Windspeed

A speed of 10mph is quite puzzling and this must be an error. If you match NEXRAD scans with the 22 mi damage path, it looks like the center of couplet was over Newton RD just SW Joplin around 22:33:52 GMT. At 22:42:47 GMT, the circulation is distinguishable by an enormous debris ball. The couplet weakens and dissipates around 23:05:02 GMT roughly 10-12 mi ESE of Joplin. If we loosely estimate a touch down around 22:30 and dissipation at 23:00, that would gives us 22 mi traveled in 30 minutes, which is 44mph. Granted, this is a loose estimate. A more exact approximation with the NEXRAD scans and spotter reports might give us something at or just shy of 40mph, which I believe is the official speed documented by the NWS.