Tornado surveys completed in Missouri, southern Illinois

Staff from the National Weather Service office in Paducah logged a lot of miles to conduct storm surveys this week across three states in their service area.

Of the 19 total tornadoes in Missouri, 12 occurred in the southeast from Poplar Bluff to metro St. Louis.

Paducah meteorologists also surveyed two tornadoes in Illinois and one in Indiana.

A notable characteristic of this week's swarm of tornadoes was their intensity. On average, 80 percent of tornadoes are rated EF-0 or EF-1, or wind speeds of less than 110 miles per hour. By contrast, ten of the twelve tornadoes surveyed were EF-2 or EF-3, with winds of 111-165 miles per hour.

Of the twelve tornadoes, six were rated EF-3, four EF-2, and two EF-1. They claimed a total of seven lives and injured at least eight more people.

The tornadoes and their intensity included:

Fremont, MO     EF-3
Gads Mill, MO   EF-3
Leeper, MO        EF-3
Ripley County, MO  EF-3
Wayne/Bollinger Co, MO  EF-3
Perryville, MO    EF-2
Poplar Bluff, MO   EF-3
Puxico, MO     EF-1
DuQuoin, IL     EF-2
Sikeston, MO    EF-1
Vienna, IL        EF-2
Oakland City, IN  EF-1

Additional damage surveys are possible in the coming days, and additional tornadoes may be confirmed as well as adjustments made to the path or intensity of already confirmed tornadoes.