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2025 St. Louis tornado
EF3 tornado in Missouri, U.S From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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On the afternoon of May 16, 2025, an intense and destructive tornado tracked more than 20 miles (32 km) through urban areas of Greater St. Louis, including Greater Ville and Fountain Park, in Missouri, United States. The tornado caused widespread destruction across St. Louis, while inflicting only relatively minor damage on neighboring areas in Illinois. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials called the residential damage the largest-scale the organization had surveyed since the 2011 tornado in Joplin, Missouri. Federal aid has been requested but is pending acceptance. Volunteer engineers have been surveying homes throughout the city. An estimate put damage caused by the tornado at $1.6 billion, among the highest figures for an individual tornado on record. The tornado was the first deadly tornado in St. Louis since 1959.[2]
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Meteorological synopsis
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The Storm Prediction Center outlined a moderate (4/5) risk of severe weather over much of the middle Mississippi and lower Ohio valleys in the Midwestern United States on May 16. St. Louis was included in the northern area of the moderate risk, driven by the threat of severe hail and damaging winds; though the area of greatest tornadic potential was believed to lie further south and southeast. A strong upper-level trough over the Upper Midwest. Following the remnants of a severe weather system the previous day, a cold front was forecasted to move through much of the Midwest and through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys that evening. Strong mid-level flow and shear values would contribute to ideal conditions for the development of storms, potentially developing into supercells, over eastern and southern Missouri that evening.[3]
Forecasters at the St. Louis National Weather Service office were monitoring the potential for severe weather across the region early in the morning. An area forecast discussion was issued shortly before 3 a.m., discussing the implications of environmental parameters and model guidance for that afternoon. Models had been showing that the greatest risk of severe weather across the region would exist between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. CDT. While the specifics of when and where storms would be develop were unclear, model runs showed that the convective environment overseen by the St. Louis office would consist of high levels of convective instability in excess of 3,000 J/kg, with matching lapse rates of 7.5–8.5 degrees Celsius per kilometer and shear values of 50–60 knots ahead of the cold front. The primary hazards outlined at the time were large hail above 2 in (5.1 cm) in diameter, while the risk of both strong downburst wind gusts potentially stronger than 80 mph (130 km/h), and tornadoes, some potentially being strong, was also recognized by forecasters.[4]
Shortly before noon, the Storm Prediction Center issued a mesoscale discussion concerning the development of storms over southwestern Missouri and eastern Arkansas. These storms existed ahead of the cold front and were expected to develop into supercells with time, whereas the environment ahead of the front was developing extreme instability. Forecasters believed that storm coverage would expand over the rest of Missouri, as well as parts of Arkansas and Illinois, as the day progressed.[5] Also around this time, a tornado watch was issued across much of Missouri, including St. Louis, with the underlying environment expected to favor supercells throughout the day and a hazard of potentially intense tornadoes existed throughout the region.[6]
At 2:08 p.m., the warm front had reached St. Louis, and more supercells had developed across the line ahead of the cold front and dry line. Southerly winds had brought dew points in St. Louis up to 68 °F (20 °C) at this time. The environment across and ahead of the line of supercells was conducive to the threat of large hail potentially above 4 in (10 cm) in diameter, and low-level helicity would support the threat for tornadoes, although these were expected to be further south over southeastern Missouri and neighboring parts of Illinois and Kentucky.[7] A tornado warning was issued for St. Louis and surrounding areas by the National Weather Service St. Louis, Missouri at 2:34 pm CDT, as a storm over St. Ann and Overland had attained tornadic rotation.[8] Five minutes later at 2:39 pm CDT, the tornado touched down.[2]
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Tornado summary
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St. Louis, Missouri
The tornado first touched down at 2:39 pm CDT in Clayton just east of I-170 in St. Louis County, Missouri. Upon touching down, the tornado immediately reached EF2 intensity as it moved eastward-southeastward through Clayton, damaging apartment buildings, homes, and low-rise buildings, uprooting trees, and snapping tree branches. Turning east-northeastward, it then caused widespread EF1 damage to trees, power poles, and residences at Fontbonne University; one area of EF2 damage was noted with some power poles that were snapped. The tornado then entered the City of St. Louis.[9] MetroLink, St. Louis' rail transportation network, suffered damage to overhead power systems between Forest Park–DeBaliviere station and Brentwood I-64 station.[10] The tornado snapped more trees in the Wydown/Skinker neighborhood before causing additional widespread tree damage as it clipped Forest Park and the Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood. The tornado again reached EF2 intensity as it struck DeBaliviere Place. It heavily damaged multiple apartment buildings, damaged homes, shattered windows, and snapped and uprooted numerous trees. In the Central West End and Academy neighborhoods, more homes, churches, mid-rise buildings, traffic lights, power poles, and trees were heavily damaged.[9][11]
The strengthening tornado then impacted the neighborhoods of Fountain Park, Lewis Place, and Kingsway East. Several businesses and brick townhouses had walls and windows blown out and roofs partially and completely removed, and there was widespread damage to trees, power poles, and traffic lights.[9] Part of the Centennial Christian Church, with three people inside, collapsed; although everyone was rescued, one person later died from their injuries.[12] Other churches had windows shattered and exterior damage as well. Two areas of low-end EF3 damage occurred on the northwest side of the tornado's path, with a strip mall being partially destroyed and a brick townhouse being flattened; the neighboring brick townhouse was damaged at EF2 intensity. By this time, the tornado had grown into a large wedge that was nearly a mile wide.[9]
The tornado then struck The Ville and Greater Ville neighborhoods at EF2 intensity. Many brick townhouses and other homes collapsed or were heavily damaged, with roofs removed and exterior walls knocked down; many trees were damaged, and power poles were snapped.[9] The tornado peaked at mid-range EF3 intensity along North Newstead Avenue, flattening multiple brick townhouses. Another brick townhome on Marcus Avenue was also flattened at EF3 intensity, and a church nearby had its roof partially removed and its steeple knocked off.[9] Around this time, the tornado warning for the area was upgraded to a Particularly dangerous situation tornado warning due to radar confirming the presence of debris being lofted by the tornado.[8] Along Natural Bridge Avenue (Route 115), a tall flagpole was heavily damaged before the tornado moved into the O'Fallon neighborhood just west of Fairground Park at EF2 intensity.[9] More brick townhouses, other homes, businesses, and churches were heavily damaged and had shattered windows, and power poles and trees were snapped. This included some brick townhouses that collapsed at O'Fallon Park.[9] The tornado then crossed I-70 into the North Riverfront neighborhood, damaging multiple warehouses and snapping power poles as it moved through an industrial area in a train yard along BNSF Railway's Hannibal Subdivision before crossing the Mississippi River into Madison County, Illinois.[9]
Illinois and dissipation
The now smaller and weaker tornado then moved ashore west of Granite City, damaging trees as it moved east-northeastward. The tornado then crossed IL 3, and struck the northern part of the city, damaging homes and snapping and uprooting more trees. The tornado then crossed IL 203, damaging more trees, businesses, homes, and a medical center. The tornado then struck Pontoon Beach, damaging more trees and homes. The tornado then crossed IL 111 and moved into an open field before passing over the I-270 and I-255/IL 255 interchange. The tornado then moved through the northwestern part of Glen Carbon, damaging a storage facility and more trees. The tornado then crossed IL 157, causing minor damage to a home before dissipating southwest of Edwardsville just east of the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus at 3:05 p.m. CDT.[9]
Mechanism
The tornado was on the ground for 26 minutes, had a path length of 23.3 miles (37.5 km), was 1,750 yards (1,600 m) at its largest width, and moved at an average speed of 55 mph (89 km/h).[9][13] The survey noted that the tornado may have consisted of multiple circulations.[2] The tornado was likely caused by a very strong rear-flank downdraft surge, which was cited as a reason it occurred further north than where forecasters anticipated most tornadic activity to occur.[14]
Non-tornadic effects
Within Forest Park, the Saint Louis Zoo had 10,000 guests on-site when the storm struck, but all survived without injuries. 95% of the zoo's animals were recalled to the shelter. Although the tornado did not hit the zoo, its rear flank downdraft winds inflicted damage to the butterfly enclosure, in addition to other exhibits.[15] The Harlem Tap Room bar, with 20 people inside, also collapsed, but no fatalities occurred there. This damage was also likely caused by the rear flank downdraft, as it was outside of the tornado's damage path.[12]
Casualties
The National Weather Service stated in its initial tornado damage survey that five people were killed in the tornado, in addition to a further 38 who were non-fatally injured. The death toll was later revised down to four, with one death attributed to a non-tornadic wind gust.[2]
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Aftermath
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Immediate response
At the Centennial Christian Church, which suffered a complete collapse with multiple people trapped under rubble, a call to the 911 emergency number was redirected to a non-emergency hotline. Although a city fire department, Engine House No. 28, was only a one-minute drive away, the tornado had fell a significant amount of trees onto roadways, and the first to respond to the collapse was reverend Dietra Wise Baker. Baker called the St. Louis County 911, though was told that the call must be taken by St. Louis City 911, which was "overloaded", and their call would not go through; the first notification of the collapse to emergency management was made by direct contact to individuals part of St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and Fire Department.[16]
Between 2:40 and 7:00 p.m. on May 16, police in St. Louis received 334 calls in total, in what KTVI described as a surge in emergency response activity following the storm.[17]
Damage
The tornado damaged 5,000 structures and caused an estimated $1.6 billion in property damage.[18][19] 80 volunteer structural engineers affiliated with the Missouri Structural Assessment and Visual Evaluation coalition converged in St. Louis the first week to assess the habitability of homes across the city,[20] placing stickers on structures based on their integrity. Structures marked with red stickers are unsafe to occupy, while those with yellow stickers should be entered with caution.[21] The stickers are non-binding and are meant for informative purposes only.[20] Governor of Missouri, Mike Kehoe, authorized a $100 million in aid for St. Louis recovery efforts.[22] Federal aid has been requested but still pending acceptance.[23]
Federal response
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) dispatched two teams to St. Louis following the tornado, focusing on Greater Ville and Kingsway East. On May 21, Missouri governor Mike Kehoe announced he would be asking President Trump for federal disaster aid following the tornado.[24] Kehoe relayed that FEMA had called the amount of residential destruction in St. Louis the largest the organization had surveyed since the Joplin tornado in 2011.[25] Yet, as of May 23, 2025, no federal funds have been allocated to support the city’s recovery.[26] A fire later occurred in a tornado-affected area of St. Louis, and one firefighter was non-critically injured while responding.[27]
Siren activation controversy
Sirens across northern St. Louis failed to sound during the tornado.[28] This was attributed by emergency management and city officials to a lack of organization, as the county's emergency management commissioner was attending an off-site workshop and other emergency staff were unable to activate sirens themselves, with a call to the city's fire department being described as an ambiguous request that was not actioned. Sarah Russell, the city's emergency management commissioner, was placed on administrative leave following this incident.[28] KSDK reported in response to this that city emergency management had previously requested more funding, as they had been receiving only 0.2% of the city's yearly resources, seven times less than some comparable cities such as Kansas City and Chicago.[29]
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See also
- Weather of 2025
- St. Louis tornado history
- 1991 Andover tornado – a tornado in greater Wichita in which some sirens failed to activate
- 2020 Nashville tornado – another similarly impactful tornado over urban areas
- 2023 Little Rock tornado – another EF3 tornado in heavily urbanized areas two years prior
References
External links
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