National Weather Service deems Linn County twister an EF 1

Olivia Macko, from left, and Brett Williams with the National Weather Service discuss Monday evening's tornado damage with property owner Jim Dick, who lives east of Mound City. The NWS staff members viewed several areas of damage and are expected to determine the strength of the storm on the EF scale. (Photo by Roger Sims / Linn County Journal)

Roger Sims, Journal staff

linncountyjournal@icloud.com

PLEASANT HILL, Mo. – The National Weather Service on Tuesday, April 14, labeled the tornado that traveled across southern Linn County on Monday, April 13, as a EF 1 tornado.

According to the official NWS statistics, the rotation that crossed into Linn County by Blue Mound, split into two tornadoes. The strongest and longest-lasting of the two was rated an EF1, with peak winds of 105 miles per hour.

The NWS said the strongest tornado touched down shortly after 8 p.m., southeast of Blue Mound and traveled nearly 24 miles into Bates County, Mo., before lifting off the ground about 43 minutes later.

It was obvious from damage along the tornado's path that it did not stay on the ground for that entire period but rather "bounced," making contact and then lifting slightly before coming down again.

The red line indicates the approximate path of the tornado that did the most damage on Monday, April 13. The cell split into two tornados over Blue Mound, but one dissipated while the one kept its momentum going across the county.

Several of the people who escaped injury when the tornado barreled through the area said they had little or no warning. Another resident, Roy Bright who lives east of Mound City, said he saw alerts on an area television station and received a notice on his phone as well.

Randy Hegwald, director of Linn County Emergency Management Department, said that the National Weather Service indicated that Monday's tornado was an anomaly. The storm cell was brewing in Allen County and as it came into the Blue Mound area, it began to rotate. The storm then split into two cells with one cell going north of Blue Mound and the other one going south.

He said the conditions "took the cap off," allowing the cells to rapidly develop. The U-shape of the storm had stormwatchers guessing with a storm in one location and a tornado in another. The result was two tornadoes on the move.

Hegwald said he was out on the road as soon as it looked as though the storm would turn from a tornado watch to a tornado warning, and the Blue Mound fire station was called out to help watch. The storms and resulting damage kept firefighters busy late into the night.

Two staff members from the National Weather Service toured the area looking at the damage on Tuesday. Brett Williams said their task was to determine where the tornado landed on the EF scale.