Plans of rest and relaxation for Memorial Day weekend were thwarted Saturday afternoon as a severe thunderstorm with high winds, lightning, hail and torrential rain struck Dent County.
Widespread destruction was sustained across the countryside with downtown Salem receiving the worst damage. Officials report no injuries have been reported as a result of the storm. The Springfield Office of the National Weather Service estimates straight line winds reached as high as 85 miles-per-hour, but no funnel cloud appears to have touched the ground.
“Wind speeds that high means it was almost like a Category One hurricane,” says meteorologist Mike Griffin of the Springfield National Weather Service office. “Due to the nature of the damage we found there is no indication a tornado was on the ground, but there is a widespread swath of destruction over a large area, which is consistent with straight line wind damage.”
First Baptist Church received significant damage. The roof of its gymnasium was torn off by high winds and flung more than 100 yards away where it landed on top of Fourth Street’s business row. The roof of the church’s sanctuary also saw sections ripped off and water seeped into the building’s interior.
“The recovery is going well, but our gym is irreparably damaged. Thankfully the rest of the church was not too badly damaged,” says Pastor Michael York . “We’re thankful for everyone who came out and helped after the storm. I don’t anticipate we’ll have to cancel any more services, and as far as Vacation Bible School is concerned, we’ll improvise and use our other spaces to make it work.”
Other areas hit hard areas of Salem’s inner core were Hickory Street, West Third Street and on East Salem Hill along Pershing Street. Louise Mahoney of Second Street was among the worst hit.
“I’m not scared of storms so I was playing solitaire on the computer until the power went out,” Mahoney said from her front porch after the storm rolled over. “I could hear the branches falling and it blew out a door. I went down to the basement. When I came back up I had a limbs sticking through my kitchen ceiling.”
Her neighbors down the road were also hit.
“I was watching out of the bay window when I saw a utility pole across the street go down,” says Bill Richmond. “My wife and I headed straight to the basement. When we came outside after it passed all of our trees were fallen over.”
A large hundred-year oak was among those toppled over. It crushed his son’s Richmond & Stacy Custom Cabinets company truck.
Intercounty Electric reports 2,433 residential customers and 132 commercial customers in Dent County lost power as a result of the storm. Service was restored precipitously over the weekend as emergency crews worked into late hours. More than a dozen utility poles were blown over or snapped like twigs across Salem. Downed powerlines and trees forced the closure on MacArthur Avenue and Pershing Street, as well as several other roads Saturday.
“At this point we’re still in the early stages and our focus is getting the electric lines and poles in proper order,” says Mayor Brad Nash, who doubles as the county’s fire chief and emergency management director. Nash had been on vacation in Branson and was forced to return home early due to the calamity.
“We’re discussing the possibility of bringing in some volunteers from the Baptist association,” Nash says. “They have a group that will come in and help do some cleaning. We are also going to be working with the American Volunteers group from the American Legion to take it all one step at a time.”
The Dent County Emergency Operation Center at the fire station stayed open all night Saturday to coordinate the response. The American Red Cross also opened an emergency shelter at Oak Grove Baptist Church that night with nearly a half-dozen local residents taking shelter. Among them was Salem resident J.R. Parker.
“I’m home watching everything go, and the next thing I know the whole top of a tree comes down and pulls out the power cables,” Parker said from his cot at Oak Grove. “There wasn’t too much damage to the house. But the first thing I thought when I saw it happen was ‘Oh no I’m going to have to pay for that fence.’”
Recovery from the storm began almost immediately as the sound of chainsaws filled the air Saturday evening. Blue tarps and brush piles have since become a fixture on roofs and curbs across town. Nash asks homeowners to placed downed limbs curbside so city crews can begin their removal.
City administrator Ray Walden said the majority of the city was without power Saturday. Anyone still without electric can call the police department at 729-4242.
