What Happened In Joplin, MO?

The strength and violence of the Joplin, MO tornado that hit last Sunday raises some important questions for safety planners and residents who live in tornado-prone areas. These questions are: Finding adequate shelter, and believability of tornado warnings.

The National Weather Service issued a "Tornado Warning" for the Joplin area 23 minutes ahead of the first reported touchdown. This gave residents a decent amount of time to find adequate shelter. The questions then become, "What is adequate shelter?" and "Is this a real tornado, or another false alarm?"

In my opinion, the NWS did a great job of providing adequate lead time for the local residents. Sirens were blaring over 20 minutes ahead of the disaster. We can explore the above issues a bit further by simply looking at the images of the devastation. One challenge is, how often does this magnitude of tornado hit any one particular area? We haven't seen one single tornado do this kind of damage, with so much loss of life, since the 1950s. For every EF-5 tornado that hits a populated area, there are hundreds of others that pass harmlessly around big towns and cities. This fact can cause disbelief or denial amongst people in highly-populated areas. I saw one interview on CNN where the victim said "I never thought this could happen to me."

As a meteorologist, and a broadcaster, this is one of the most troubling things to hear from people. Now we know, these things can happen to anyone living in a tornado-prone area.

So, those of us who communicate severe weather warnings to the public have to keep in mind how we address the issue to those who are listening and watching on radio and TV. My observations have shown the range of human emotions in life-threatening weather, including fear, apathy, wonder, disbelief and denial. It's important that people facing powerful weather understand the dangers, and understand that tornadoes do not choose who they affect. Tornadoes are pure acts of Nature, indiscriminate in their destruction. Getting people to believe this fact is another story, and raises an entirely new set of issues, which I will address in my next posting.

The other point that has been on my mind is 'adequate' shelter. At least some of the broadcasters and meteorologists in the Joplin area were telling people that they must seek shelter underground. EF-5 tornadoes have wind speeds of over 200 mph. We are talking about winds that are moving debris at the speed of an Indy race car. Humans cannot survive such an environment without 'adequate' protection. What is adequate protection from an EF-5?

Tests have been done for years with cannons and 2x4s against various types of housing. A piece of wood propelled at 200 mph easily penetrates drywall, press-board, most housing siding and even brick walls. The typical home is constructed of exactly these same materials. Additionally, the power of EF-5 winds will often completely remove residential homes from their foundations and destroy them in-flight, along with anyone in them.

I personally had the chance to view the damage done by the Greensburg, KS EF-5 tornado from May 4-5, 2007. Even though the death toll was much lower, the damage was just as great. I saw many concrete pads completely scoured, houses thrown into the air and dropped many yards away with vehicles on top of them, coins buried deep into tree trunks. Again, EF-5 forces are not survivable by humans, unless there is adequate shelter.

Simply put, being above ground during such a powerful tornado is a death sentence. Generally 'adequate shelter' from an EF-5 means being under ground, supposedly in a basement. Even this is no sure-fire guarantee of safety because the structure above the basement can collapse into it if the roof is removed. So, then we are talking about a basement with some sort of heavy structure in it, allowing the occupants to crouch under and avoid the wind-driven debris, and then whatever falls into the basement following the tornado.

Trailer homes and automobiles of any kind, including large trucks and SUVs are completely unsafe in almost any strong tornado, let alone an EF-5.

Many homes in the Joplin area, to say nothing of the rest of the Midwest, do not have basements. Some have crawl-spaces, but due to the high water table, sometimes a basement is not practical. What then? There are companies now that make 'safe rooms' that are designed to withstand the forces of 200 mph winds and debris, yet are located above-ground. Some people without basements are having these installed. They essentially consist of a large concrete block with a steel door. People get inside and ride out the storm. I've seen images of a concrete foundation with nothing else on it except the safe room. Unfortunately, these types of structures are not affordable by everyone, to say nothing of folks who occupy trailer homes in parks that do not provide concrete or underground safety areas.

It may seem that all I've done here is raise a lot of questions and concerns. This, to me, is a good place to start. In my next posting, I'll share some research on safe rooms and the power of strong tornadoes, and what makes them tick. Thanks.