Kansas and southwestern Missouri on May 8, 2009 The initial squall line formed in central Kansas, to the northwest of Hutchinson. National Weather Service survey teams found that winds reached in the area, which also resulted in the destruction of a church and the town's post office, in addition to damaging several homes. Numerous schools were damaged throughout the
Springfield, Missouri, area, including a roof collapse at the
Fair Grove High School, resulting in three injuries to students. There were numerous reports of tree and roof damage throughout Springfield, prompting some business to close.
Drury University canceled some morning classes. A
high school in
Fair Grove suffered damage.
Southeastern Missouri and southwestern Illinois , on May 8, 2009 As the initial line weakened, the
mesoscale convective vortex on the northern end began to strengthen and separate from the squall line. In the city of Carbondale, damage was estimated at US$3,000,000, excluding damage at
Southern Illinois University. Officials deemed 34 buildings a "total loss" and reported that 3,000 trees were felled throughout the city. Preliminary estimates placed damages at Southern Illinois University in excess of US$5,000,000. Numerous buildings on campus sustained roof damage, and nearly 100 windows were blown out of residence halls. Due to infrastructure damage from the storm, most communication by land line and mobile phone was reported to be impossible.
Elsewhere As the squall line continued east, it began to break apart into separate supercells; several of these supercells produced tornadoes. An EF3 tornado touched down in eastern
Garrard County before tracking into southern
Madison County, Kentucky; two people were killed in this tornado, five others were injured, and 150 homes were damaged. All of the injuries and deaths occurred in one mobile home near the intersection of
KY 1295 and
KY 52 in southern Madison County. Prior to becoming a mesocyclone, the system produced upwards of of rain over parts of Kansas during the morning hours. In
Rice County, high waters washed out several small bridges and low water crossings and damaged concrete structures, leaving roughly $340,000 in losses. In some places, rainfall reached within a 30-minute span, leading to widespread street flooding. Up to ten drivers required rescue after their cars stalled in the flood waters. Flowing water over the
Kansas Turnpike forced officials to shut down a stretch of the highway for over an hour. One person needed to be rescued in
Lyon County after driving into a flooded street. Barricades were set up in some areas of the county due to rising waters. In
Reno County, four bridges sustained severe flood damage and another was destroyed. Damages to the bridges amounted to $500,000. In some places, schools canceled classes due to the heavy rainfall. In parts of Missouri, up to of rain fell in a short period of time, triggering flash flooding. Along
Missouri Route 89, flood waters reached a depth of some 2 feet (60 cm.). Numerous side roads throughout several counties were closed due to flooding. In
Washington County, the
Big River overflowed its banks and inundated a nearby highway. More significant flooding took place in
St. Francois County, where some homes had up to of water in their basements and railroads were partially washed out. A water rescue took place near the town of
Bloomsdale. Some of the most severe flooding took place in the town of
Doniphan, in
Ripley County, where of rain fell in a 24-hour span. Ten people needed to be evacuated from their homes due to rising waters. The county courthouse and local high school sustained major water damage. At the school, all of the classrooms were flooded by up to of water, and a nearby parking lot buckled under the water. Several other structures in the area were also inundated during the storm, and two people needed to be rescued from their vehicle, which was stalled in waist-deep water. In
Laclede County, severe flooding washed out low-lying roads and drainage culverts. ==Aftermath==