5/22/12 Joplin Anniversary

Today marks the 1 year anniversary of the Joplin, Missouri EF5 tornado. A total of 161 people were killed in that storm, and hundreds were left homeless. Hundreds of residents, volunteers, politicians, and members of the media gathered together across the disaster zone, mixing somber remembrances with loyal and unwavering dedications to rebuild the crippled city. Later, those very same people joined up for a 4-mile "Walk of Unity" through some of the city's hardest-hit neighborhoods.

"It's been a roller-coaster type year. Extremely high highs and lots of low lows." said Debbie Fort, the principal of Irving Elementary School, which was destroyed by the tornado. "It's important that we take a moment to reflect and remember," she said. "But it's a new chapter in our lives. This really signifies our future, the future of Joplin."

A total of five city parks were either badly damaged or destroyed from the tornado, and FEMA provided nearly $1 million to restore them, but not everything has gone back to it's original state. Below are three pictures taken on May 25, 2011 (top photo), July 20, 2011 (middle photo), and May 7, 2012 (bottom photo). These images show the gradual progress the town has made in the last year.

"It is so fitting to begin this day, this anniversary, by reflecting on our faith as dawn breaks over a renewed Joplin," Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said at a sunrise service at Freeman Hospital to honor all who sprang into action after the storm struck. "Scripture tells us that the path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day."

The Joplin tornado has been looked at over and over again by meteorologists and researchers to try to get a better understanding about how these beasts work. Below is a picture of a 3D rendering done by the National Weather Service, to be able to figure out and comprehend the inner workings of that particular storm.

Sources: NOAA, NWS, AP, Charlie Riedel, Houston Chronicle, ABC News