Photo shows damage in Briarcliff from May 2024 tornado
Monday is the one year anniversary of the deadly Memorial Day Weekend tornadoes that hit the Twin Lakes Area during the early morning hours. Driving through the areas that were hit, you can still see downed trees and damage that was done. A total of five tornadoes were confirmed, killing five people, three in Marion County, one in Baxter County and one in Boone County. Seventeen people were injured in Baxter County and one person was injured in Marion County.
Tornadoes were also confirmed in Fulton and Ozark counties that morning.
The area with the most concentrated damage was Briarcliff and Salesville in Baxter County where the death and injuries occurred. Baxter County Office of Emergency Management Director David Stults says the rebuilding process is underway.
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Stults says it took just over six months for crews to finish cleaning up the area.
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After natural disasters, it takes a while to get financial aid from the federal government. Stults says they are still going through the process.
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When it comes to homeowners, Stults says he doesnt have a lot of information about the status of how homeowners are coming along with their FEMA assistance because that is more on the individual assistance he doesnt have access to. But he knows there was a lot done to help them along the way.
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The tornado that hit the Briarcliff and Salesville areas was an EF3 and was on the ground just under one hour. Its path began nearly two miles south of Yellville and ended eight miles west-southwest of Viola. The tornado traveled a path of just over 36 miles and reached a maximum width of nearly 1,760 yards and a maximum wind speed of 140 miles-per-hour. The lone fatality was identified as 73-year-old Patricia Sontag. Her body was located near Salesville.
Another tornado in Baxter County that morning hit the Sycamore Springs area. It was rated an EF2 with maximum speeds of 115 miles-per-hour. It had a path of 5.9 miles, starting four miles west of Salesville and ending four miles north, northeast of Salesville, and was 400 yards wide at its peak. No injuries were reported.
The tornado that went through Boone and Marion counties was an EF3. It started nearly two miles south of Bellefonte and ended two miles north-northwest of Summit. The tornado traveled a path of just over 21 miles and reached a maximum width of nearly 1,500 yards and a maximum wind speed of 145 miles-per-hour. Four fatalities and one injury were reported from the storm. One of the victims was identified as James Duncan, a sixth grade student at Yellville-Summit.
The Fulton County Tornado was rated EF1 with maximum winds of 100 miles-per-hour and was on the ground for 10.5 miles. The weather service says the tornado started seven miles north, northeast of Oxford and ended seven miles west, northwest of Cherokee Village. At its peak, the tornado was 500 yards wide.
An EF0 tornado hit north of Gainesville with winds of 80 miles-per-hour. The twister, with peak winds of 80 miles-per-hour, started over the Caney Mountain Conservation Area east of Willhoit, about 11 miles north of Gainesville, and traveled northeast for almost five miles.
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