Editing Pierce City, Missouri (section)

===May 2003 tornado===
One of the most notable tornadoes of the [[May 2003 tornado outbreak sequence]] was the one that hit in Pierce City. According to reports, nearly all of the buildings in the town were damaged, destroyed, or liable to collapse. Damage was most severe in the historic downtown business district, where approximately 90 percent of the businesses and homes nearby were severely damaged, and they later had to be torn down. A nearby National Guard Armory, regularly used as the town's storm shelter, sustained heavy damage. J. Dale Taunton was killed; he was one of the several dozen people who had fled to the shelter.<ref>[http://springfield.news-leader.com/specialreports/tornadoes/0506-Ragingwind-49285.html Raging Winds...]</ref>

But, outside the main path of the tornado, many Pierce City structures, including homes and the Harold Bell Wright Museum, sustained little or no damage. The Pierce City tornado was rated F3 on the [[Fujita scale]].