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September 15, 2008

Remnant of hurricane leaves widespread damage, flooding throughout region

By Wally Kennedy

wkennedy@joplinglobe.com

The remnants of Hurricane Ike left downed trees, power outages and flooded roads in its wake Monday across much of the Four-State Area.

At one point Monday morning, 114 roads were closed in the state due to flooding. As the day progressed under sunny skies, water receded and roads that had been closed reopened to traffic.

The tropical depression dumped 2 to 5 1/2 inches of rain across the Joplin area. Joplin logged 3.03 inches at the Joplin Regional Airport, bringing total rainfall this year to 56.74 inches.

The record was set in 1985 when Joplin’s rain gauge topped off at 65.25 inches and a climatologist with the National Weather Service station in Springfield said it is likely Joplin will set a new rainfall record this year.

Gene Hatch, with the agency, also said strong winds were associated with the weekend storm. Winds gust of 47 mph were recorded at Joplin and Springfield. A gust of 53 mph was recorded at West Plains. High winds caused damage at Shell Knob in Barry County, where schools were closed on Monday.

Hatch said the region could have received more rain had it not been for a cold front that moved into the area on Sunday.

“The forecast models showed that the front would stall across Central Missouri from Wichita (Kan.) to St. Louis. But an upper-level pattern pushed it south again and that forced Ike to the east,’’ he said. “Had that not happened, we would have got significantly more rainfall.’’

Lamar logged 5 1/2 inches of rain, one of the highest rainfall measurements in the region. That closed Missouri Highway 126 west of U.S. Highway 71 in Barton County.

Authorities in Vernon County rescued a motorist who became stranded in flood waters at 6 a.m. Monday, according to the National Weather Service. The rescue occurred six miles southwest of Nevada on Route KK.

That road remained impassible Monday due to high water, according to the regional office of the Missouri Department of Transportation in Joplin. Other closed roads were Route C at McDowell in Barry County; Missouri Highway 97, one mile from County Road 2110 in Lawrence County; Route U at the low-water bridge in McDonald County; and Route V north of Stotesbury in Vernon County.

Mick Epperly, sheriff of Barry County, said the Shell Knob area experienced high winds between 1 and 3 a.m. Sunday.

“The power is out in Shell Knob and there’s no school because of that. There were trees on houses. We got reports of 200 trees down in one area.’’

Epperly also said a dock with people on it broke loose at the Big M recreation area. The dock has since been secured, he said, and no one was injured.

Gary Brooks, the emergency-management director for Miami, Okla., said no houses or businesses were impacted, but there is a good probability that Oklahoma Highway 125, near the Miami fairgrounds, will be closed today.

Weather officials are forecasting that the Neosho River will crest at 19.9 feet at Commerce, Okla. Flood stage is 15 feet. Early Monday, the river was at 18.87 feet, according to the National Weather Service station in Tulsa, Okla.



Missouri deaths

Three deaths in the St. Louis area and a fourth in Columbia were blamed on the weather Monday.

Joan Dankner, 49, of Ladue, was struck by a tree limb that fell during the storm. And in University City, a flash flood was believed to have killed Willie Johnson, 81, and Louise Bryant, 64.

In Columbia, 21-year-old Michelle Runkle is believed to have drowned in Hominy Creek after going into the rising water early Sunday to help a man whose car had been swept away.

Source: Associated Press







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