A tornado passed through the western and central portion of Warren County late Monday night, according to a report from the Warren County Emergency Management Agency. The tornado had estimated peak …
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Tornado touches down; CodeRED alerts available
Posted
By Kate Miller, Record Managing Editor
A tornado passed through the western and central portion of Warren County late Monday night, according to a report from the Warren County Emergency Management Agency.The tornado had estimated peak winds of 100 mph and swept along a 21-mile path from southeastern Montgomery County all the way to Highway 47 south of Warrenton between 11:15 p.m. and 11:40 p.m., according to the report. Assessment the next day rated the tornado as EF-1, a designation for a weaker tornado with possible moderate damage.Outdoor warning sirens were not activated because the National Weather Service had not issued a tornado warning.Mike Daniels, director of Warren County Emergency Management Agency, said Doppler radar had indicated the possibility of a funnel cloud during storms that blew through the area Monday night. It was not confirmed until the National Weather Service assessed the area on Tuesday.The agency is seeking reports of any damage in the area. Residents can call 636-456-3786.Wentzville, towns in the Kansas City area and Perryville are also cleaning up after being struck by tornadoes at the very start of peak tornado season.Tornadoes can happen throughout the year in Missouri, but during peak season from March to June, they can happen anywhere and at anytime. All people can do is take safety precautions.Perryville, a small town on south Interstate 55, is cleaning up after an EF-4 tornado that left one person dead and 12 others injured on Feb. 28. At its peak, winds blew at 180 mph.At least two tornadoes touched down in the Kansas City area Monday night.The same storm system entered the St. Louis area in the early hours of Tuesday. It came in with strong winds, tested power lines and included a tornado watch.The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-1 tornado with 88 mph winds that hit Wentzville. Two people were injured. The tornado overturned mobile homes, removed roofs, uprooted trees and leveled highway signs.Throughout the area, the storm left many without power. All of this happened after a windy but mild day.In his job, knowing the weather can mean life or death. He essentially creates and implements plans for protecting citizens in the event of a natural or man-made disaster.Daniels is an advocate for CodeRED, a nationwide, web- and app-based service for citizens to receive critical information in case of a local or regional emergency. People who sign up for CodeRED receive email or text alerts when something happens that they need to know.He said when people sign on with a cellphone app, they have an advantage.“By putting it on your smartphone, you’re going to receive the weather warning that is local to you because it’s based on the cellphone tower your phone is associated with,” he said.If a cellphone with the CodeRED app is nearest a Chicago, Ill., cell tower, it will receive alerts specific to events in Chicago. If that same cellphone is at home in Wright City, it will receive critical information from Wright City.This time of year, preparing for storms is a high priority for emergency management, because it’s not just a storm, it could be a storm with life-threatening winds, flooding, hail and tornadoes.Tornadoes form when conditions are just right and the atmosphere is already unstable, like during a thunderstorm. It’s warm and humid air in the lower atmosphere meeting cooler air higher up, creating wind sheers, updrafts and downdrafts. With all that force and movement, pockets of air can start spinning and growing into what we know as a twister.According to the researchers at USTornados.com, from 1991 to 2015 the United States had an average of 1,224 tornadoes a year.States in the Midwest and the Gulf had the most tornadoes. Texas had the most with an average of 146.7 tornadoes a year. Kansas came in second with 92.4 and Oklahoma came in third with 65.4.Missouri came in ninth for most tornadoes with an average of 46.7 tornadoes a year. The busiest month in Missouri was May, with an average of 12 tornadoes. The average for March was 3.7, the average for April was 8.1 and the average for June was 6.2.During the March 6-7 storm, citizens saw tornado watches and tornado warnings being issued. Daniels said a watch means atmospheric conditions exist for a tornado to form. A warning means a tornado has been sighted or indicated on radar and citizens should take shelter immediately.Daniels said that’s when a family’s safety plan should go into action. Go to the basement, he said.“If there is no basement, go to the most interior room with no windows. Put the most space between you and (the outside walls) of the home,” Daniels said. He said mobile homes are most at risk.If bad weather hits while driving, pull over. Find a building to seek shelter in. If none exists, stay in the car and get down low. Or find low ground and stay low.Daniels added that storms often bring flooding. He said motorists shouldn’t take chances driving through flooded roads.“It takes 2 inches of water to move a vehicle. All you see is water. You don’t know if the road underneath is still intact,” he said.Daniels said that 12 percent of Warren County residents have signed up for CodeRED. He’d like to see more.“It’s an outstanding tool that can be utilized by our citizens to get information — any important safety information — that the county needs to disseminate,” he said.Citizens can access CodeRED through the Emergency Management Agency page on the Warren County website to receive alerts by email. They can download the CodeRED app from their smartphone stores to receive text alerts.For more information, or to receive CodeRED land line alerts, contact Daniels at 636-456-3786.
An EF-1 tornado passed through Warren County during storms late Monday, March 6. The county Emergency Management Agency is seeking damage reports. Submitted photo.
