Northwestern Missouri experienced severe weather Tuesday night as tornado warnings were issued across the region, bringing damaging winds, heavy rain and flooding concerns.
National Weather Service meteorologist Brent Pesel said several tornadoes were reported in southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa, but no tornadoes had been confirmed in northwest Missouri as of Wednesday morning.
While tornadoes were not reported locally, Pesel said strong winds caused widespread damage to power lines and property throughout the area.
“We got dozens of wind reports with the storms,” Pesel said. “We basically had a line of storms creating damaging winds that stretched all the way from the Missouri-Iowa border all the way down into the Kansas City metro and even down toward points south of the KC metro.”
The initial storm system has moved out of the Maryville area, though Pesel said storms were still active Wednesday morning near Joplin and extending toward Branson. While those storms are not expected to produce winds as intense as Tuesday night’s system, flooding remains a concern.
Heavy rainfall from storms over the weekend and Tuesday night has caused several road closures across northwest Missouri. Pesel said some areas in north-central Missouri received as much as 5 to 6 inches of rain from a single storm over the weekend, worsening already saturated conditions.
“A lot of the rivers and creeks that filled up, they just got filled up again,” Pesel said. “The good news is it is looking to be a little bit cooler and quieter on the weather front for the next few days, so that flow of water will eventually make its way downstream.”
Pesel said most rivers are expected to return to normal levels by the end of the week if calmer weather conditions continue.
Officials are encouraging drivers to stay informed on road closures, flooding conditions and updated weather forecasts before traveling.