Dozens of Tornadoes Reported From North Dakota to Oklahoma; Massive Damage in Joplin, Missouri

May 23, 11 AM Update: Pending the outcome of ground surveys of the damage, the National Weather Service has issued this preliminary statement on the Joplin tornado and associated storms:

A supercell thunderstorm tracked from extreme southeast Kansas into far southwest Missouri late Sunday afternoon and evening (May 22nd). This storm produced a strong tornado over Joplin resulting in devastating damage. This storm generated other tornadoes and wind damage along its path as it moved east southeast across far southwest Missouri.

Spotty wind damage also occurred across the remainder of far southern Missouri as the storms moved east. Additionally, these storms produced torrential rainfall and flash flooding across far southwest Missouri particularly in McDonald and Barry Counties.

The preliminary tornado report count has been updated to 48 for May 22. The preliminary year-to-date total is 1168.

Original post:
After slacking off from April's record pace earlier in the month, 47 preliminary tornado reports erupted from North Dakota to Oklahoma on May 22 (Sunday). At least 1 fatality and dozens of injuries were reported in Minneapolis.

The worst storm appears to have been a multi-vortex tornado which created a damage path a mile wide through Joplin, Missouri, according to The Weather Channel. As of midnight, at least 24 were reported dead in Joplin, with a hospital building suffering massive damage.

This followed a deadly tornado in Reading, Kansas on Saturday night (video here). The Kansas storm had a preliminary rating of EF-3.

The National Weather Service will be sending at least 3 survey teams in the field on Monday to evaluate damage in the Missouri storm, but initial images of the damage indicate the Joplin event was likely at EF-4 or EF-5 intensity.

Here are some preliminary storm reports from Joplin:

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0541 PM     TORNADO          JOPLIN                  37.08N 94.51W
05/22/2011                   JASPER             MO   PUBLIC

            NUMEROUS REPORTS OF TORNADO ON THE GROUND WEST OF JOPIN
            AND POWER FLASHES

0546 PM     TORNADO          1 S JOPLIN              37.07N 94.51W
05/22/2011                   JASPER             MO   PUBLIC

            MULTIVORTEX TORNADO REPORTED NEAR 13TH AND RANGELINE RD.
            REPORTS OF DAMAGE TO NUMEROUS TREES AND HOUSES.

0546 PM     TORNADO          2 SE JOPLIN             37.06N 94.49W
05/22/2011                   JASPER             MO   PUBLIC

            22ND AND BLACKCAT RD NEIGHBOHOOD MASSIVE DAMAGE BEING
            REPORTED TO HOUSES AND TREES WITH PEOPLE TRAPPED IN
            DEBRIS.

0602 PM     TORNADO          2 E JOPLIN              37.08N 94.48W
05/22/2011                   JASPER             MO   PUBLIC

            BETWEEN MILE MARKER 10 AND 12. TREES [STRIPPED] OF BARK. OVER
            20 SEMITRUCKS AND CARS FLIPPED OFF I-44. ALL INTERSTATE
            SIGNS GONE AND DAMAGE.