The 2011 Joplin tornado was a large and devastating multiple-vortex tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, United States, on the evening of Sunday, May 22, 2011. Part of a larger late-May tornado outbreak, the EF5 tornado began just west of Joplin and intensified very quickly, reaching a maximum width of nearly one mile (1.6 km) during its path through the southern part of the city. The tornado tracked eastward through Joplin, and then continued across Interstate 44 into rural portions of Jasper and Newton counties, weakening before it dissipated.
Image: Joplin tornado photo
Image: Joplin 2011 tornado
Image: Joplin tornado damage (5884769735)
Image: 22 May 2011 Joplin tornado damage
Joplin is a city in Jasper and Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. Joplin is the largest city located within both Jasper and Newton Counties – even though it is not the county seat of either county. With a population of 51,762 as of the 2020 census, Joplin is the 13th most-populous city in the state. The city covers an area of 35.69 square miles (92.41 km2) on the outer edge of the Ozark Mountains. Joplin is the main hub of the three-county Joplin-Miami, Missouri-Oklahoma Metro area, which is home to 210,077 people making it the 5th largest metropolitan area in Missouri. In May 2011, a violent EF5 tornado killed more than 150 people and destroyed one-third of the city.
Aerial view of downtown Joplin, 2009. The bridge is 2nd Street and the intersection is 2nd St. and Virginia Ave.
Main Street, below 5th Street, c. 1910
Panorama of Joplin, in 1910
Bonnie and Clyde, photo developed by the Joplin Globe after the shootout
