2011 Joplin tornado
The 2011 Joplin tornado was a catastrophic EF5-rated multiple-vortex tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, late in the afternoon of Sunday, May 22, 2011. It was part of a larger late-May tornado outbreak and reached a maximum width of nearly during its path through the southern part of the city. This particular tornado was unusual in that it intensified in strength and grew larger in size at a very fast rate. The tornado tracked eastward across the city, and then continued eastward across Interstate 44 into rural portions of Jasper County and Newton County. It was the third tornado to strike Joplin since May 1971.
Tornado outbreak sequence of June 3–11, 2008
A strong jet stream moved northeast across the Great Plains region and a strong surface low in western Kansas strengthened as it moved to the Nebraska-South Dakota border. Ahead of the low, very warm and moist air spread throughout the South Central United States into Nebraska, eastern sections of South Dakota and the upper Mississippi Valley. The combination of strong winds and warm and moist air created conditions favorable for strong thunderstorms. On June 5, a high risk of severe weather was issued for six different states in the Midwestern United States, with a moderate risk area surrounding the high risk area. Forecasters had warned of a potentially historic outbreak, as computer forecasting models for June 5 resembled those on June 8, 1974, when 39 tornadoes struck the southern Great Plains and killed 22 people. Wichita State University canceled evening classes because of the weather predictions. Severe weather began developing across eastern Colorado and northwestern Kansas during the morning and into the early afternoon, producing several weak tornadoes in the process. An EF1 tornado impacted a campground near Kellogg, Iowa and injured two people. Despite extremely favorable conditions, severe weather for the day was limited and the tornadoes generally caused minimal damage.