Missouri heatwave warps road, launches car in scary video: Will more roads buckle?
The extreme heat Missouri experienced over the weekend caused a road to buckle itself into a makeshift ramp — and a bystander happened to capture the scary moment on video.
Footage recorded by Albert Blackwell on Sunday, June 22, shows a portion of Siemers Drive in the western part of Cape Girardeau suddenly snap, sending a car lurching forward.
Blackwell told Storyful he had been filming a bulge in the road but wanted a better angle when he caught the road buckling.
“When I went back to get a front angle of cars going over the smaller buckle, the road exploded and rose over 18 inches, sending a car airborne,” Blackwell told Storyful.
Elsewhere in the state, high temperatures also caused a road to buckle in Columbia over the weekend, the city's public works department said on social media. The affected area of Providence Road has since been repaired and is now open to normal traffic.
Here's what to know about how extreme heat is affecting Missouri roads:
Authorities warn of more roads buckling
City authorities, in a post on Facebook, said two roads in Cape Girardeau, including Siemers Drive, buckled in the ongoing heatwave.
“With more high temperatures expected this week, the city may experience more street buckling due to the heat,” the city cautioned, urging drivers to drive carefully and be mindful of crews repairing the streets.
A spokesperson for the Cape Girardeau Police Department told Paste BN on June 23 that no injuries were reported in reference to the incident.
"In reference to safe driving and roadway buckling due to heat, drivers should be wearing a seat belt and if a driver notices anything unusual with the roadway, please contact local law enforcement as soon as possible," the police department advised.
Heatwave causes roadway to buckle in Columbia, Missouri
High temperatures are the likely cause of roadway buckling on Providence Road in Columbia over the weekend, according to a post made by Columbia Public Works on Sunday, June 22.
The buckling happened just north of Big Bear Boulevard and the affected area has been repaired and reopened to normal traffic.
This emergency project is in addition to a long list of streets already scheduled to receive repairs, the city said, though many are unrelated to this month's heat wave and are general roadway maintenance.
Extreme heat wave scorches parts of US
An "extremely dangerous heat wave" is continuing to scorch a huge area of the U.S. from the Northeast to the Plains on June 23, as tens of millions of people from Kansas to Maine endure "extreme heat risk," according to the National Weather Service. The dangerous and record-challenging stretch of heat and humidity is expected to continue through the first half of the week before easing, forecasters said.
The NWS also issued a heat advisory for Cape Girardeau, about 115 miles south of St. Louis, which remains in effect until 7 p.m. Friday June 27.
Heat-related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat, the weather service said. "Wear lightweight and loose-fitting clothing" and "take action when you see symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke," the weather service said.
Why is it so hot? Blame the 'heat dome'