It is the costliest tornado to hit the United States. The tornado touched down just outside the western edge of Joplin at approximately 5:41 p.m., then moved east for more than six miles, destroying one third of the city's buildings and killing 160. The tornado caused 161 fatalities and … It had winds of over 200 miles per hour. It caused $2.8 billion in damage. It killed 158 people and hurt 1,150 others. This frame grab from video shows a massive tornado on Sunday, May 22, 2011, outside Joplin. Two thousand buildings, including a major hospital, were damaged or destroyed. The tornado that struck Joplin, MO, a year ago this month was a monster by any definition. Nine years ago Friday, a devastating EF-5 tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri, killing 161 people and injuring more than 1,100 others. On May 22, 2011 the city of Joplin, Missouri was impacted by an EF-5 tornado. In the afternoon and evening of May 22, 2011, a supercell thunderstorm traveled from southeastern Kansas into southwestern Missouri. The EF-5 tornado swept through Joplin … Just 46 months after the tornado hit Joplin, the new $465 million Mercy Hospital Joplin opened to patients on March 23, 2015. Over Joplin, Missouri, the supercell spawned an EF-5 tornado with winds higher than 200 miles (300 kilometers) per hour. The Joplin tornado was the first single tornado to result in over 100 fatalities since the June 8, 1953, Flint, Michigan tornado. The new hospital is nearly 900,000 square feet and features 205 private inpatient rooms as well as doctors’ clinic offices. The 2011 Joplin tornado was a very violent EF5 tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri on the afternoon of May 22, 2011. On May 22, 2011, an EF-5 tornado carved a four-mile path through Joplin, MO. Piotrowski: My first message when the tornado was on the ground on the southwest side of Joplin, I sent an email alert that said: "Large devastating tornadoes in the city of Joplin. The Joplin tornado was the deadliest in the United States since 1950 – when modern record-keeping began. 1581 people and injured over 1,000 in Joplin, Missouri. Joplin, MO, Tornado Lessons Learned Study 20 December 2011 Section 1: Incident Overview 8 1.3 Impact of the Tornado The tornado resulted in catastrophic loss of life and destruction during its 6-mile track through Joplin. It injured more than 1,000 people and packed winds of more than 200 mph. At its peak it was up to a mile wide with winds in excess of 200 miles per hour. The tornado was rated EF-5 on the Enhanced-Fujita Scale, with its maximum winds estimated at more than 200 mph. It was the third tornado to hit Joplin since May 1971. The tornado tore a 6-mile path across the city of Joplin, ripping into a … The tornado was on the ground for 22.1 miles and lasted an estimated 38 minutes from start to finish. There were 158 deaths with over a thousand injured as a result of the tornado.