By Wally Kennedy

wkennedy@joplinglobe.com

A powerful thunderstorm with sustained winds in excess of 85 mph early Friday ripped across the Tri-State Area, damaging thousands of homes and businesses, and uprooting thousands of trees.

Three people with minor storm-related injuries were treated at Freeman Hospital West.

After surveying the damage in Cherokee County, Kan., and Jasper County, Mo., Bill Davis, head of the National Weather Service (NWS) station in Springfield, said, “It was a massive windstorm that covered all of Southwest Missouri. It was like an inland hurricane. The winds were of hurricane force.

“We knew it was going to happen, but we were expecting it around midnight. It was about 4 a.m. in the Wichita area when it got going. It was like pulling a string on a top, and off she went. It was lined up for Missouri.’’

Andy Foster, a meteorologist with the NWS in Springfield, said, “Once it got organized, it started accelerating to the east. The storm itself was traveling at 60 to 70 mph. It was covering a lot of ground in a hurry.’’

Said Davis: “It was one of the fastest ones I’ve seen in a long time. There was damage ahead of it and damage behind it. It was an amazing storm.’’

Unlike a tornado in which the damage is confined to a single track, this storm caused 75 to 90 mph wind damage over a wide area, Davis said.

The high-wind swath was bordered on the north by Sherman, West Mineral and Scammon in Southeast Kansas. In Missouri, the northern edge of the swath went north of Asbury and through Jasper. The southern edge of the swath went through Melrose and Galena in Kansas, and through Joplin and Carthage in Missouri.

“I could write a book about the various types of damage I saw today (Friday),’’ Davis said. “Trees were broken off and uprooted, roofs were torn off, outbuildings were destroyed, power lines were down and trailers were flipped over.

“That’s why I’m so surprised so few people were injured.’’

He said he saw no evidence of a tornado in either Cherokee or Jasper counties. But, a survey team will travel to Lamar to look at the possibility that a small tornado struck in that area.

Keith Stammer, emergency management coordinator for Joplin and Jasper County, said, “The National Weather Service told us at 6 a.m. this (Friday) morning that this storm would pack a one-two punch. We were told that winds would be a concern on the front side and the backside. That’s exactly what happened.’’

The city’s storm sirens were sounded at 7 a.m. for three minutes. The storm’s squall line or leading edge struck Joplin about 7:10 a.m. The sirens were activated again for three minutes at 8 a.m. when residents of the Iron Gates area reported seeing rotation in the backside of the storm in the southwest part of Joplin.

Stammer said he received reports from local residents on Friday who said they did not hear the sirens at 7 a.m.

“I do know they were turned on because I was there when they did it,’’ he said. “But there is a possibility some of them did not sound.

“We received a report that the siren in the Webb City Industrial Park had been damaged. We also heard that the siren at 34th Street and Hearnes Boulevard, which is a new one, did not sound.

“If a person lives near one of Joplin’s sirens and they did not hear them sound this (Friday) morning, I would like to know about it. We will have those sirens checked.’’ To reach Stammer, people may call 623-5858.

The city’s sirens are sounded to warn people who are outside that a storm with winds of at least 75 mph is approaching Joplin. The National Weather Service said wind gusts in Joplin peaked at 85 mph Friday morning.

The storm caused no damage to Joplin’s public schools, according to C.J. Huff, superintendent. David Hertzberg, the city’s public works director, said Joplin’s No. 2 fire station and the Joplin Health Department were damaged slightly.

Hertzberg said city crews will work with utility crews to clear streets and accelerate electrical-power restoration. At one point, he said, more than 100 streets were blocked by downed trees or limbs.

Four assessment teams surveyed the damage Friday in Joplin. An estimated 1,500 trees were downed. At least 2,000 homes had some roof damage.

Dan Pekarek, head of the Joplin Health Department, said residents who have lost electrical power should keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed. He said full freezers can keep food safe for about two days without power.

Food with temperatures of 41 degrees or more for more than four hours should be discarded.

The American Red Cross opened a shelter at 5 p.m. Friday at Forest Park Baptist Church at Seventh Street and Range Line Road.

1973 storm similar, but worse

On the morning of May 11, 1973, a cyclonic windstorm descended on Joplin from the northwest. It was a Friday.

Harold McCoy, who was the city’s assistant public works director at the time, said, “We’ve gone through this before and it was worse. But there are certain similarities. This one had strong straight winds, but the one in 1973 had more direct straight winds.

“Like then, the ground had been saturated with rain. Because of that, the ground was soft and trees, especially the oaks, were blown over. We lost about 5,000 trees that morning (in 1973). We also had a lot of hail back then.’’

Harlan Snow, a reporter for the Globe at the time, said, “In 1973, it came from the north/northwest after daylight. It was a rolling black cloud.

“The big damage back then was the extreme amount of hail. Practically every roof in Joplin was damaged. Hundreds of building permits were issued after that storm to repair roofs. I remember that it blew in the west wall of the gymnasium at Joplin High School. McClelland Park was stripped of trees.’’

The 1973 storm killed three people and injured more than 100. Damage estimates in Joplin exceeded $20 million.