BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. — Two small tornadoes touched down in eastern Jackson and Bates counties early Thursday. Neighbors are now cleaning up the damage left behind.
A picturesque view of Lake Jacomo is now in shambles. More than two dozen beautiful, mature trees were split apart, shredded and left to litter the grounds beside the Jackson County Parks Department office.
“It was incredible. It looked sort of like those movies where bombs or artillery had come in and took off tops of trees,” said John Johnson, Jackson County Parks Operations superintendent.
The building was pierced by limbs like darts hitting a bullseye.
“We feel very fortunate,” Johnson said. “Our building took a little bit of damage, but fortunately, the trees fell between the building and between power lines, and for the most part, the damage to structures is minimal compared to damage done to the trees.”
The National Weather Service says the EF-0 tornado packed 85 mph winds and continued from Blue Springs Lake and Lake Jacomo toward Mason School Road.
A few homes in the Greenbriar at Chapman Farms subdivision are missing chunks of roofing. Duane Lasco’s fence was ripped apart.
“The wind picked up, and listening to the wind in bed, then we just heard a loud bang,” Lascoe said.
His neighbor’s garage was peeled apart, with pieces of its mangled metal wrapped around trees. Lascoe is thankful he and his family woke up after hearing nearby tornado sirens and dashed to the basement.
“There’s been a number of other tornadoes around here but nothing ever this close, especially when you can see the destruction happening right outside your window,” Lascoe said.
The tornado’s 6-mile path ended in Lake Lotawana.
“Absolutely like they say, like a freight train. The wind whips up, and that’s the first thing you hear,” Jimmy Wieczorek said.
The tornado split apart large trees in Wieczorek’s yard and left his car crushed below. But after surviving at least two other tornadoes in his home, he’s grateful it wasn’t worse.
“Damage-wise, it’s less severe because my house is intact. Last time it wasn’t,” Wieczorek said. “I still have a house to live in, thank God.”
And all the storm victims are glad no one was hurt.
“Be thankful for every day you’re alive,” Wieczorek said.
There was one major concern during the storms. The city of Blue Springs said many of its sirens didn’t sound.
The city investigated Thursday and determined that staff monitoring the storms received conflicting information about the tornado warning coverage area, and during the time it took to resolve the issue, the danger of the storm had passed.
Blue Springs said it’s retraining staff on policies to err on the side of caution and sound the sirens when there’s a discrepancy.
City officials said they’re grateful there wasn’t any major property damage or injuries overnight. They also issued a reminder that outdoor tornado sirens aren’t meant to be heard inside.
Everyone should have at least two methods of emergency notification, like a weather app, text alert system or weather radio.