Final Update: 4 more tornadoes added on 12/06/18 at 4:15 p.m. Central
Severe weather hammered the Springfield, Missouri County Warning Area during the late night hours of Friday, November 30, 2018, through the early morning hours of Saturday, December 1, 2018, spawning 7 confirmed tornadoes and, unfortunately, causing one fatality in Aurora, Missouri. The National Weather Service Forecast Office in Springfield, Missouri says this late fall severe weather event was caused by a strong storm system that tracked into southeastern Kansas and the Missouri Ozarks from the west. The system started out as a warm front which brought fog and drizzle to the area on Friday. However, things quickly transitioned as a line of thunderstorms commonly referred to as a Quasi-Linear Convective System (QLCS) produced widespread wind damage in addition to the tornadoes across southern Missouri.
A National Weather Service Damage Survey says the first tornado touched down two miles south of Monett, Missouri, at approximately 12:15 a.m. Saturday morning. This very brief EF-0 twister had estimated peak winds of 80 miles per hour and traveled only one-tenth of a mile along the ground reaching a maximum width of around 50 yards. Several homes sustained roof damage, but fortunately, no injuries or deaths were reported.
The situation wasn’t so good with the second tornado which touched down about 15 minutes later. The National Weather Service Damage Survey says this EF-1 tornado touched down 2 miles south of Aurora, Missouri and tracked northeast toward the Aurora Motel. It was at the Aurora Motel where authorities say one person died. The tornado then tracked northward across Highway 60 and impacted Sutherlands before dissipating. This second twister didn’t last too much longer than the first traveling just one half of a mile and having a similar width of around 50 yards. Peak wind speeds from this tornado are estimated at 105 miles per hour. No other reports of injuries or fatalities are being reported from this second tornado.
The third confirmed touchdown occurred at about 12:40 a.m. on Saturday morning when survey crews say an EF-0 tornado touched down near Clever, Missouri. This fairly narrow 40-yard-wide tornado had estimated peak winds of 80 miles per hour and traveled for about 2 miles causing minor damage.
While the Clever, MO tornado was on the ground, a fourth confirmed tornado, an EF-1 with peak wind speeds of around 100 miles per hour, touched down at approximately 12:41 a.m. nearly 1 1/2 miles south of Billings, Missouri and tracked north-northeastward for a little more than a mile. Peak winds are estimated at 100 miles per hour, and this tornado’s width is estimated to be around 75 yards. Two large barns were destroyed, and several homes were damaged from this third twister.
The fifth one in this series was the only tornado to affect Greene County touching down 3 miles west of Republic, Missouri at around 12:47 a.m. This EF-1 had estimated peak winds of 95 miles per hour and spent a little more time on the ground traveling approximately 2 1/2 miles before lifting. With an estimated peak width of 60 yards, this tornado tracked northeast into the western city limits of Republic damaging two large barns and causing minor roof damage to several homes.
As the severe weather shifted eastward, a pair of confirmed tornadoes touched down in Wright County, Missouri about an hour later. The National Weather Service survey crew reports that at 1:22 a.m. on Saturday, an EF-1 tornado hit 2 miles north-northeast of Seymour, Missouri. This was the longest-tracked tornado in this entire series traveling 4 miles on the ground before dissipating approximately 6 miles northeast of Seymour. This 75-yard-wide twister had estimated peak winds of 90 miles per hour and caused significant damage to barns and uprooted multiple trees.
The 7th and final tornado in this bunch hit Wright County at about 1:37 a.m. bringing peak winds of about 70 miles per hour and traveling for only 1/4 of a mile with an estimated width of around 50 yards.
Numerous damage reports poured in between midnight and 3 a.m. Reports of downed power lines and power poles, uprooted trees, and shingles torn from roofs topped the list with some reports of heavy damage to several homes also coming in.