Tornado outbreak sequence of May 21–26, 2011
On May 22, a large, devastating EF5 tornado tracked through Joplin, Missouri, leaving behind catastrophic damage. It was a multiple-vortex tornado in excess of wide. Mainly the southern part of the city was affected with most structures in the area either damaged or destroyed. 162 people were killed along the path through Jasper and Newton counties in Missouri, making it the deadliest U.S. tornado since 1947, and one of the deadliest single tornadoes ever recorded. Among the most heavily damaged structures was St. John's Hospital (pictured right), which later was torn down due to the severity of the structural damage. Damages were estimated at around $2.8 billion (2011 USD).
Joplin, Missouri
Joplin has a humid subtropical climate ("Cfa"), as defined by the Köppen climate classification system, with cool, dry winters and hot, humid summers; the severe weather season from April through June is the wettest time of year. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from in January to in July. On average, 51 days of + highs, 3.5 days of + highs, 14 days where the high fails to rise above freezing, and 1.9 nights of sub- occur per year. It has an average annual precipitation of , including an average of snow. Extremes in temperature range from on February 13, 1905 up to on July 14, 1954; the last or below and the last + reading occurred on February 3 and August 2, 2011, respectively. The city is located in Tornado Alley. Several storms have hit the city, including an F3 tornado in 1971, a tornado in 1973, an EF1 tornado on May 8, 2009, a blizzard on February 1, 2011, and an EF5 tornado on May 22, 2011.