Fort Leonard Wood, MO EF3 Tornado – December 31, 2010

SPC Stats

Path length: 7.5 miles

Width: 500 yards

Fatalities: 0

Injuries: 4

Rating: EF3

County: Pulaski

The state of Missouri was hit by 17 tornadoes on December 31, 2010. Three were given a rating of EF-3. We look at one of those in this summary. It tracked 7.5 miles over Fort Leonard Wood in Pulaski County. On the east side of the base, numerous homes were destroyed. Some homes had complete wall damage. Per the NWS survey, 159 homes were damaged, 41 of which were destroyed. There was extensive damage to several military training area and moderate damage to installation utility systems. The water treatment plant on the base was severely damaged. The second level of the building was completely ripped apart. The tornado disrupted Fort Leonard Wood’s power supply system, shut off the water system and damaged gas lines.

Tornado Path

SPC coordinates: Start: 37.6857 / -92.1901 End: 37.7642 / -92.0872

Note: Exact tornado path may not be straight and/or continuous.

Image Via Storm Data

Images via NWS Springfield

Images via Tish Evans

A special thank you goes out to Tish Evans for the below photos. Tish’s husband was in the Air Force at the time the tornado struck. He used to be in the Army, and they still had friends stationed at Fort Leonard Wood. She told us: “I end up doing a huge fundraiser for them and had a truck donated so that I could take everything that was donated for the service members and their families that were affected by the tornado.”