BRANSON, Mo. (AP) – The National Weather Service has confirmed that the heavy damage in the southwestern Missouri town of Branson was caused by a 22-mile-long tornado.
The agency’s office in Springfield says an EF2 tornado with maximum speeds of 120 to 130 mph began at 1:13 a.m. Wednesday near the Stone County town of Kimberling City, then sped east-northeast.
Weather Service Meteorologist Ryan Kardell says the twister skipped along the edge of Table Rock Lake, then went “right down the commercial district” of Branson. The tornado ended about 22-miles from where it began, just east of Kissee Mills Mills in Taney County.
The tornado’s path had a maximum width of 400 yards. Besides the destruction in Branson, it also damaged or destroyed about 60 homes in the Kimberling City area.
