Nixa Resident: The Sirens Were Too Late

On Thursday evening as the storms rolled through Christian County many residents knew there was a threat of severe weather. They had no idea, however, that a tornado was going to touch down in the city of Nixa.

At 7:53 p.m., Christian county went under a severe thunderstorm warning. The warning informed residents that 64 mph winds had been reported in Monett and also told them to expect up to quarter sized hail. At 8:24 p.m., the National Weather Service upgraded to a tornado warning for Christian county indicating that there was a radar indicated tornado near Nixa. It was at that point the sirens began sounding.

According to the weather bureau's survey team, the tornado wasn't just doppler indicated. It was the real deal. The tornado touched down at 8:20 and was finished traveling through the city by 8:23.

Nixa resident Mindi Holcomb was watching out her back door when the storm hit.

"I was standing in my back doorway videoing and when the wind blasted through, it threw me off balance slightly."

I want everyone to know that the point of this blog post is not to blame the weather service but rather to make a very important point. If this tornado had been larger it would have likely taken lives because people don't take severe storms as seriously as they should. The National Weather Service always mentions that severe thunderstorms can and occasionally do produce tornadoes with "little or no advanced warning" so it is up to you, the resident, to take adequate precautions during severe storms.

Holcomb agrees.

"Hopefully you can get the word out that a tornado warning doesnt have to be issued for one to hit. At least there was a tstorm warning which shows that everyone should be on guard."

The pictures shown here in this post taken by Ms. Holcomb are just a small glimpse into what can be done by an EF-0 tornado. Had this have been a bigger tornado the damage would have been significantly worse. It is important to realize that sirens are not always going to sound before the storm hits. In fact, sometimes the sirens may be too late. The residents of Nixa learned that lesson first hand.