FARMINGTON, Mo. — When the forecast took a turn for the worse, Helen Ball turned first to her neighbor with a basement, the same as she had when the October tornado came toward Farmington. That storm ultimately damaged businesses that she went to in nearby Fredricktown.
"I got over there and the sirens started, and we stayed upstairs," she said of the tornado watch six months ago.
She ended up at the FEMA storm shelter at Truman Learning Center, where organizers had been working with leaders from various other agencies.
"We participated in a webinar yesterday with the National Weather Service and we got things rolling," John Krause, the district's Safety Director, said.
The school district sent students home early, at 11:30 a.m., pulling out trauma kits and water if needed, while others made more preparations.
"I think all of the agencies in this area work together very frequently so that gives us," said Farmington Fire Chief Todd Mecey. "We already have that operational awareness."
Mecey said they made slight changes after the October tornado hit outside of city limits.
"Like today, we have stood up, used our assets for the whole region and area," he said. "We didn't have them stood up that night. We did end up bringing some of those resources in."
Damage at a family farm after the October tornado showed twisted metal, damaged vehicles.
"Yesterday, when the National Weather Service started updating all of their maps and putting us in the moderate to severe area, it did make a start to think about what has happened with some things pretty recent," Wolf Creek Fire Protection District Chief Bart Mabry said.
Mabry responded to the Coffman-area damage, saying the volunteer department made schedule changes to make sure they had enough people should Mother Nature strike twice.
"The problem with this storm is that it was coming in the middle of the day," he said. "That is typically when we have limited to sometimes no staffing because everybody's at work."
Everyone at the facility breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday that there wasn't more damage this time, especially because there are still some people rebuilding after the October storms.