Two tornadoes struck Clinton, Missouri, this week. Here’s what to know
The National Weather Service confirmed Thursday that two tornadoes — not one — hit Clinton, Missouri, on Wednesday evening, with the strongest packing winds near 98 mph. No injuries were reported in the city of about 9,500 residents roughly 75 miles southeast of Kansas City.
FULL STORY: Two tornadoes hit Clinton, Missouri; strongest reached 98 mph winds, NWS says
Here are key takeaways:
• The stronger tornado was rated EF1 with peak winds near 98 mph and traveled 2.5 miles. The weaker EF0 tornado had peak winds of about 70 mph and traveled about 1.85 miles.
• A supercell thunderstorm spawned the first tornado shortly after 6 p.m. just south of Clinton. Security video and a gap in damage confirmed a second tornado formed from the same parent storm around 6:10 p.m.
• Henry Elementary School and the nearby Clinton Intermediate School sustained minor to moderate roof damage. The Clinton School District closed both schools Thursday for cleanup and safety assessments, switching students to remote learning.
• Several homes were damaged by tree limbs, a storage building behind American Building Products was destroyed and several power poles were snapped at their bases.
• The tornadoes came during an active severe weather week. An EF2 tornado struck Ottawa, Kansas, on Monday, and an EF1 tornado near Blue Mound in Linn County traveled nearly 24 miles into Bates County, Missouri, injuring two people.
• Another round of storms is expected Friday, which the National Weather Service says has the highest chance for severe weather of any event this week. The biggest threats are large hail and damaging winds, though tornadoes are also possible.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.
