] and only the second F5/EF5 tornado in Missouri since 1950.[14] It was the third tornado to strike Joplin since May 1971.[15]
- ^ National Weather Service in Springfield, Missouri (April 17, 2021). "Commemoration of Joplin, Missouri EF-5 Tornado" (StoryMap). ArcGIS StoryMaps. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on October 11, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
- ^ National Centers for Environmental Information; National Weather Service (August 2011). "Missouri Event Report: EF5 Tornado". Storm Event Database. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
The EF-5 rating (greater than 200 mph wind speeds) was mainly arrived at by the total destruction of vehicles, including some vehicles tossed several blocks and semi trucks thrown a quarter of a mile.
- ^ Chen, Carissa (September 1, 2012). "Music Strikes a Chord in Joplin: Hubert Bird". University of Colorado Boulder. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
On May 22, 2011, in only 35 minutes, one-third of Joplin, Mo., was destroyed. Winds peaked at 250 miles per hour, reaching a maximum width of one mile. The Joplin tornado led to 161 deaths and the destruction of more than 8,000 buildings.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
KY3ratingwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Joplin Tornado – May 22nd, 2011". National Weather Service. September 15, 2011. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
- ^ "Annual U.S. Killer Tornado Statistics". Storm Prediction Center. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
mccune1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Weinhold, Bob (April 2013). "Rare fungal illness follows tornado". Environmental Health Perspectives. 121 (4): A116. doi:10.1289/ehp.121-a116. PMC 3620763. PMID 23548439.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
FEMAReportwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Edwards, Roger (October 25, 2011). "Tornado FAQ: The 25 Deadliest U.S. Tornadoes". Storm Prediction Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on May 15, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
- ^ "2011 Tornado Information" [Preliminary tornado statistics including records set in 2011]. NOAA (Press release). May 26, 2011. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
- ^ "Ruskin Heights Tornado of May 20 1957". Kansas City/Pleasant Hill, MO, Weather Forecast Office. National Weather Service. Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
- ^ "F5 and EF5 Tornadoes of the United States, 1950-present". Storm Prediction Center. NOAA. Archived from the original on December 29, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
- ^ Belk, Brad (May 8, 2010). "May tornadoes struck Joplin twice in 1970s". The Joplin Globe. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2011.