Storms produce wind damage Wednesday afternoon

A line of storms Wednesday afternoon brought strong, damaging winds to parts of Mid-Missouri. These storms formed in western Missouri by late morning and moved east through early afternoon, encountering very moist, unstable air. They quickly strengthened and became severe, producing strong wind gusts. The first severe storm warning came near 2 PM for southern Boone, Cole and Moniteau counties with another warning until 3 PM for Callaway, Cole and Osage counties.

The strongest storms moved from Russellville to Holts Summit to Fulton where we had numerous reports of trees down from 2:30 to 3 PM. Also, heavy rain caused Murphy Ford Road to flood near Centertown. Strong winds also caused power outages in that area with near 300 people without power.

Columbia airport recorded a wind gust of 52 mph at 2:32 PM and Jefferson City recorded a wind gust of 48 mph at 2:31 PM.