Storms cause heavy damage in Scott County

MORLEY, Mo. -- Severe weather swept across the region Sunday afternoon, causing extensive damage in Scott County, where storms destroyed a seed store and mobile homes in Morley; toppled a grain bin near Oran, Mo.; knocked out power to the sheriff's department; and caused damage in other areas east of Benton, Mo.

Heading south on U.S. 61 from Morley, the path of the storm could be seen. Limbs lying across the wet pavement, irrigation systems toppled and damage to homes and property could be seen on the west side of the highway. As the storm moved east across the highway, it gained power, destroying several buildings in its path.

The storms destroyed Cookson Seed, 22090 U.S. 61, and caused extensive damage to Jefferson Kelm's property directly behind the seed store.

"I was standing in the doorway, and the trailer just shook," said Kelm, who owns three mobile homes. He used one of the homes to store appliance parts for his business, one as his residence and another as a guesthouse.

"There were no sirens or nothing; it just came on too fast," Kelm said.

Two of Kelm's mobile homes were destroyed, and a shed where he operated his appliance repair business also was destroyed. His residence, which is between the two destroyed mobile homes, escaped with only two broken windows and some missing underpinning.

"It was all God. He determines where it goes and where it doesn't. His arm kept everyone safe," Kelm said as he and two of his children stood among the debris of what had been his livelihood just hours before.

Ronnie Cookson, owner of Cookson Seed, and his wife, Dee, were out of town when the storms hit, and they arrived back just at dark to assess the damage that destroyed their business. Their youngest son, Brad, was one of several friends and relatives surveying the damage.

"We just finished the year for seed sales and were hoping to have a month or so off to go hunting and stuff, but now we are going to have to rebuild," Brad Cookson said. He said friends and neighbors have offered their help cleaning up and storing machinery if needed.

"They have taught everyone in this community, so everyone knows them," Brad Cookson said of his parents.

The Cooksons taught at Scott County Central High School for decades before retiring and opening up the seed business.

"He basically just moved his coach's office down the road to this building, and we just finished remodeling the inside," Brad Cookson said.

He said, on a bright note, because they had finished selling seed for the season, they didn't have much seed left in the building, but they were expecting a shipment next month.

Downed power lines rendered the side roads to the east of U.S. 61 impassable, and people were parking on the shoulders of the road Sunday afternoon.

In Benton, Mo., the Scott County Sheriff's Department confirmed it was relying on generators to run its communication system Sunday afternoon after the storm knocked out power to the office. Sikeston, Mo., sent its mobile command unit to help alleviate radio traffic for the county's emergency services.

Shortly after the storm, more than 1,900 Ameren Missouri customers in Scott County were without power, but that number had dropped to 508 by Sunday night.

As of 6:35 p.m., SEMO Electric Cooperative reported having 1,100 customers without power, and communications manager Glen Cantrell said crews hoped to have those restored by midnight.

Cantrell said it wasn't guaranteed all customers could have power back up by midnight, because workers still were trying to reach places with downed lines that were blocked by debris.

Cantrell also confirmed a home was destroyed and a nearby farm west of Morley received damage.

The National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., reported a trained storm spotter had seen 3/4-inch hail in Benton, and law enforcement officers had observed several damaged homes and downed trees along County Road 511 near Blodgett, Mo., in Scott County.

Cape Girardeau County was among several areas under tornado warnings Sunday afternoon, but the severe storms skirted the area, moving primarily to the south and east.

The National Weather Service received reports of funnel clouds in Pulaski, Williamson, Franklin and Wayne counties in Southern Illinois.

By 1:30 p.m., tornado warnings were in effect for Scott and Mississippi counties in Southeast Missouri; southern Alexander and southwestern Pulaski counties in Southern Illinois; and Ballard County, Ky.

High winds forced the closure of the Dorena-Hickman ferry Sunday. A news release from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet stated the ferry was closed Sunday and was expected to resume service today.

The storm system continued to move east Sunday afternoon, trapping a woman under a mobile home in Brookport, Ill., where an emergency manager reported direct hits destroyed 50 mobile homes in two parks.

The weather wreaked havoc in western Kentucky, where trained spotters reported the storms knocked down trees, tore the roofs off buildings and dumped hail -- some of it as big as golf balls -- on McCracken County.

Once the storms passed, Sunday afternoon was bright and sunny in Cape Girardeau, with temperatures in the 70s.

High temperatures in Cape Girardeau were forecast to be in the 50s, with overnight lows in the lower 30s for the next couple of days with a chance of showers beginning Wednesday night, the National Weather Service reported.

Staff reporter Emily Priddy contributed to this report.

skluesner@semissourian.com

388-3648

Pertinent address:

Morley, Mo.

Oran, Mo.

Benton, Mo.