Meteorological recap of the Clinton tornado
On Wednesday, a system of isolated storms that formed off a front rapidly developed as they moved into Missouri, prompting a tornado watch for most of the western portion of the state.
This was because of the favorable wind shear, instability, and low storm bases, which would be conducive to tornado development if any of these storms already producing damaging winds and large hail could develop rotation to the ground. These ingredients are all things that, when put together, lead to storms with a natural rotation in the upper levels of the atmosphere, and all it has to do is force that rotation to the ground.
The storm that ultimately caused the most problems was initially warned as a severe thunderstorm just after 5:30 p.m., located just to the east of Spruce, Missouri, and moving into Montrose, Missouri. This quickly started displaying what is known as a hook echo: a signature on radar reflectivity that looks like an extra hook of isolated higher reflectivity on the southwestern end of the storm. This indicates that there is a mesocyclone, or area of rotation in the storm's updraft.
At that moment, the storm is very likely to produce a tornado.
Comparing this to the storm wind direction radar product, by 5:50 p.m. there was a noticeable area of rotation in this hook echo formation. Just after 5:50 p.m., the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning. This warning included the city of Clinton, Missouri, but there was no confirmation yet that the storm was on the ground.
As it moved into Clinton, the rotation continued, but another noticeable radar feature, known as a tornado debris signature, appeared just after 6 p.m.. This feature indicates a tornado on the ground, lofting debris, so the National Weather Service, with the help of storm spotters, upgraded it to a confirmed tornado warning.
This feature grew in size from 6:05 to 6:10 p.m. as it moved through the heart of Clinton, meaning that it continued to stay on the ground as it passed through the city. The tornado lifted and lost steam as it moved out of the city due to the rain-cooled air that it was moving into. The rain ahead of this storm effectively took away all the energy that the tornado could have fed off of, which led to a mostly quiet forecast for those who were to the east and north of Clinton.
This left behind snapped tree limbs, siding, and roofing from homes and buildings scattered across the city. It also left downed telephone poles and even smaller buildings and sheds with noticeable damage. The city was in recovery mode Thursday, and the National Weather Service was conducting damage surveys in order to determine how strong this tornado was.
Although there will be a brief break for most of Missouri for severe weather Thursday, there is another potential for more severe weather Friday. This will bring a different type of threat, that being damaging winds, which some are expected to be very strong. This could cause damage differently than tornadoes, so it is best to stay up to date and weather aware with all this activity.
