Missouri, 1996

Tornado in Missouri, April 28, 1996

April 28, 1996 · NWS SGF · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An F1 tornado struck the south and southeast part of Joplin along the Jasper and Newton county line. The damage path was centered one-half mile north of the intersection of South Range Line Road and I-44.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
12
Property damage
$12 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS SGF wrote it up.

An F1 tornado struck the south and southeast part of Joplin along the Jasper and Newton county line. The damage path was centered one-half mile north of the intersection of South Range Line Road and I-44. Eight businesses were heavily damaged, including three hotels. A dozen other businesses suffered minor damage, such as broken winds and trees downed on roofs. Minor wind damage, mostly confined to trees and signs down, occurred throughout the rest of the city.

The radar

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 101 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:47 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Jasper

When
April 28, 1:45 AM CST to 1:48 AM CST
Where
Jasper County, Joplin
Rating
F1
Path length
2.5 mi
Path width
200 yd
Injuries
12 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$12 million
Coordinates
37.080, -94.520

What these are

Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Missouri in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Missouri, 1996Warnings in Missouri, April 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5551436.