Finger on the Weather

The preliminary death toll from Saturday’s tornadoes has reached 19, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center.

Five fatalities have been reported in Picher, which is just south of the Kansas/Oklahoma border on U.S. 69. Forecasters say the tornado that struck Picher touched down in Kansas minutes earlier and crossed the border into Oklahoma. The Wichita office of the National Weather Service has posted the radar image of the powerful supercells on its Web site.

The tornado had a damage path 3/4 of a mile wide along the Kansas-Oklahoma border, the Cherokee County Emergency Management Director told the Springfield office of the National Weather Service.

The tornado moved into Missouri and killed 13 people in the rural area between Seneca and Neosho – including 10 north and northwest of Racine, which is less than 25 miles from Baxter Springs.

Another death has been reported a mile outside of Purdy southeast of Joplin. Tornadoes have also been reported in Arkansas on Saturday night, and more tornado warnings are being issued as the storms move east.

A total of 34 tornadoes had been reported in four states as of early Sunday morning, though some of those reports may be multiple sightings of the same tornado. And more tornadoes are possible.