Severe Weather Event - May 4, 2003

National Weather Service Kansas City/Pleasant Hill, MO
Tornado Outbreak - May 4, 2003

Media Advisory 03-005A
Contact: Michael J. Hudson

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 9th, 2003

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE UPDATES LIBERTY TORNADO RATING

A damage assessment team from the National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill, Missouri, has performed a survey of the tornado, which struck the Liberty area on May 4, 2003. Results of the survey confirm that a tornado of F2 intensity struck the city of Liberty and locations north and east along Route H.

The Liberty tornado was the fourth and final tornado in the series that moved through the Kansas City metropolitan area. Air surveys indicated the tornado touched down just east of Missouri Route 291, south of Missouri Route 152, at around 4:59 p.m. Spotty F0 damage was noted from this touchdown location, northeast to near downtown Liberty. Substantial damage of F2 intensity was noted to the campus of William Jewell College, with F0 to F1 damage on the city square. The tornado's width appeared to be as wide as 500 yards near the downtown square, and then narrowed somewhat to approximately 200 yards wide east of William Jewell. The tornado tracked northeast along Missouri Route H into rural portions of Clay County east of Liberty, before it dissipated around 5:15 p.m

Graphical maps of these tornado paths, annotated with Fujita damage scale assessments, will be posted on the Pleasant Hill web site at www.crh.noaa.gov/eax. Additional details on the Fujita damage scale can be found at http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/f-scale.html.

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NOAA's National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office