One Year ago Today: May 16th Tornado!🌪️
A Strong EF-3 Tornado that struck highly populated areas! 💔
After the storm, St. Louis was resilient, coming together to rebuild a great town! 🔨
#stlwx#wxtwitter
The eastern Pacific Ocean has kicked off its tropical season with Tropical Storm Amanda. No threat to land, Amanda is forecast to strengthen in the coming days before weakening to a remnant low later this weekend into next week.
https://t.co/meemB5vfqp
May 31, 2013:
The largest tornado in US history carved a 2.6-mile-wide path near El Reno, Oklahoma. The massive and often unpredictable circulation had a complex multi-vortex structure that overtook chasers caught in its path. 8 people were killed & 26 were injured.
#wxhistory
@MarkusSkid68618 Usually, you’ll hear someone use “caveats” in a very still way, like “there are a few caveats.” In this case, because a forecast involves many different scenarios, looking for one caveat wouldn’t be effective! But yes, I understand why that threw you off! 🙃
Soon... full moon!
The next full moon will light the night skies on Sunday, May 31. If you've ever wanted to take a great picture of the Moon, check out our Lunar Photography Guide for tips and tricks: https://t.co/wp8uMt6pVP
We just had to share this impressive imagery of severe thunderstorms sweeping across Texas yesterday, captured by @NOAA's #GOESEast (#GOES19) 🛰️.
The visible imagery reveals fine details within the storms, while the satellite’s Geostationary Lightning Mapper highlights where lightning flashes occurred.
On this day in 2011 – 15 years ago – the deadliest tornado since 1947 leveled a large swath of Joplin, Missouri.
158 people were killed by the mile-wide EF5 tornado.
The disaster was the product of a worst-case scenario on multiple fronts: a high-end meteorological setup on a graduation Sunday in May coupled with cascading failures/lapses at multiple levels.
Though the Storm Prediction Center had included Joplin in a red zone "moderate risk" (the second highest category) AND warned of possible "strong tornadoes," local warnings were handled differently.
No tornado emergency was ever issued by the National Weather Service in Springfield, Missouri.
The Joplin area had been under numerous false-alarm tornado warnings in the years prior, which peer-reviewed research asserts contributed to public complacency. Moreover, frequent siren tests/activations by emergency management lead to "siren fatigue."
Moreover, the Joplin area was under multiple simultaneous conflicting tornado warning polygons for different cells, leading the public to believe the tornado threat was passing north of town. That also lead to confusing siren activation during the event.
Ultimately, about 25% of Joplin was destroyed. The St. John's Regional Medical Center sustained EF5 damage, and had to be torn down due to deformation of its foundation. (It was moved as much as 4 inches.)
3,734 buildings (3,181 homes and 553 businesses/municipal buildings) were destroyed.
In all, the episode showed that – despite technological advancements – expanding population centers are increasingly vulnerable to rare, high-end tornadoes.
Memorial Day weekend if often the first time of the year that many of us get to the beach. Remember, rip currents can sweep even the strongest swimmer away from shore. If at all possible, stay near a lifeguard while swimming. Learn more at: https://t.co/rwTVEa7zJZ
With Memorial Day weekend outdoor events about to ramp up, it's good to think more about lightning safety. Lightning strikes can result in death or serious injury. If you hear thunder or see lightning, take shelter in an enclosed building or a hard-topped vehicle with the windows up. https://t.co/qk3BcVP5M8
On May 16, 2025, a strong EF-3 tornado struck the St. Louis region, claiming four lives.
One year later, we pause with our city and region to honor the victims of this deadly tornado and grieve with those still recovering. To review the event, visit https://t.co/egZtu8IRUe.
Meteorologists from NWS St. Louis spent the last year refining the May 16, 2025 St. Louis Tornado damage assessment. Below is a summary of the adjustments, with more details at https://t.co/T7V9Ujz0OK. Thank you to @MoSEMA_and @CityEMA for their assistance with the data.