STRONG STORMS SWEEP STODDARD, PERRY COUNTIES; WINDS DOWN TREES IN AREA BETWEEN DUDLEY AND DEXTER

Winds that reached near-tornado speed Monday ripped through a section of Stoddard County, downing power lines and trees and damaging roofs.

Initial reports indicated a tornado moved through around 3:30 p.m. when the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for the area. But Bill Pippins, Stoddard County Emergency Management director, said the damage was not consistent with a tornado.

Trees were blown down in a line from Dudley to Dexter. They were facing the same direction, consistent with a strong southeasterly wind. Pippins said the tree trunks were not twisted as they would have been had a tornado occurred.

The National Weather Service at Paducah, Ky., reported that Dudley was also hit with three-quarter-inch hail. Dexter reported nickel-size hail.

Streets flooded and trees were knocked down in Perryville, which received about 1.1 inches of rain in a short period of time. One-inch hail and 70 mph wind gusts were also reported in Perryville.

Bernie was hit with 2.07 inches of rain and Bloomfield received 1.3 inches.

Pippins said a 65 to 75 mph wind shear that was probably sustained for just more than a minute developed as a warm front from the south and a cold front from the north met right around the damaged area.

Greg Lamberty, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said wind shears are caused when dry air beneath storm clouds causes rain to evaporate. This sudden evaporation cools high level air, which flows rapidly downward.

"This air can reach speeds of over 100 mph," Lamberty said. "It can collapse buildings."

Pippins said no one was hurt.

"Between the radio station and the storm spotters, we kept the public pretty well informed," he said.

Dave Obergoenner, director of the Cape Girardeau area Emergency Alert System, said local radio stations are able to concentrate their warnings and update their information faster since implementing a new system.

The system ties data from the National Weather Service with local storm-spotter information for continual updates of weather situations. The information is then broadcast to specific receiving stations in the affected areas in short bursts. Obergoenner said an enormous amount of information is transmitted in a fraction of a second.

"It is a digital replacement of the former Emergency Broadcast System. It should allow a faster, more accurate relaying of emergency information to the public," he said.

One aspect of EAS that sets it above the Emergency Broadcast System is the multiple monitoring systems that collect information and the various ways it transmits the information.

"With the old system the chain was only as strong as its weakest link," Obergoenner said. "The new system provides many ways to link the emergency information to radio, television and soon cable systems, to be relayed to the public."

The signal can be transmitted to stations in specific areas of the county or sent out nationwide, Obergoenner said.

Dave Hitt, Cape Girardeau County Emergency Management director, said the EAS systems don't necessarily rely on local storm spotters to relay the information to local broadcasters.

The stations monitor the emergency radio channels, and may have access to Doppler radar, he said.