Technical > Weather > [SWX] Joplin Tornado, Before and After

[SWX] Joplin Tornado, Before and After

Wow. I was stationed 10 miles away from Sedalia, Missouri for their Memorial Day storms in 1976 when they were struck by three tornadoes in one night and that was the worst destruction I have ever seen. This brought back some visual memories and this was worse. Having a multi-vortex F5 tornado grind away at your city and you won't have much left. I know the people out there are tough as nails and they'll rebuild.
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If I agree with you we'll both be wrong.

reply to burner50
Doesn't say how long after the after is, but rather surprised to though all trees gone, virtually all the rather tall wooden power poles are still intact
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»haywardm.com (Hayward's Key West)

reply to Hayward

reply to burner50
The video was probably taken in June... The tornado happened on Sun., May 22, 2011. A friend of mine went down to help three days after the tornado struck. She could not believe all the destruction. In fact, we went by Joplin the day after the tornado hit. What w saw was unnerving enough and we were not in the worst of the damage path.

reply to ropeguru

reply to burner50

Or they were replaced be fore the video was shot as mentioned before.

Power poles go down easily in tornadic storms.

Well again no date for the after, but would be surprised so many could be replaced in a short time.... especially ones that uniquely tall.

But again without heavy transformers (likely on the neigborhood feeder poles), and maybe why so tall (unusually so), so trees falling wouldn't take them down and still low wind profile. You realy don't see the poles off to the sides.

And for wooden poles thes are tall... not having a tape measure but average wild tree is at least 30-50ft tall and theses poles well above that.

In last decade here in KW important wooden poles have been replaced with steel core concrete poles, and our power outages are much less, and quick resotore but for very local problems even after hurricanes.

While media might make you think so, Tornadoes are nothing new and unique to Joplin... likely why designed that way.

And before someone jumps on me this was absolutely an exceptional tornado.... but again not a unique occurrence except in intensity... western MO/Joplin is well in fringe Tornado Alley or very sever thunderstorms regularly and not unusual and yet those transformer less main lines above tree level did survive, though neighborhood and transformer laden poles they fed maybe did not (not seen) but also easily severed after, and main power artery maintained.

While not the high tension line most might envision on a local level it certainly is... and needs to stay intact.... higher than trees (again unusually so) and low wind loaded.... sever the branches and keep the artery alive.

Anyone in the Joplin electric industry want to chime in on that observation?
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»haywardm.com (Hayward's Key West)

reply to ropeguru

reply to burner50
Those are new telephone poles.

After our ice storm in 1998 there were no electrical poles of any kind standing. Even the huge steel ones that carry the trunk power lines off the grid were flattened. The poles they put up to get Watertown, NY back on where I was living all had to be replaced again during the course of the next couple of years because they were untreated and not meant for our weather. There were hundreds of trailer loads of poles brought up here from all the country just to get our electricity back up. In January, needless to say, it was a priority.
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If I agree with you we'll both be wrong.

reply to Hayward
Crews from various power companies have been down to assist. Crews had to get the power back up and running. Thousands of trees lost branches. Did you not notice in the before picture all of the trees? It will take awhile for trees to be that green again in Joplin. I have photos of damage that an EF3 tornado did near Hot Springs, AR. I took the pics on May 21st and the tornado hit on April 25th of this year. I have also seen where the EF4 tornado came thru Mountain View, AR. I was down there in May 2009 and you could definitely tell where the Feb. 5, 2008, tornado went thru.

Yep all pretty new poles, and fresh shinny new wire. If there is any doubt (which I have none) just look at the base's of the poles where you will see a fresh pile of dirt where they bored them in. Also note that many of the poles that previously had transformers on them no longer do since there are no buildings left to service.

After the tornado came through and cleared everything out, it was easy of the power crews to drop new poles.

reply to Hayward