I was driving from Miami, OK. to Joplin, MO. oh 05/08/2009 at around 0715 when just SW of Joplin lines started sparking on the road. I pulled my truck over. Then it became very calm, for thirty seconds. Then hail started falling the size of golf balls. The winds started again, I then saw debri and in front of me I saw what appeared to be a rotating cloud, at the time I took my phone out and as I snapped the picture a funnel dropped down. It was more then winds that visited us this morning!!!!
May 8th Funnel Cloud
by willyork (Subscribe)
Posted on: May 8, 2009 at 1:56 PM CST
Channel: Weather
Location: SW of Joplin
I enhanced that picture, it is definitely not a tornado. It's just a rain shaft. As I said, a tornado of that size would be easily noticeable on Doppler Radar... think of the Greensburg, KS tornado. All we saw was straight line winds
You could not of enhanced this photo, it is an photo from a cam, and those do not have the pixels to enhance from the original. As stated the individual stated it was a funnel, which when looked at can be a small funnel enhance with rain.
I agree now many state that it was not just straight line winds. The person who took this pictured stated a funnel not a tornado. Dog Heady stated that there may of been some small tornado's. This picture also cannot be enhanced not enough pixels.
Joe never stated a tornado, I was there, it was a small funnel embedded in rain shafts, enhancing a cell phone picture, give me the photo shop you used, because pixels on a cell phone just too difficult to enhance from this size, from a copy.
I was in that area also, and I know I saw a small funnel cloud, and some people need to understand that a small funnel can draw in rain to enhance the form to look much larger. I saw a F-1 that appeared to look like a wedge F-5 by the rain it drew in
I saw this also in the area that the person stated. I saw the same thing. A small tail flicking in and out of the clouds, it was a funnel. I understand how someone not being there thought you were talking about the rain shaft. It was a funnel imbedd.
National Weather Service offices in Springfield, Mo., and St. Louis received multiple reports of tornadoes from one end of Missouri to the other, mostly near Interstate 44. The weather service sent out teams to determine if tornadoes were down.
Hey Joe you need to become a weather investigator, because just now the National Weather service is indicating several small tornado were clouded in rain, many small funnels. Please read the above post. Great Picture!!! I also saw a funnel shourded.
I saw a funnel just like this, rotation and it looked much worse then what it was. It was a small F-1 but with the winds wrapping the rain around it, it looked like a F-5. Great picture. I agree I cannot enhance a cell phone picture pixels are to sma
Jasper county spotter and deputy at Jasper County here. I did not see this, but it was reported by spotters in Missouri and detailed as a possible funnel coming in and out, with rain wrapping around it. I believe it was a small funnel wrapped in rain
That is a great picture. I saw where now reports are coming in that many funnels were spotted and maybe small F-1. Empire is stating that damage to asbury plant WAS NOT WINDS. The damage is that of a small tornado. Yes small funnel wrapped in rain.
This was the sighting as it approached Carthage that set off tornado sirens with a sighting by spotters of a funnel cloud. Great picture. I have seen similar pictures that with the rain wrapped around it made the funnel appear larger. Great Picture.
I notice that the trees in this picture is being blown towards the cloud base. Understand that this funnel was shrouded by winds. The spotter I talked to also stated the funnel appeared from ground as a HUGE tornado when it was in fact a small funnel
With the trees being blown or sucked in that direction also indicates a funnel as seen by spotters. This was a funnel shrouded in rain as many reported and saw the same thing. Classic funnel in rain picture I have many I have taken many, appear huge
This funnel appears huge when in fact many of the reports were small funnel as this was, I saw a small F-1 tornado years ago in Kansas, but appeared like it was a F-5 by the rain being wrapped around it be strong straight line winds. This is it also.
Tornados in squall line what are you talking about Jor. This was not a squall line. It was a wall cloud, in which it was a funnel with a rain shaft around it. You need to give up being a wanna-be weather analysis. It was seen by many.
Steve Runnels, Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service, confirmed that southwest of Joplin - just about the area this picture was taken in - was hit by a microburst - not a tornado.
A wall cloud is not a storm type, the line of storms that came through was a squall line. Tornadoes develop on the leading edge and are generally weak. The environment of squall lines simply cannot support the large tornadoes you have with supercells
I have studied Meteorology and know probably just a little more than most of you do. I've seen the damage first hand around the area southwest of Joplin and it does not match the damage that would be caused by a tornado.
Only 3 possible tornadoes occurred yesterday, none were near Joplin. 90 MPH winds from a microburst will cause damage similar to a weak end tornado, but the damage pattern isn't the same.
For additional info from the National Weather Service, go to http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=sgf&storyid=27308&source=0
Joe says ...
On Friday, May 8 at 3:42 PM
This looks like a rain shaft, if a tornado of this size were to occur it would be easily detectable on doppler radar. And large tornadoes don't normally occur in squall lines either. This is either a rain shaft or microburst.