Severe Weather and Flash Flooding
April 17-18 2013

Overview:

A slow moving storm system brought severe weather to the region during the afternoon and evening hours of April 17th.  Several rounds of heavy rainfall resulted in areas of flash flooding during the night of April 17 and the day of April 18th.   Following are the preliminary damage survey results from two tornadoes that occurred near the city of Paris in Monroe County, Missouri,  photos and a description of the significant wind damage and hail that occurred in central Missouri. Also included are flooding photos and two day rainfall amounts from April 18th. 

The thunderstorms that moved over parts of southwest and south central Monroe County, Missouri spawned a series of brief tornado touchdowns from 11 miles southwest to 2 miles south of Paris Missouri. 

EF1 TORNADO...
BEGIN TIME/LOCATION: 4/17/13...0531 PM
                     9.5 MILES SW OF PARIS...MISSOURI

END TIME/LOCATION:   4/17/13...0541 PM
                     2 MILES S OF PARIS...MISSOURI

MAXIMUM ESTIMATED WIND SPEED: 90 MPH
PATH LENGTH: 7 MILES

THE FIRST STRUCTURAL DAMAGE OCCURRED AT A FARMSTEAD SOUTHWEST OF THE
CORNER OF HIGHWAYS M AND C. A FEW LARGE PANELS FROM A MACHINE SHED
WAS TOSSED TO THE EAST NORTHEAST. A FEW LARGE TREES WERE SNAPPED
NEAR THE BASE ON THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF HIGHWAYS M AND C. THIS
DAMAGE WAS CAUSED BY STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.

THE FIRST TORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHDOWN IN SOUTHWEST MONROE COUNTY A
MILE NORTH OF THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAYS M AND C ON HIGHWAY C. SIX
POWER POLES WERE SNAPPED AT THE BASE OF THE POLE. WIDTH OF THE
DAMAGE IN THIS LOCATION WAS 100 YARDS AND DAMAGE WAS RATED EF1.

FURTHER NORTHEAST...THE TORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN ON COUNTY ROAD
840 JUST EAST OF INTERSECTION WITH COUNTY ROAD 819. A BARN WAS
SEVERELY DAMAGED. DEBRIS FROM THE BARN WAS TOSSED TO THE EAST ABOUT
100 YARDS. THE TORNADO CONTINUED TO TRAVEL TO THE NORTHEAST...WHERE
IT BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN AGAIN...JUST SOUTH OF MISSOURI HIGHWAY
AA...JUST WEST OF INTERSECTION WITH COUNTY ROAD 835. TWO MACHINE
SHEDS IN THIS LOCATION SUSTAINED MINOR TO MODERATE DAMAGE. ALSO...A
LARGE BARN SUSTAINED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE WHERE THE SOUTH PART OF THE
BARN WAS REMOVED. DAMAGE WIDTH IN THIS AREA WAS 70 YARDS WIDE.
DAMAGE WAS RATED LOW END EF1. FURTHER TO THE EAST...ON MISSOURI
HIGHWAY AA...JUST WEST OF INTERSECTION WITH COUNTY ROAD
857...NUMEROUS LARGE TREES WERE SNAPPED AT THE BASE AND SHOWED A
CONVERGENT DAMAGE PATTERN. WIDTH OF DAMAGE IN THIS AREA WAS OVER 60
YARDS WIDE AND THE DAMAGE WAS ONLY ON THE NORTH SIDE OF MISSOURI
HIGHWAY AA. DAMAGE IN THIS LOCATION WAS RATED LOW END EF1.

THE TORNADO CONTINUED TO TRAVEL TO THE NORTHEAST AND BRIEFLY TOUCHED
DOWN ONE LAST TIME JUST WEST OF HIGHWAY 15...TWO MILES SOUTH OF
PARIS MISSOURI. THREE MACHINE SHEDS SUSTAINED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE
WITH DEBRIS BEING THROWN 300 TO 400 YARDS TO THE NORTH NORTHWEST.
DAMAGE WAS RATED EF1 IN THIS LOCATION.  OVERALL THE PATH LENGTH WAS
7 MILES...WITH A MAX DAMAGE WIDTH OF 70 YARDS. THE TORNADO WAS RATED
EF1.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

EF0 TORNADO...
BEGIN TIME/LOCATION: 4/17/13...0535 PM
                     6.5 MILES SSW OF PARIS...MISSOURI

END TIME/LOCATION:   4/17/13...0536 PM
                     6.5 MILES SSW OF PARIS...MISSOURI

MAXIMUM ESTIMATED WIND SPEED: 75 MPH
PATH LENGTH: LESS THAN A TENTH OF A MILE


A SECOND TORNADO...ABOUT HALF A MILE SOUTH OF THE FIRST TORNADO
BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN ON COUNTY ROAD 835...HALF A MILE NORTH OF THE
INTERSECTION WITH COUNTY ROAD 840. A BARN SUSTAINED MINOR TO
MODERATE DAMAGE...WHERE 2X4 MISSILES WERE DRIVEN INTO THE ROOF OF
THE BARN. WIDTH OF DAMAGE WAS 30 TO 40 YARDS WIDE WITH A PATH LENGTH
OF LESS THAN A TENTH OF A MILE. THE TORNADO WAS RATED EF0. 

Storm Track and Damage Photos

DOWNBURST WIND DAMAGE BEGAN 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF MONROE CITY IN
MONROE COUNTY...MAINLY CONSISTED OF PINE TREES AND ONE BARN. THE BARN
LOST SEVERAL SECTIONS OF ITS ROOF. FURTHER NORTHEAST ALONG U.S.
HIGHWAY 24...TREE DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED. CEDAR AND OAK TREES WERE
DAMAGED.

ON THE FAR SOUTHWEST PORTIONS OF MONROE CITY...NINE HOMES SUSTAINED
ROOF DAMAGE WHERE SHINGLES WERE REMOVED.  ALSO...SEVERAL LARGE TREE
LIMBS...BETWEEN THREE AND NINE INCHES IN DIAMETER WHERE BLOWN DOWN.
IN TOWN...THE ROOF OF A RETAIL STORE WAS REMOVED AND DISPLACED
APPROXIMATELY 80 YARDS TO THE NORTHEAST.  ADDITIONAL TREE DAMAGE WAS
OBSERVED ON THE EAST SIDE OF MONROE CITY IN A RESIDENTIAL AREA. TWO
GRAIN BINS...LOCATED ON COUNTY ROAD J...IN FAR NORTHWESTERN RALLS
COUNTY...SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE. THE GRAIN ELEVATOR SUSTAINED MINOR
DAMAGE AS WELL. THERE WAS MINOR TREE LIMB DAMAGE THAT EXTENDED FOR
ABOUT A MILE SOUTH OF THE GRAIN BINS. THIS DAMAGE WAS PART OF THE
LARGER AREA OF WIND DAMAGE THAT EXTENDED FROM NORTHEAST MONROE
COUNTY INTO NORTHWESTERN RALLS COUNTY. WINDS WERE ESTIMATED BETWEEN
70 AND 80 MPH OVER THIS AREA.

Large Hail in Columbia, Missouri

A supercell thunderstorm brought hail up to the size of baseballs to Columbia, Missouri. Below is a three dimensional radar image of the powerful thunderstorm and hail images from KOMU-TV.

Radar and Hail Photos

Heavy Rainfall and Flash Flooding -  4/17-18/2013

Locally heavy rainfall from training thunderstorms led to flash flooding from the Ozarks, through east central Missouri and into south central Illinois.  One area that experience flash flooding was De Soto Missouri, where an 80 year old woman lost her life after driving into a flooded roadway and her car was swept downstream in Joachim Creek. 

Below is an image of the rainfall that was observed over the seven day period ending 4/19/2013.  This excessive rainfall across the Midwest and Great Lakes led to significant and in some cases record river flooding.

Rainfall Accumulation and Flooding Photos

48 Hour Precipitation Totals 4/17-4/18

FIRST ORDER STATIONS

SAINT LOUIS         : 2.48
COLUMBIA            : 1.93

COOPERATIVE OBSERVATIONS...UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED

IN NORTHEAST MISSOURI...

CANTON L/D20        : 4.56
CLARENCE 6 N        : 5.06 DCP
EDINA               : 4.36
HANNIBAL            : 3.19
MONTICELLO          : 5.19 COCORAHS
NOVELTY 1 E         : 4.45
PALMYRA 1 W         : 5.48 COCORAHS
SHELBINA            : 3.93
STEFFENVILLE        : 5.14
TAYLOR 4 SW         : 4.61 DCP

IN EAST-CENTRAL MISSOURI...

DE SOTO             : 4.38
FESTUS              : 4.49

IN SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...

FARMINGTON 1 NNE    : 4.33 SPOTTER
POTOSI 5SW          : 4.11
VIBURNAM            : 4.37

IN WEST-CENTRAL ILLINOIS...

QUINCY 4 SE         : 4.02 COCORAHS
RIPLEY              : 3.64

IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS...

RAMSEY              : 3.64

IN SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS...

ALBERS              : 3.24
BELLEVILLE-SCOTT AFB: 5.20
BELLEVILLE 3 SE     : 5.65 SPOTTER
EDWARDSVILLE 2W     : 3.23
FREEBURG            : 4.13 DCP
GREENVILLE 2NE      : 4.30 SPOTTER
HECKER              : 4.77 DCP
HIGHLAND            : 3.94
HILLSBORO           : 3.11
MASCOUTAH 1 WSW     : 4.33 COCORAHS
MOUNT OLIVE 1E      : 3.18
SAINT LIBORY        : 3.02