StEER - 22 May 2019 JEFFERSON CITY, MO TORNADO: FIELD ASSESSMENT STRUCTURAL TEAM 1 (FAST-1) EARLY ACCESS RECONNAISSANCE REPORT (EARR)

At around 11:40 PM on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 an EF-3 tornado struck Jefferson City, the capital of the state of Missouri, causing extensive structural damage. The tornado formed near Eldon, MO and traveled from southwest to northeast for 19.5 miles before dissipating just east-northeast of Jefferson City, MO. The heaviest damage was experienced along the 5 mile portion of the path through Jefferson City, MO and achieving an estimated peak wind speed of 160 mph, based on National Weather Service (NWS). Coincidentally, eight years ago, on the same day, an EF-5 tornado struck Joplin, MO, just 200 miles southwest of Jefferson City. The damage to the downtown portion of a capital city warranted more detailed structural investigation through a StEER Field Assessment Structural Team (FAST), which was led by the Wind Hazard Mitigation (WHAM) laboratory of Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T). Deployments were conducted between May 23 and May 28 to collect the perishable data utilizing door-to-door assessments, Lidar scanning and drones. This Early Access Reconnaissance Report (EARR) provides an overview of Jefferson City Tornado, MO of 22 May 2019, StEER’s event response, and preliminary findings based on FAST-1’s collected data.