Scattered severe thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon and early evening of 8 July. These storms mainly produced damaging downburst winds, knocking over trees and power lines.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS SGF wrote it up.
Scattered severe thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon and early evening of 8 July. These storms mainly produced damaging downburst winds, knocking over trees and power lines. Approximately 30 boat docks near Grand Glaze Bridge were damaged overturned on Lake of the Ozarks from a more intense microburst.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Springfield, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 8, 1:10 PM CST, 2 hours 26 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 210 PM CDT TUE JUL 8 2008 .DISCUSSION... WARM ADVECTION SHOWERS IMPACTED THE CWA TODAY IN RESPONSE TO AN INCREASE IN GULF MOISTURE SPREADING AROUND THE SUMMERTIME HIGH. ADDITIONAL CONVECTION IS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON...PARTICULARLY IN AREAS THAT EXPERIENCES CLOUD BREAKS. A LARGER CLUSTER OF THUNDERSTORMS HAS DEVELOPED OVER EASTERN KANSAS. THIS FEATURE CONTINUES TO EXPAND WITH TIME AS IT TRACKS INTO WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI. THE ENVIRONMENT OVER SOUTHEAST KANSAS AND NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA WAS BEGINNING TO DESTABILIZE...AND MAY BECOME AN AREA FOR ADDITIONAL STORM DEVELOPMENT...AS OUTFLOW FROM THE KANSAS STORM CLUSTER INTERACTS WITH THIS ENVIRONMENT. SHORT TERM (TONIGHT - THURSDAY NIGHT)... FOR THE SHORT TERM PERIODS...COLLABORATION EFFORTS WITH HPC AND SURROUNDING OFFICES SUGGESTED THAT THE WRF AND ECMWF SOLUTIONS WOULD HAVE BETTER CHANCES OF VERIFYING. THE GFS WAS THE OUTLIER AS CONVECTIVE FEEDBACK ISSUES CONTINUES TO CREATE FALSE QPF OUTPUT. THE GFS INITIALIZED THE ONGOING PRECIPITATION POORLY...WHILE THE WRF WAS MUCH CLOSER TO REALITY. A RUN TOTAL OF THE WRF FROM TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON...SUGGESTED AN AXIS OF FOUR TO FIVE INCHES FROM NEAR PITTSBURG KANSAS TO WINONA MISSOURI. HEAVY RAIN WILL OCCUR IN RESPONSE TO A SLOW MOVING FRONTAL SYSTEM INTERACTING WITH AN AIRMASS LOADED IN MOISTURE CONTENT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. CONVERGENCE ALONG THE FRONT BECOMES MAXIMIZED TONIGHT AS A SUBTLE LOW LEVEL JET DEVELOPS SOUTH OF THE FRONT...CONVERGING INTO NORTHERLY LOW LEVEL TRAJECTORIES NORTH OF THE FRONT. THIS CONVERGENCE LINGERS INTO WEDNESDAYS DAYTIME PERIOD...AND I WOULD SUSPECT THAT OVERNIGHT CONVECTIVE CLUSTERS ALONG THE FRONT WILL CONTINUE INTO MOST OF WEDNESDAYS PERIOD. PERHAPS THE MOST DANGEROUS ASPECT TO THIS SYNOPTIC SETUP WILL BE TRAINING CONVECTION THAT COULD CREATE SEVERAL INCHES OF RAIN OVER ANY PARTICULAR LOCATION...JUST DEPENDING ON WHERE THE BEST AXIS OF CONVERGENCE SETS UP. UPPER LEVEL FLOW PARALLEL TO THE FRONT WILL CAUSE THE FRONT TO BECOME QUASI-STATIONARY OVER THE CWA. MEANWHILE MOISTURE CONTINUES TO STREAM INTO FRONTAL LOCATION NOT ONLY FROM THE WESTERN GULF...BUT WATER VAPOR SUGGESTS THAT THERE IS A SUB-TROPICAL FETCH. WITH THIS SAID...WIDESPREAD RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE TO THREE INCHES ARE EXPECTED ACROSS EXTREME SOUTHEAST KANSAS AND THE MISSOURI OZARKS. THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN EXTENDED THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. I ALSO EXPANDED THE WATCH TO INCLUDE THE ENTIRE CWA. MOIST ANTECEDENT CONDITIONS ALONG WITH A HIGH WATER TABLE WILL ALLOW FOR A QUICK ONSET OF FLASH FLOODING. LONG TERM (FRIDAY - MONDAY)... MEDIUM RANGE MODELS SUGGESTS THAT THE INTENSITY OF THE SUMMERTIME HIGH REMAINS MODEST OVER THE FAR SOUTHERN PLAINS THROUGH THE LONG TERM PERIODS. EXTREME SOUTHEAST KANSAS AND THE MISSOURI OZARKS WILL BE POSITIONED WITHIN THE SOUTHERN BELT OF WESTERLIES THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK. TYPICAL JULY TEMPERATURES ARE LIKELY WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 80S AND LOW 90S. MOISTURE LEVELS WILL TAKE ON MORE OF A TROPICAL STRUCTURE...LEADING TO RAIN CHANCES ON A DAILY BASIS. THE SUMMERTIME AFTERNOON PULSE THUNDERSTORM SEASON LOOKS TO BE UNDERWAY AS MODELS SHOW PWATS CONSISTENTLY RANGING FROM 1.6 TO 1.8 INCHES. MEANWHILE...MODELS ALSO INDICATE THE POSSIBILITY OF A COUPLE OF SUBTLE SHORTWAVES MIGRATING THROUGH THE WESTERLY ZONED OUT FLOW. AS A RESULT...I WILL KEEP LOW END RAIN CHANCES WITHIN THE EXTENDED PERIODS. SEVERE WEATHER CAN NOT BE RULED OUT AS WELL...ESPECIALLY IF AN OVERNIGHT MCS APPROACHES FROM THE WEST. DOWNBURST POTENTIAL WITH AFTERNOON PULSERS WILL EXISTS GIVEN THE DEEPER MOISTURE TRANSPORTING IN FROM THE GULF. CRAMER && .AVIATION... FOR THE 1800 UTC KSGF/KJLN TAFS...SCATTERED SHOWERS HAVE MOVED EAST OF THE TAF SITES FOR THE MOST PART...FOR NOW. ANOTHER CLUSTER OF THUNDERSTORMS IS ALSO PASSING NORTH OF KJLN ACROSS EASTERN KS. CLOUDS HAVE SUPPRESSED INSTABILITY...BUT BELIEVE WE COULD SEE SOME SCATTERED REDEVELOPMENT WITH SFC TEMPERATURES AND INSTABILITY RECOVERING SOMEWHAT DURING THE MID/LATE AFTERNOON HOURS. THE BETTER CHANCE FOR SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE TONIGHT AS AN ORGANIZED CLUSTER OF STORMS MOVES ESE-SE INTO THE AREA. FOR NOW...HAVE JUST MVFR CONDITIONS AS THE PREDOMINATE WORST CONDITIONS FOR TONIGHT...BUT COULD SEE SOME LOWER IFR CEILINGS...ESPECIALLY IN THE WAKE OF HEAVIER CONVECTION AS THE BOUNDARY LAYER MOISTENS. DSA && .SGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MO...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR ALL COUNTIES THROUGH 00Z THURSDAY. KS...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR ALL COUNTIES THROUGH 00Z THURSDAY. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 1218 PM CDT TUE JUL 8 2008 KSZ073-097-101-MOZ055>058-066>071-077>083-088>098-101>106-091730- BOURBON-CRAWFORD-CHEROKEE-BENTON-MORGAN-MILLER-MARIES-VERNON- ST. CLAIR-HICKORY-CAMDEN-PULASKI-PHELPS-BARTON-CEDAR-POLK-DALLAS- LACLEDE-TEXAS-DENT-JASPER-DADE-GREENE-WEBSTER-WRIGHT-NEWTON- LAWRENCE-CHRISTIAN-DOUGLAS-HOWELL-SHANNON-MCDONALD-BARRY-STONE- TANEY-OZARK-OREGON- 1218 PM CDT TUE JUL 8 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF THE MISSOURI OZARKS AND EXTREME SOUTHEAST KANSAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT MUCH OF EXTREME SOUTHEAST KANSAS AND THE MISSOURI OZARKS THIS AFTERNOON. A FEW STORMS MAY BECOME STRONG...WITH WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH AND CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. NO SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED. HEADING INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS SOUTHERN KANSAS AND SOUTHERN MISSOURI. THERE ARE INDICATIONS THAT TRAINING CONVECTION ALONG A SLOW MOVING FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL CREATE FLASH FLOODING. WIDESPREAD RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL AVERAGE ONE TO THREE INCHES...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS WHERE TRAINING STORMS OCCUR. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE REST OF THE WEEK AS THE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED FRONTAL SYSTEM STALLS OUT NEAR THE REGION. ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK AS THE AIRMASS OVER THE AREA REMAINS MOIST AND UNSTABLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT. && THIS PRODUCT IS NOW AVAILABLE IN GRAPHICAL FORMAT...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION...AT HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/SGF(ALL LOWERCASE) CRAMER
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO 355 PM CDT TUE JUL 8 2008 MOZ055-067-068-082145- HICKORY MO-ST. CLAIR MO-BENTON MO- 355 PM CDT TUE JUL 8 2008 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR EASTERN ST. CLAIR...NORTHERN HICKORY AND SOUTHERN BENTON COUNTIES UNTIL 445 PM CDT... AT 352 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF OSCEOLA...OR 17 MILES WEST OF HERMITAGE...MOVING EAST AT 29 MPH. IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM...SEEK SHELTER INDOORS AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. PENNY SIZE HAIL...AND WINDS AROUND 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. DSA
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
10 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Downburst winds knocked trees down across Highway U approximately one mile west of Highway 65.
Downburst winds knocked over a few trees.
Downburst winds knocked over two trees into some power lines.
Eighty to ninety mph wind gusts from a microburst caused major damage near Grand Glaze Bridge on Lake of the Ozarks. Approximately 30 boat docks were damaged and overturned while numerous trees were knocked over in the surrounding area. Trees were also downed in Osage Beach, causing $20,000 in damage to homes.
Downburst winds knocked over a few trees across Airport Road.
Downburst winds knocked over a large tree across the intersection of Highway 42 and County Road 134.
Downburst winds knocked over a large tree across Highway AA.
Thunderstorm wind gusts downed trees onto a fence. A car port was also damaged and blown over.
Thunderstorm wind gusts knocked over a six inch diameter weeping willow tree near the intersection of Golden and Battlefield.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Missouri in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, July 2008
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: 115360, 115363, 115364, 115373, 115396, 115377, 115381, 115390, 115393, 115395.