Short-lived tornado only shows on one velocity scan

By Kyle Troutman ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com

An EF-1 tornado struck the city of Wheaton on Friday morning, damaging a church, outbuildings, trees and power lines.

According to the National Weather Service, the tornado traveled 3.8 miles with a max width of 100 yards and winds up to 95 miles per hour, from the Body of Christ Church south of Wheaton north along Highway 86 before dissipating.

David Compton, Barry County Emergency Management director, said the twister took weather-watchers a bit by surprise, showing rotation in only one radar scan.

“We’d been monitoring that storm for a while, and by all suspicions, we expected 60 mile-per-hour wind gusts and pea-sized hail,” he said. “The velocity scan at one time showed weak rotation, but then in the next scan, it was gone.”

New scans are available every 6 minutes, Compton said. 

“We had no rotation, then the next scan, we had rotation and reports of damage,” he said. “At that point, the damage is done and the storm is gone. The National Weather Service said this tornado was very short-lived, and there was no warning issued. Any time there is a severe thunderstorm warning with super cells or a multi-cell line, that can produce a tornado.”

Compton said the Wheaton storm looked on the low end of severe, and by the time it did get severe, there was no time to sound the sirens.

“This is the line we walk with every storm,” he said. “It looked on the low end of severe, and by the time it wasn’t, it was safer to not go out of your house to seek shelter in the middle of the storm while limbs and power lines are going down.”

Compton said there were no injuries. Damage reports include: Body of Christ Church, poultry operation roofing, trees, power lines and homes struck by fallen trees.