CHAMOIS — The city of Chamois was hit by a severe but short storm on Tuesday, July 7, causing damage in several areas.

Chamois Resident Ralph “Rube” Cramer said the storm lasted approximately 15 minutes, during which strong winds brought down a power pole and power line near/on his property. His rain gauge showed 2-1/2” of rain fell during the short storm.

According to Osage County 911/EMA Director Ron Hoffman, the National Weather Service classified the storm as a micro-burst, which their website classifies as “a downdraft (sinking air) in a thunderstorm that is less than 2.5 miles in scale.”

It goes on to say, “Although micro-bursts are not as widely recognized as tornadoes, they can cause comparable, and in some cases, worse damage than some tornadoes produce.”

The micro-burst in Chamois resulted in at least five trees reported as fallen or split, and damage to two buildings, although one building was said to be slated for demolition.

Hoffman said he called the National Weather Service almost immediately and was told the storm did not show up on their radar.

Cramer expressed frustration that it took him several phone calls to get the power turned off after the line came down in his yard. He had to call 911 from his landline, he said, because there was no cell phone service.
“The first time I called Ameren, they asked if I wanted to report a gas leak,” he said. “I said no, and then I called them back later, and it went to some goofy ass ‘Today’s your lucky day, and you can get a free Life Alert.’ I was like, ‘You might need a Life Alert if I was within arm’s reach of you’.”

Cramer said Chamois Fire Protection District responded quickly to secure the scene, but there was little they could do about a live power line in rain soaked grass.

“Scott (firefighter Scott Mertz) was standing there, my yard is burning, and he was like “I don’t know what to tell you, Rube,’” Cramer said.

Cramer did eventually reach Ameren and said he insisted they shut down power to the entire town until a crew arrived to deal with the power line.

“We have the guys here putting siding on, and they were sitting out there in their truck, and I thought, ‘The trucks gonna blow away,’ the way everything was blowing. And they just sat out there,” said Rube’s wife, Debbie Cramer. “They said this was the most exciting one they’ve ever had. He said, ‘We always wondered what would happen if we put on siding and the house burned down. I was like, “Don’t say that - it could still happen!’ They were watching these sparks, too. They came around here. (The) fire department came in, and they were like, ‘We can’t do anything until they turn off the power.’”

Ameren arrived to set a new pole and line. That area was isolated, and power was restored to most of the town while the work was being completed.

R. Cramer said the power pole had been rotten for some time, and was finally felled by the storm. A large split tree was also visible in a neighbor’s back yard. He indicated another neighbor had a tree down in their back yard and another down on a house they planned to demolish, and said there was another tree down at the park. Damage could also be seen where the door and frame came loose from a building on Main Street, across from Jerry’s Stop & Go, and light could be seen through the roof where it had collapsed at the back of the building.