Joplinmet

Does he still want to be a meteorologist in the Plains where the action is or do you think he'll be sticking to San Diego weather? I'm not really sure if that scary experience would make him be more excited about weather or less excited.

He acted like he was still pretty excited, but I know it really freaked him out. I grew up in KC and have always been used to tornado warnings. But If I went to California and went through an earthquake I would be scared to death.

Quite the experience right there.

No kidding Stebo

This is an amazing story we did tonight. Weather fans will like this one. Here is the link,

http://www.koamtv.com/story/14877642/future-meteorologist-visits-doug-heady-on-may-22

The sound between 0:20-0:40 seconds sounds pretty much like the 'rumbling' sound I heard that I first thought was rolling thunder. Of course it was slower to come and go in real life. It became very loud, and I was 2 1/2 blocks away from where the major damage occurred, so I can only imagine what it sounded like for those poor people in the path.

Also just heard from someone who won't be coming back to Joplin. She was with her sister and brother at her sisters apartment. The apartment collapsed and her sister didn't make it.

Great video, it has really hit home for us. And remember if you need anything let me know.

Is this a tally over the past several weeks ? It would be strange to have no deaths for two weeks and then 8 in one day.

The tally was at 135 last week. So 16 have died in the hospital over the past 6 days.

6 died today JoMo, it is now 151 is the death toll.

I had a huge conversation with the NWS from Springfield yesterday. Also the warnings cordinator from another office came to talk as well to get my thoughts on what I thought they did well and what could have been done better. It was an interesting 2 hour conversatation and I think they will be evaluating this tornado for a long time to come.

Any estimates on number of people left homeless?

I wonder how many will never return...

I am so sad about what has happened to Joplin, Tuscaloosa, Western Mass, etc etc etc. What a horrible year

Joplin is a big metro area with about 250K people during the day. People are moving around but won't move out of the area. Maybe to another town near by for a few months and then back into the city. If the Joplin metro was a small little town it would probably lose a lot of people. But I don't think that will happen with a city this big.

I have been working on raising funds though my church this week. I put together some of the pictures and video that I found here and else where. I used the accounts of Jomo and Joplinmet (with their permissions) to put together a short video.

We take a special offering for disasters. during my presentation, my wife and my daughter witnessed a lady who took a $10 bill out of her wallet and after the presentation she put back the $10 bill and pulled out $100 bill. the biggest reaction I received was for the before and after pictures of the apartment complex.

Great work Rick

I went and helped out yesterday, it was so hot outside. But it was great to see so many people helping out.

Doug, there is no possible way that was from a tornado. I am willing to bet cash you could shoot a rubber hose at a tree at 1000MPH and it still wouldn't imbed with feet sticking out the other side like that. Not doubting that the hose in the tree isnt for real, but I do doubt that a tornado did that.

I don't know, it looked pretty real to me. I have seen this happen before in the past. You have to remember the tree pulls apart, it isn't like it just pushes through. I can't say it 100%, but once I saw it in person it is hard not to believe it. A hole couldn't have been drilled, it was closed back on it. Like I said I can't say forsure but I have seen this before with other tornadoes.

Ok so I saw the tree with the hose in person today. It is for real. You can tell how the hose is twisted and and also squezzed at the edge of the tree on both sides. I didn't believe it either, until I saw it in person and pulled on the hose. But it does look to be in the weak part of the tree.

Just curious regarding the shifting of St. John's...was that the whole building, the big tower, or some other part of it? Anyway you slice it it's impressive...just curious. Also, thanks for sharing your story. I can't imagine what that must have been like to cover that.

I am not sure how much it shifted. Late last week they brought in a crew to look at the structure of the building to see if it could ever be used again. That is when we were told that it actually shifted on the foundation, but that is all I know.

Where would you say the 250 MPH winds were? I know the neighborhood that was around JHS is a strong candidate for 'higher end' EF-5 winds, with Franklin Tech being destroyed and the surrounding neighborhood being pretty much leveled as well as Dillons being destroyed and Hampshire Terrace apartments. Greenbriar took a really big hit and those apartments over there and St. Mary's church, so I'd say it was an EF-5 there as well. It's pretty weird over there by the railroad bridge at 25th and Connecticut or so. On one side of it, not much damage at all, but as soon as you go under it, it's a disaster on the other side.

JoMo, that is were I see the worst as well.

interesting discussion, especially for those of us who have never witnessed this kind of damage. In understand if you don't want to answer, but do you think the NWS will be putting those higher estimates into a survey report? Or do you think they will likely just be sticking with 200+ mph?

I don't know, that is a good question. I will have to ask them about that.

As others have said, you did a great job. There's only so much you can do when an EF-5 hits.

How far do you live from the path?

I live in the northern metro area of Joplin. The metro is actually over a 250,000 people. Joplin is a very spread out city and much bigger than what most people think it is. And the city is booming and growing fast, or was booming. But it will come back stronger than ever. I live probably 10 miles north of the tornado path itself. My wife said at our house we just had large hail and very heavy rains. My wind gauge at home was clocking 80 mph winds in the severe thunderstorm part of that cell.

I have talked with Springfield NWS numerous times and did some walking through the damage path with them. The impression I got from them is that this is a solid EF-5. The winds probably varied a bit with in the tornado. I have walked every stretch of this damage path and I would say that parts of the it were strong EF-4 to low EF-5. Then there are segments of strong EF-5 that probably had winds at 250mph. If you walk every inch of the path you can see the parts that were just a hair stronger. So I believe that 70% of the path was probably 200-210mph winds. But there are segments of probably 225-250mph winds. Also remember this when you talk about St. Johns. This is a huge building that actually got shifted off of its foundation a bit. And St. Johns was on the edge of the tornado and didn't take the strongest winds. Also when it hit Rangeline (Home Depot, Walmart, Acadamy Sports) it was a hair weaker. Probably winds around 200 mph. If you walk that path numerous times you can see the wind varying in spots. I think that is why there is some confusion on this. The bottom line is this is the most deadliest tornado in modern history. You have to go back to the Tri-State tornado for more deaths. That tornado spanded over 200 miles on the ground. The Joplin tornado did all of this in a 6 mile stretch. Also the Tri-State tornado was prior to tornado warnings.

Thanks for sharing your story of that horrible day.

It sounds like you did everything humanly possible, and I have no doubt that your efforts saved many lives.

Thanks so much.

Here is my story of the historic May 22nd, 2011 Joplin tornado.

1pm: I am outside and working on getting the boat de winterized for the season. However, I was amazed at how warm and windy it was. I saw the big puffy cumulus clouds and I just had a thought, get on the computer and see what is going on. I knew we had a severe threat for that day, but I wasn't watching it very closely as it was my day off. So I go inside and look at the set-up. We were in a moderate risk for severe weather and the airmass was extremely unstable. We were pushing 6000 joules on cape which is very high. I though I better finish up the boat quickly and tarp and get it put back up fast before any storms decide to blow up. I call meteorologist Brian Davis (our weekend meteorologist) and tell him to get into work now, you need to watch these storms as they blow up.

1:40pm facebook post.

Extremely unstable airmass. Tornado watch is in effect with extremely strong supercells blowing over the next couple of hours. The main threat is large hail and strong tornadoes. Looks like I better go to work.

3pm: Arrive at work with a severe thunderstorm warning in eastern Wilson county and western Labette county KS. I continue to watch these storms closely.

4pm: Tornado warning out for eastern Labette county as funnel clouds are being reported. The storm continues to sink slowly to the SE.

5pm: Tornado warning continue for eastern Cherokee county KS. The storm is getting ready to move into the western metro of the Joplin area. At this time I call my wife who lives in the northern metro area. I tell her to keep her phone near her. We have a plan on what to do if a tornado approaches my home. My house got hit in the Carl Junction tornado in 2003, so I have always figured out a plan on how to keep my family safe. I tell my wife I will ONLY call you if your in the direct path of the storm.

5:30pm: Confirmed reports of funnel clouds east of Galena and the western side of Joplin. I go to wall to wall coverage. But I have no idea what is about to happen.

5:45pm: Still wall to wall coverage with confirmed reports of a tornado on the SW side of Joplin. I continue with my wall to wall showing the radar and in pinpointed where I thin the tornado maybe. We start using tower cam at 7th and Rangeline and looking back to the west southwest. However, from our angle the tornado is rain rapped. I can't see the monster wedge working through. I continue with the tornado warnings.

5:50pm: I can see glimpses of the wedge tornado on our tower cam. At this time it is approaching main and 20th street. I know it is doing damage, but I didn't know to what extent. At this time we weren't getting any reports in on what it was doing. All I knew was it was tearing through down and we were getting some damage.

5:55pm: Debre is being picked up on our tower cam as the tornado smashes into Rangeline road. At this point I realize this is a major tornado doing massive damage across the Joplin metro. our tower cam goes out as it looses power as the tornado passes Rangeline. I continue the wall to wall coverage of the tornado passing through the city. Still at this point in time I know it has done damage, but I still don't know to what extent.

6:05pm: I continue with the coverage and watching the hook on the radar very close to the 249 and I-44 intersection. I remember thinking this massive tornado is going to go right across the interstate. I get some damage reports in of power polls down on the west side of Joplin. Next report says some house structures damaged. So I knew we had damage but again I still didn't know how bad it was going to be. My mentor Bryan Busby try's to call me from Kansas City. He is seeing if I am ok and trying to get info from me to get out on the news in Kansas City.

6:20pm: Tornado warning continue for eastern Jasper and northern Newton County. Also Barry county as it is now just dropping some brief smaller tornados in Barry county. I am continuing to stay on air and go over these storms and give the damage reports that are coming in. At this time I knew St. Johns took a hard hit. I report that houses are gone and people are trapped in their homes. Also at this time I get reports in of Rangeline hard hit and 40 cars and semi's flipped on I-44. This is when it hit me that this is going to become a historic event.

7pm: We still have numerous severe thunderstorm warning across the region. I continue the coverage with our severe thunderstorm warnings and reporting the damage reports. Everyone is in at the station now helping out. Dowe is getting ready to come down to the studio so we can tag team this event. He goes over damage and I go over what is going on at that time and what has happened. I get a call from my wife saying she find her sister. She asked me if she was in the path. I told her yes, her house probably got hit. I also find out at least 5 people at our work went through the tornado, but are unaccounted for at that time.

7:30pm: Severe thunderstorms continue. Dowe and I are still on air giving the lastest damage reports. This is the time we get in a number of 24 dead. I remember thinking during the May 4th, 2003 outbreak with 3 EF-4 or 5 tornadoes that ripped through the viewing area at the same time, we lost 22 people. Now just under 2 hours after this tornado hit Joplin, the death toll was already higher than that. Finally my sister in law is found. She was not home when the tornado hit. I find out that 8 people at work got hit by the tornado and at least one is injured. My phone is over loaded with family calling to see if we are all right. I send a brief face book message out saying "I am ok, my family is ok. Very busy at work and I will get back to you all later."

10pm: Dowe and I continue are live coverage and we now know the full effect of what has happened. We both sit in disbelief as we are reporting this massive historic tornado and what it did.

Sunday May 22nd, 2011 with never leave my mind. This is the second tornado to hit the Joplin metro in 8 years. I knew that day was going to be a big day by looking at how unstable the atmosphere was. That is why I decided to go to work on that Sunday afternoon. I remember once I got into work thinking how similar this is to May 4th, 2003. It was warm and very windy with high dewpoints and just sticky outside. Just like on May 4th. It was a Sunday afternoon, just like May 4th. When I got to work I looked at the TV and saw that golf was playing on KOAM, just like May 4th.

This tornado had plenty of warning lead time. We had numerous tornado warnings as it working into the metro area. However, this storm was mainly producing just funnel clouds. The problem here is we saw this storm produce a funnel cloud to a major tornado in about 1 minute of time. And it just happened to drop in west Joplin. I feel like I did everything I could. I knew 5 weeks in advance that we would have a good chance for severe weather on that day by using my long range forecasting pattern. But I can't tell that far in advance that large tornadoes are possible. A few days out I can tell that we could have some tornadoes. Once Sunday rolled around, that is when I know strong tornadoes are very possible in our viewing area. It just happened to strike a highly populated area.

The past two weeks have been kind of a blur. I feel so bad for everyone that was effected by this terrible event. I live and breath weather. I love winter storms, I love severe weather and I love to watch tornadoes. But when a tornado does damage and takes peoples life, it makes me sick to my stomach. My thoughts and prayers go out to everybody effected.

So what can we do? The most important thing is know when severe weather is possible. Pay attention to the weather on those days. Get weathercall. This is a produce that is only $7 dollars per year and will call your cell phone if you are in the direct path of the storm. Plus we have a business weathercall that lets you know if your business is in the path. Also for smart phone users, no matter where you are located if you cell phone signal is in the path of a storm you will get a call. When we have tornado warnings, take them seriously. I know that 9 out of 10 times they are usually funnel clouds or very weak tornadoes. The that one time will also get you. You have to look at each warning like this is the the one.

Just found this Emergency Services Audio of the event. I'm fairly certain that this is JASCO (Jasper County) and Newton County. I'm just now listening to it so I don't know what all is said.

Listened to about 10 minutes of it, that is crazy. I will have to listen to more here in a bit.

One of the last things I remember was you on TV, circling a strong area of rotation on the western side of Joplin. Of course then the power flickered a couple of times and I headed to the closet since I heard the rumbling sound before the power did go out.

It was bad because it developed just west of Joplin and had not been on the ground that long. With the Picher, OK tornado or other tornadoes and severe thunderstorms, we usually get reports of the storm on the ground from over in Kansas or Oklahoma. Since this developed just west of Joplin, it was hard to warn people early on since it was just forming when it was entering Joplin.

Another thing was just the strength of the tornado. I wasn't expecting that strong of a tornado and I'm pretty sure I may not be here if the tornado had hit 3 blocks closer.

I am glad you are safe. If you need anything let me know.

Yes we lost 4 more today from that have been hospitalized since the tornado. I think FEMA has been pretty good. They jumped on it and have gotten things done very quickly. I think the biggest thing I have heard is that the help from FEMA hasn't been enough, meaning $ signs. I will definitely tell the story from my eyes probably later tonight when I can get a chance to sit and really type. Even though I wasn't directly hit (which I am so blessed) it has indirectly effected all of us down here. Obviously my concern is for all of these familys to get housing and jobs back. Including my wife on the job part. But I truely believe that Joplin will be stronger from this event. I will tell my story later.

Doug Heady

Chief Meteorologist

KOAMTV/FOX 14

Joplin MO/Pittsburg KS

I hope everyone is doing ok. I have tried to keep up with the thread but it has been crazy down here. My family is all ok. 8 people from my work are homeless. Also my wife lost her job as the business was lost. It has been crazy. I have some great videos from our several tower cams I will have to post. I was at work during the whole event. In fact I came in around 3pm. I posted on my facebook at 2pm that I have a bad feeling, well that came true. I did wall to wall through the event as it tracked through the city. I am just very upset and mad that we lost 140 people. I keep asking could I have done more?

Doug Heady

Hello everyone. I am doing ok, but have been so busy with everything. This has been a hard 11 days and trying to get back to normal. I wish I could have done more.

Doug Heady