The National Weather Service confirmed Wednesday that an EF-2 tornado tore through Howard County during Monday’s storms, with winds peaking at 115 miles per hour, ABC17 reports. The storm formed near Bluebird Trail southwest of Slater in Saline County around 6:52 a.m. Monday, then tracked east into Howard County through Gilliam and Glasgow before continuing toward Higbee in Randolph County.
A second, weaker EF-1 tornado touched down separately in Randolph and Monroe counties during the same round of storms. NWS survey teams are the ones who assign these ratings after walking the damage path, which is why confirmation lands a couple of days after the storm itself, not the same day.
Why it matters here: Gilliam and Glasgow are both towns plenty of Rocheport-area folks pass through or have family in, and an EF-2 with 115 mph winds is a serious storm, not a glancing one. If you were wondering just how bad Monday’s weather actually was on the other side of the river, this is the official answer.