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Gallery|Climate Crisis

Monster tornado hits Jefferson City, Missouri

Just before midnight on May 23, the massive EF-3 tornado tore through the city damaging about 500 homes and buildings.

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Jefferson City Tornado
This aerial view shows some of the destruction from the tornado that touched down just before midnight local time on Wednesday, May 23, in Jefferson City, Missouri. [Drone Base TPX/Reuters]
Published On 25 May 2019

A “violent tornado” has damaged hundreds of buildings in the capital of Missouri and forced the cancellation of the state’s Special Olympics summer games after the storm blew out windows and tore into the off the roof of the organization’s headquarters in Jefferson City.

The tornado was rated at least an EF-3 by the United States‘ National Weather Service with wind speeds of between 218 to 266 km/h.

The Enhanced Fujita Tornado Scale goes up to EF-5.

The tornado touched down late on Wednesday night around 11:45pm local time (04:45 GMT on Thursday) and left a trail of destruction 30km long.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson said it damaged an estimated 500 homes and buildings and left 14,000 structures without electricity. Power was expected to have been mostly restored by Saturday.

Special Olympics multi-media manager Brandon Schatsiek says the Wednesday night tornado blew out windows and doors, tore a hole in a roof and damaged training facilities at the organization’s new $16.5m headquarters.

The games were supposed to be played May 31 through June 2 in Springfield, and about 1,000 athletes and coaches had been expected to attend the volleyball, swimming and track-and-field events.

The storm in Missouri’s capital was one of more than 100 tornadoes reported across the central United States in the same week. 

Jefferson City Tornado
Early images of the damage in the first hours after the tornado hit shows the destruction on the streets of the city. The tornado left a swathe of destruction 30 kilometres long. [Tyler Thompson/Reuters]
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Jefferson City Tornado
James Jackson stands in what is left of his home. Residents of Jefferson City are describing the area as looking like a 'war zone'. [Carlo Allegri/Reuters]
Jefferson City Tornado
Safety crews check for damage and injuries in city neighbourhoods. The tornado was rated as an EF-3, with winds of over 250km/h. [Antranik Tavitian/Reuters]
Jefferson City Tornado
The skies have cleared, but the long road of cleaning up and rebuilding is only just beginning in Jefferson City. [Carlo Allegri/Reuters]
Jefferson City Tornado
The tornado tossed vehicles into the air causing a pile up at a car dealership. Debris from the ground was carried up to 3,900 metres into the sky by the storm. [Carlo Allegri/Reuters]
Jefferson City Tornado
The 'violent tornado' damaged an estimated 500 homes and buildings in Jefferson City according to the governor of the state of Missouri. [Carlo Allegri/Reuters]
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Jefferson City Tornado
In addition to the many buildings that were damaged or destroyed, nearly two dozen people were injured but no deaths were reported in Jefferson City. [Carlo Allegri/Reuters]
Jefferson City Tornado
Restricted Use stickers mark areas of buildings or whole structures that are a hazard and need to be repaired or should be avoided. [Carlo Allegri/Reuters]
Jefferson City Tornado
The former Missouri State Penitentiary took a beating from the storm with many of its windows knocked out. Luckily the facility no longer held prisoners. [Carlo Allegri/Reuters]