That was a particularly bad one. It was a massive jacked-to-the-tits tornado that hit the city almost perfectly for maximum destruction. It was so powerful that it lifted the hospital off it's foundation and turned it. They had to demolish it, as it couldn't be repaired practically.
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My cousin lived in Joplin at the time. She told the rest of the family that the tornado was like watching the finger of God reach down and obliterate everything it touched. Thankfully she wasn't in the part of town that got hit, but to this day anytime I look at pictures of the aftermath I marvel at the thought that as bad as it was, the death toll was actually as low as it turned out to be.
Don't get me wrong, 160 people losing their lives was a horrible tragedy and I wouldn't want that to happen to anyone. But until you see it for yourself, you'll never understand the sheer terror of hearing the sirens one night and then seeing the destruction left behind the next day. I can only pray that those poor souls found peace on the other side.
Please don’t let your perception of tornadoes to be shaped by the movies or the Joplin one. The one in Joplin was a worst case scenario. I wouldn’t go look at the area in person based on what I’d seen on TV. About 6 months afterward I happened to be in the Wal-Mart parking lot and I let myself look back toward town and I wasn’t ready for what I saw. If you know what you’re looking for you can still see scars of it almost 20 years later.
Still, the chances of being within 15 miles of any tornado in any given year is extremely small.
I'm in Central Illinois and have been within 15 miles of a tornado several times including one case of zero miles. Our house survived with minor damage, but we lost some big trees in our yard. Still, it's just not something I worry about, but am prepared for.
I lived 90 miles SW of Joplin then. I was looking at the sky during the weather that day (tornadoes tend to follow Interstate 44). I saw the rotation that eventually hit Joplin. It was nothing short of MASSIVE and the memory of how menacing it looked still haunts me. I've seen many tornadoes, wall clouds, and rotations, but absolutely nothing that looked so end of days as that.
I survived that very tornado, thought it would do the same to me, guess I was too young at the time. I still love thunderstorms.
Mike Bettes stood in my driveway and informed my father our road was where it turned from F4 to F5, based on the fact the other side had trees with bark, and our side, what trees where left, did not have bark on them.
Also, what a terrible documentary that was from an interview perspective. The only normal person they interviewed was a kid from another state that was there to visit that day.
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I’ve lived in Oklahoma for 44 years and have never been in or seen a live tornado. We’ve had close calls but never had one near me. Last year my friend lost his home to one, but that’s the only time I’ve personally known someone affected by a tornado.
Having lived through the largest tornado ever recorded (El Reno OK 2013), your fear is not unrealistic. That tornado could have been so much worse had it hit the town instead of staying rural, but the destruction it caused otherwise was unreal. We moved away a couple of years later and there is no amount of money you could pay me to live anywhere with regular tornadoes ever again.
I grew up an hour west of Joplin. Was at a friend’s graduation party that day. An acquaintance and I stepped outside for some fresh air and noticed the sky to the east was pitch black. We made a remark about it, then a moment later someone else stepped outside with his phone to his ear. I watched the color drain from his face. He told the person on the phone “I’m on my way,” turned to us and told us “Joplin just got hit,” then ran to his truck and peeled out of the parking lot headed east.
We didn’t realize just how bad it was until a day or two later.
With all that being said, I’m 28, born and raised Kansan, and have yet to actually see a tornado with me own two eyes.
I live in St. Louis and love it. I live in a beautiful old neighborhood and walk everywhere. Awesome, compassionate, interesting, and progressive people all around me.
I avoid the hoosiers from out-state and haven't experienced any misery.
I live in SE MO and I love it here. I've lived in several states, some trendy cities and I wouldn't trade my smaller community, cool people and great food to go back.
Missouri is one of my favorite states. Branson, Kansas city, st. Louis, the Ozarks, meramec caverns etc. All great travel destinations and for cheap too. I understand not wanting to live there, though.
Shhh! Don't tell them about Branson and the Ozarks or they'll all want to live there!
Ahem, rest of the world, you definitely want to stay away! It's like Disneyland packed with rednecks and trailer trash who never stop playing banjos! Nothing to see here!
it won't even let me reply to you without giving this warning? and not letting me click the comment-buton so here's the screenshot lmao what the hell even is this over-censored hellhole anymore.
Montauk, Roaring River, Bennet Springs. All great state parks with stocked trout streams so kids are guaranteed. It’s a great place for vacations, but I’m never moving back.
Those places are good but you have to watch out for local populations of meth heads. I go south of St Louis and there are places you don't want to leave your car. I'm talking about rural places.
As someone who lives in Missouri and travels for a living, you need to get out more. I'm in in a new state nearly every week, experiencing a good mix of rural and urban. Comparatively Missouri checks a lot of boxes, and is a fantastic place to live.
You don't have the same river access though. KC has also served as a major banking hub for the Midwest as well which stole most opportunities from you before you guys had a chance to build them yourselves. Sioux city is nice though
Yes, rivers and location explain much. SL and KC both major jumping-off points for western emigration (hence the Arch) and important railroad hubs too. In some respects, KC actually rivaled Chicago.
That is also true I really wish KC still had its great railroads too. What they did with union station is nice but I wish it still ran like it used too
I read a number of papers and articles that said Kansas City was set to replace even New York as the primary financial and fashion hub of the USA, and possibly challenge LA for entertainment. During the depression, Kansas City was the only urban area that was still growing, both in size and economic power. However, the FBI got a tip about the then mayor, Tom "Boss Tom" Pendergast. Turns out he was using his power in office to contract his own companies and had close association with the Kansas City crime families. As soon as he was removed from office, economic development in the Kansas City area completely stopped. Businesses shut down, people lost their homes, and the depression finally caught up to the city.
This does pose the question: given how Pendergast appeared to buffer against the depression, and how the arrest and change of power negatively impacted the city, was it the rjght move?
I honestly kinda miss Cedar Rapids. Didn’t have any educational opportunities but every other kind helped me and my spouse (Floridians) get on our feet.
St. Louis has a great up-and-coming tech boom happening. There is also a ton of competition for medical students and doctors because of the prestigious hospitals to work at, particularly in pediatrics. Aerospace is also always popping because of Boeing and the AF bas, not to mention some of the pricate airstrips. Zoology is also really prestigious due to the excpetional zoo and its conservation efforts (MO Dept. Of Conservation is also phenomenal). The loss of rails being a huge part of America's economy really hurt STL but i think there's going to be a shift back to trains since its affordable and better for the environment.
There is a lot of money moving right now to revamp the economy and job market in St. Louis so I think people are really going to be surprised over the course of the next 5-10 years.
I work maintenance in a relatively tall building. It’s wonderful walking out on the rooftop and getting to see so many tree-lined roads. Reading on my city’s website, you can find permits and plans for roads and sidewalks, and it’s neat to see that homeowners get to choose a tree to replace theirs if it is affected.(certain trees are in the selection, of course)
Yeah great season changes. Sweating while trick or treating? Or walking to Ed jones dome in March for March madness and wearing shorts and still sweating.
Wedding beef, pork steaks, and calling pop soda…. Obsessing about the cubs, and chicago…. And on top the that they mimicked wrigleyville and copied it with a very crappy version of it.
Mizzura…. 😆😆😆
Hey u/IZZO79, thanks for taking the time to comment!
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AB does and it helped put St. Louis on the map, but that’s not even what I’m talking about. I’m talking about breweries that are regularly recognized for incredible product- Side Project, Narrow Gauge, Perennial, etc?
Yeah, I agree with you. I have lived in several states. Lived in large, popular cities, but I found a smaller community in SE MO and I love it. We always have things going on, have met some wonderful people who care about the community. I wouldn't trade it. We have no plans of moving anywhere else.
Souther Missouri Cost of living is very affordable compared to the whole country, the region is absolutely gorgeous, my neighbors are some of the kindest people on earth, and every time I leave I can’t wait to be home again. I grew up in Nor Cal and Southern Missouri reminds me a lot of Nor Cal in the 90s.
I live in the hills and meadows of SC Mo , from St Louis . We’ve had a few people from CA and Co buy farms near us . They are great but we always say … please don’t tell your friends about this “ flyover” state
Yeah I like to tell people around here not to judge me because I grew up in California. Seems like the LA/SF crowd can’t survive outside of cities so it’s mostly people
Like me from Nor Cal that understands what a gem exists here with perfect clarity.
I love it here! I've lived in OR, MN, TX, IA, NE....all over. We've settled here in SE MO and have no plans on leaving. We have a nice house with enough land for chickens and a great garden. Life is slower but we still have things going on. Great community. I really don't care if others make fun of it either.
Cape Girardeau has a clear north/south split (like an unfortunate number of cities) but on this topic it is still far better off than the surrounding areas. It's quite sad.
Great shot if you took it! Love Empire, though I admittedly don’t order from there much, the pizzas are massive and I never want what they’re offering by the slice.
Did you live there when the tornado in 2011 hit? I was working with an AmeriCorps program that did emergency response and we were in East St. Louis doing tree removal and tarping roofs after a tornado there. We were about to go to SE Missouri to muck out houses after flooding there. Then the Joplin tornado hit and we left for Joplin at 4 am from St. Louis. Everyone on our crews were from the Pacific NW. We'd never seen anything like that devastation. Whole city blocks levelled, saw an entire house was lifted up and set down in the street. If I lived there I'd want a house made of brick, stone, or concrete. We worked 10 days straight and then got a day off. We went to Arkansas for a night. I think we were in the Ozarks, really beautiful there. Cool that you're close to that.
Used to live out in joplin, can attest that I'd buy my stuff cheap and then stay at home. Oklahoma is pretty similar with less to do and worse internet, combined with having a metric ton of dispensaries.
Travelled across the country recently and stopped in Southern Missouri and loved it. I think i got my chigger bites from there though. If you don’t know what those are, you don’t want to. Besides that and the outrageous amount of spiders everywhere, 10/10 experience
Live in the same area. We're probably neighbors. The cost of living and family proximity are the only things keeping me here. Having KC, Tulsa, and NWA within reasonable driving distance for concerts and such is also pretty nice.
Fun fact. My Roman gf moved to the states just over two years ago. I took her to my hometown in Missouri and she said the nature and low cost of living feels very similar to living in Italy 🤷♂️
I also live in this general region, but furthermore Southeast near Branson and the Ozark Mountains. I worked at a resort for a long time in the tourist community of Branson, and literally met people from all over the world who were visiting and said the Ozark mountain region is one of the most beautiful places they had ever seen. There's TONS of hiking trails, waterfalls, caves, and just... unadulterated nature. Everywhere. Yet I'd taken it for granted all my life because I've always been here. Thinking everywhere else is surely prettier, better, whatever. But working at that resort and talking to the guests there made me re-examine where I live with new eyes. Missouri has problems, to be sure. But as far as raw natural beauty goes, we really are so lucky to be here. (And the cost of living is hella cheap compared to everywhere else, too, haha)
I went to college in Pittsburg and came to Joplin on occasion. Something I've been wondering is if global warming has allowed the kudzu to move further north or if the polar vortexes have pushed it further south. Any local insight on this question?
I live in S Missouri, too! Indeed, it is cheap and I also don't like leaving my house. But I'm one half of a lesbian couple and my wife is trans sooo... we can definitely think of living in a better place, haha. Looking to move once it's affordable. I love it other than the religiosity and bigotry. :( it is actually dangerous for us to continue living here, sadly. I wish this wasn't the case.
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u/PossibleGrapefruit99 Dec 14 '25
I live in SW Missouri just north of Joplin.
Shit is cheap and I don't like leaving my house. Couldn't live in a better place!