Latest news with #EF5
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Gay Teen Survived Massive Tornado, Thinking He Was Left Behind in the Rapture. The Truth Set Him Free (Exclusive)
Cecil Cornish was one of the survivors of the deadly EF5 tornado that struck Joplin, Mo., in 2011 Cornish tells PEOPLE that many people have come out to him in some of the messages he has received since his appearance in the Netflix documentary The Twister: Caught in the Storm Cornish now leads a nonprofit support group for openly queer people who experience emotions similar to those he felt as a kidFourteen years ago, in May 2011, an EF5 tornado tore through the small town of Joplin, Mo., leaving nearly 160 people dead and injuring more than 1,100 others. At the time, one teen thought the Rapture — the end times as described by some Christian denominations — had begun. When the storm ended, 17-year-old Cecil Cornish believed he'd been left behind and God had abandoned him because he was gay. But as the dust cleared, he realized that wasn't the case. He'd survived. His whole life lie ahead of him. Now Cornish is sharing his emotional story, including embracing his identity, in a new Netflix documentary, The Twister: Caught in the Storm. He tells PEOPLE that since speaking out, he's heard from fellow members of the LGBTQ+ community who have been touched by his experience. '[They were] coming out to me, or they said that they watched my special on Netflix and they came out to their family, which is pretty insane,' Cornish says. 'It's great, but it's also been a little overwhelming for sure.' In the documentary, Cornish recalls how he was working at a local frozen yogurt store when the deadly twister ripped through town. After spotting the monster storm barreling toward the business, he and others hunkered down inside the shop and held on for dear life as they begged God to 'protect us with your light.' Cornish thought to himself, "If this is going to be the end of the world, I don't want to stay around for what's going to happen.' ' After the storm passed, Cornish stepped outside and saw there was 'nothing' left of Joplin. While he assumed being gay meant that he had been ignored by God, soon he realized that his parents were still alive and that the world had not ended after all. 'I was so happy,' he said in the doc, tearfully describing the moment he was reunited with his mom and dad. Later in the documentary, Cornish acknowledged that he was 'concerned about being chosen,' but now realizes 'it's important to choose yourself.' Cornish tells PEOPLE it 'was not easy' being gay as a young person in rural Missouri — and that it 'tested' him, his family and his friends 'in complex ways' until he finally came out. But he says it was also 'fun' being able to eventually embrace his sexuality. He 'found joy in the little things' in life, which he recalls 'kept me going.' Now openly gay, Cornish leads a nonprofit support group known as Joplin Missouri Equality, or Jo Mo EQ, for queer people who experience emotions similar to those he felt as a kid. He is also writing a memoir 'about growing up queer in a place that often had no blueprint for people like me.' Speaking with PEOPLE about the documentary's reception, Cornish says he has 'received several' messages from other LBGTQ+ people. 'I think in America we don't see a lot of men be intimate or be emotional,' he explains. 'And I think that that's resonated with men and women and queer people in general, and they like to have kind of a role model … And I'm glad that could be me.' Cornish thanks the film's director, Alexandra Lacey, for showcasing him and his story in a 'beautiful' way. 'I know that the truth of my story was told, and that's my biggest concern,' he says. He adds: 'I love that I was able to talk about being rejected from the church, because that's a very shared experience that people have throughout America. I think that's resonating with a lot of people. And that's way beyond the storm … people that are queer can feel more comfortable being themselves, especially in [today's] current climate.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Lacey tells PEOPLE she is thrilled that 'something good' could be taken away from 'something so catastrophic" like the tornado. 'Our priority is always the people whose stories that we're helping to tell. It's very much their story, not ours,' she says, calling the process of creating the film 'an emotional journey.' 'I really care about the subjects of my films,' Lacey continues. 'And all that matters to me right now, honestly, is what these guys think of the film. I don't really care what the public has to say. It's really about the people that chose to bravely share their stories in the film ... They're the most emotional interviews I've ever done.' Since the documentary's release in March, Cornish says, he has read nearly every message he's gotten. 'One of the biggest things I didn't anticipate were stories from folks. Just like people with PTSD or people that have lived through tornadoes or some kind of natural disaster,' he says, adding, 'It's been a joy to hear from everyone and to hear how sweet people think I am, and to hear the good things has been really awesome.' Read the original article on People
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Impact of worst tornado outbreak in Mercer County still felt 40 years later
The last few years have proven that tornadoes do happen in western Pennsylvania. We've had dozens of touchdowns since 2021. But nothing has ever come close to what happened forty years ago on May 31, 1985. The single worst tornado outbreak in Western Pennsylvania's history. 16 tornadoes on our side of the state. Four of them, EF4s and the only ever recorded EF5 in Pennsylvania, ravaged much of southern Mercer County. Fortunately, then 12-year-old, Nikki Patrina, and her family weren't home when the EF5 tornado badly damaged their house. Every single tree on their one-acre property was damaged or destroyed. Sadly, the Patrinas lost their next-door neighbor when her home's chimney collapsed on her. For others, survival that day might have been a matter of luck. It was an outbreak that not only impacted people's lives but also how they responded to severe weather. 'After that, I was an eighth grader here at Ingomar Middle School in the North Allegheny School District. My science teachers, Mr. Glaspey and Mr. Meyer, had weather radios we would use in class sometimes. We knew that was going to be a bad weather day, and I begged my teachers to let me take one of the weather radios home for the weekend. Mr. Meyer was a little hesitant, but Mr. Glaspey said 'Go ahead, just don't break it.' I took the weather radio home and listened to five straight hours of tornado warnings,' said Patrina. Carla Hudson was only one year old, living in Farrell, just south of Sharon, in Mercer County. Even though she has no memory of that day, she does believe that knowing about the tornado and how her mother reacted afterward could have possibly impacted her fear of severe weather as a child. 369 million dollars in property damage in Pennsylvania alone that day. Today, with more communities, more businesses, more people, the death toll and damage could be far, far worse. Historic. Not an overstatement at all, especially for those who lived through it four decades ago. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
On This Date: The Joplin EF5 Tornado
In a spring of historic tornado outbreaks, a single late May tornado in southwest Missouri was the mic drop on a truly terrible 2011. On May 22, 2011, 14 years ago today, an EF5 tornado tore a six-mile long and up to mile-wide path of devastation through Joplin, Missouri. One hundred fifty-eight people lost their lives directly due to the EF5 tornado, the nation's deadliest tornado since 1947, which was before tornado warnings were routinely issued. Its damage scar was difficult to put into context, even by many experienced meteorologists. (MORE: What Our Meteorologists Haven't Forgotten About Joplin) "The western half to two-thirds of the track featured defoliated and debarked trees, scouring, parking blocks scraped from the ground with the rebar and deposited well away from parking lots, a lot of debris loading as it progressed," John Gagan, science and operations officer at the NWS office near Milwaukee, and a forecaster at the Springfield, Missouri, NWS office at the time of the tornado, told in 2021. According to an NIST report, 553 businesses and 7,411 homes were damaged or destroyed, affecting than more than 17,000 residents. The tornado produced about 4.1 million cubic yards of residential and commercial debris, according to "32 Minutes in May," a book published by the Joplin Globe. The Joplin tornado remains the costliest single tornado in modern U.S. history, with damage estimated at $3.98 billion (adjusted for inflation to 2025). It was one of 48 tornadoes on May 22, including an EF1 in the Minneapolis metro that claimed one life. A mid-April South and Carolinas outbreak was followed less than two weeks later by one of the nation's worst Super Outbreaks. This boosted April 2011's tornado tally to a record for any month in the modern era (758). Just two days after Joplin, a May 24-26 outbreak of 186 tornadoes killed 18 in the Plains and South, including an EF5 tornado through El Reno, Pedmont and Guthrie, Oklahoma. Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
On This Date: Oklahoma's Official Record Hailstone
Hailstorms are a fact of life in the Plains. But occasionally a severe thunderstorm manufactures a hailstone that sets a record. On May 23, 2011, 14 years ago today, a research group chasing a supercell thunderstorm in southwest Oklahoma recovered a 6-inch diameter hailstone in Kiowa County, Oklahoma, north of the town of Gotebo. Pictured below, that hail was larger than a grapefruit, even a DVD. Fortunately, the research team preserved the giant hailstone, though the roof of their chase vehicle was damaged in the hailstorm. While there had been previous larger hailstones reported in the Sooner State in April 1961 (7-inch diameter) and April 1971 (8-inch diameter), meteorologists investigating the historical data since 1950 could not find sufficient documented evidence for those larger stones. Thus, this became the official Oklahoma state record hailstone. America's official record largest hail was an 8-inch diameter stone in Vivian, South Dakota on July 23, 2010. This Oklahoma hailstorm happened the day after the Joplin EF5 tornado and would be followed by an outbreak of 186 tornadoes from May 24-26, including an EF5 tornado through El Reno, Piedmont and Guthrie, Oklahoma. Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Sculpture memorializing tornado victims transferred to Cornell Complex
A sculpture honoring the 161 lives lost in the 2011 Joplin tornado was officially transferred from Active Lifestyle Events to the Harry M. Cornell Arts & Entertainment Complex on Thursday, the 14th anniversary of the storm. Standing 17 feet tall, the stainless steel sculpture near Eighth Street and Joplin Avenue resembles the banners used during the former Joplin Memorial Run and bears the names of the 161 people who were killed as a result of the tornado the evening of Sunday, May 22, 2011. Active Lifestyle Events, the organization that oversaw the Joplin Memorial Run, created the sculpture, and, as a final act of the organization, officially transferred ownership of the sculpture to the Cornell Complex. Its location near Eighth and Joplin Avenue is significant because it marked the start/finish line of the original Joplin Memorial Run. 'While Mother Nature did her very best effort to wipe Joplin from the map, the citizens of this city and this community refused to allow that to happen,' said Audie Dennis, former president of Active Lifestyle Events. 'Rather than do what typically happens in natural disaster situations and flee, our citizens stayed and helped each other and rebuilt our city, I would say even better than it was before. What a tribute to this community. At the same time, we want to continue to honor and remember the 161 lives that were taken from us that day. We'll never forget.' Dedicated in November 2022, the sculpture was created by local artist Jorge Leyva and took about six months to complete. 'Jorge Leyva spent a lot of time coming up with this, and it was a very important project to him,' Dennis said. 'He did a great job accomplishing exactly what our vision was. To me, personally, this sculpture represents the resilience of this city and the fact that we not only look forward and rebuild but also that we remember. Our theme of the run was always, 'Run, Remember, Rebuild,' and I feel like it accomplishes all of that. It's a tribute to the runners, the rebuilding and to those we lost.' Dennis said the Joplin Memorial Run became known for its banners that listed the names of the tornado victims and that it was appropriate to incorporate the same design into the piece. 'It was a no-brainer, and we reached out to ... the board here and asked if they would be willing to allow us to transfer ownership of the sculpture over to them,' Dennis said. 'They very graciously accepted, and for me personally, it means a lot that it will be continued to be taken care of and continue to be a great memorial to those that we lost that day.' Sharon Beshore, president of the Cornell Complex, said that they're grateful to care for the sculpture. 'This sculpture stands, not only as a piece of public art, but as a deeply meaningful tribute created to honor the 161 lives lost in the devastating EF5 tornado that struck Joplin on May 22, 2011,' Beshore said. 'Fourteen years later, we continue to carry those memories with us, and this sculpture ensures that those memories will remain part of our city's living history.' Beshore said the sculpture serves as an additional way to memorialize the victims of the storm with a centralized downtown location.
