Pilot Grove tornado rated EF-2
Watch Meteorologist Chance Gotsch give a live report from Cooper County in the YouTube player.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The tornado that hit the Pilot Grove area in Cooper County on Wednesday morning was an EF-2, according to the National Weather Service.
EF-2 tornadoes pack winds of up to 135 mph. This one brought down trees and power lines and destroyed some buildings.
The Missouri Task Force 1 Disaster Situation Awareness and Reconnaissance team was deployed to Pilot Grove on Wednesday afternoon after the tornado.
A press release from the Boone County Fire Protection District – which oversees Task Force 1 – says the unit arrived in the Cooper County town around 12:30 p.m. and expects to return by Wednesday evening.
The DSAR team will give images and disaster mapping to incident management teams, including the State Emergency Management Agency and State Emergency Operations Center.
Tornado warning prompts sirens across Boone County; damage assessment taking place in Cooper
Boone County emergency officials activated storm warning sirens across the county Wednesday morning for a storm in the county's northern reaches.
Meanwhile, crews were out in Cooper County surveying damage from an EF-2 tornado.
Boone County activates its sirens according to zones. However, emergency managers decided to make all the sirens blare because of the potential danger from Wednesday morning's storm, which set off a tornado warning for northern Boone County.
"Out of an abundance of caution, Boone Couty Office of Emergency Management requested Boone County Joint Communications sound all outdoor warning sirens to ensure the broadest possible public awareness," the agency wrote in a news release. "This precautionary move helps alert everyone, including those who may be outdoors or otherwise unaware of rapidly changing weather conditions."
Columbia Public Schools warned families via text that schools had students and staff take shelter. Students took shelter at about 10:30 a.m. and the all-clear came at 11 a.m., the district said in an email to families. Out-of-town field trips were canceled.
No injuries were immediately reported from the storm and no tornado had been confirmed as of early afternoon.
Multiple power outages were reported across Cooper County and a highway closed because of storm damage.
The northern part of the county was hit hard, with teams on the ground Wednesday assessing tornado damage near Pilot Grove.
Power was out in the area during and after the storms and Cooper County's emergency management director, Larry Oerly, said antiquated outdoor warning sirens in Pilot Grove did not go off.
No one was hurt or killed, Cooper County officials say. The tornado was on the ground for about 5 miles, officials say.
Lt. William Johnson with the Cooper County Fire Protection District said about a dozen buildings were damaged in the tornado.
The local electric cooperative and Ameren Missouri reported hundreds of homes without power right after the storms moved through. By 4:45 p.m., there were just 38 Ameren customers without power.
Kemper Road in Hallsville was flooded Wednesday morning, the city government wrote in a social media post.
The Missouri Department of Transportation reported Highway 135 in Cooper County was closed because of storm damage. The Missouri State Highway Patrol later specified that downed power lines caused the closure.
Downed trees also caused the state to close the Katy Trail near Pilot Grove.
This is a developing story
