March 14, 2025 - Tornadoes and Fire Weather

Summary:

NWS storm survey and satellite 
data concluded that the tornado 
that started near Gamaliel, 
Arkansas touched down just west 
of Highway 101 tracking into 
the town of Gamaliel where it 
caused damage to the post office 
and fire station. It then tracked 
northeast along Highway 101 where 
it uprooted and snapped numerous 
trees. Damage continued as the 
tornado tracked just west of County 
Road 43 where it moved into Missouri. 
This part of the tornado has been 
rated an EF1 with winds of 100 mph, 
but the overall rating of the tornado 
is EF3 based on damage that occurred 
in Missouri along the track of this 
tornado.

The tornado obtained EF3 intensity 
with peak winds of 145 mph as it 
moved through Bakersfield resulting 
in three fatalities and four injuries. 
The tornado then continued to the 
northeast and passed just south of 
South Fork before causing damage 
along the portion of Highway 63 that 
turns southeast as it exits 
West Plains. The tornado finally 
lifted along Highway 160 seven miles 
east of West Plains. The total 
tornado path length was 35.74 miles. 
The path length of the tornado in 
Missouri was 30.1 miles. The maximum 
width of the tornado was around 
1200 yards. The tornado destroyed 
numerous homes and damaged dozens 
of other homes. Multiple cars were 
rolled 50 to 100 yards. Numerous 
trees were also uprooted including 
entire groves of trees destroyed.

Summary:

An EF-2 tornado with peak winds of 120 mph started 4 miles SE of Doolittle and tracked northeast through southeastern portions of Rolla. The tornado crossed I-44 before lifting just south of the Little Prairie Conservation area. The tornado damaged several homes with one person injured. Significant roof damage was noted to some homes. Multiple schools and businesses also sustained roof damage with several plate glass windows blown out.

Summary:

An EF-1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 100 mph started 5 miles north of Diggins and tracked northeast into western Wright County. The maximum width of the tornado was around 400 yards. Damage included a roof torn off of a home, numerous barns destroyed, a collapsed cell phone tower, and snapped trees laying in a cyclonic pattern.

Summary:

A multi-day and joint survey between the Springfield, Paducah, and St. Louis NWS offices concluded that a long-track EF-3 tornado began southwest of Rover, MO and tracked northeast for 58 miles before lifting in southern Reynolds County. This tornado pushed two homes off their foundations in Oregon County and damaged a roof of another home. Thousands of trees were uprooted as it traveled from Rover into extreme southeast Shannon County. A pair of high voltage transmission line metal support poles collapsed. This tornado then continued northeast causing damage across Carter and Reynolds Counties.  

Summary:

An 24-mile long tornado path was determined by a combination of NWS survey, storm reports, and satellite damage to have moved from near Koshkonong to 2 north of Alton before lifting 8 miles northeast of Alton. While much of the damage was to trees along with several outbuildings, the tornado damaged a few homes including a south facing ground level home off County Rd 402 where it caused EF3 damage. 

Summary:

NWS storm survey concluded that 
an EF1 tornado with peak winds
around 90 mph started just west 
of Lynchburg and tracked northeast 
through southern Pulaski County. 
The tornado lifted near the Pulaski 
and Phelps County line with a 22.5 
mile damage path and a peak width of 
200 yards. The tornado damaged the 
roofs of multiple homes and heavily 
damaged multiple outbuildings. 
Hundreds of trees were also damaged 
with some uprooted.

Summary:

An additional tornado has been determined to have touched down the evening of March 14, 2025.  Rated as an EF1, the tornado started 6 miles west of Yancy Mills, MO in Phelps County and the endpoint of this tornado was just to the southeast of a subsequent tornado that tracked toward Rolla, MO. Damage was largely to uprooted trees along with a barn.