EF2 Tornado — Ste. Genevieve, Missouri

2021-10-24 · near St Marys, Ste. Genevieve, Missouri

Event narrative

The next tornado from this supercell began around 2 miles southwest of St. Mary between State Route Z and Saline Creek. The tornado destroyed several farm outbuildings shortly after touching down and also further northeast on St. Marys Church Road. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped in St. Mary along with damage to 28 homes. The worst damage in St. Mary occurred along Church Street where one home lost its entire roof, and the roof was removed from a large portion of the St. Mary Antique Mall. This damage was rated EF-2. The tornado continued to the northeast moving through the flood plain and crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois just north of the Menard Correctional Center.

Wider weather episode

Numerous severe thunderstorms formed ahead of an approaching cold front across southeast Missouri during the evening hours of Sunday, October 24th, 2021. As the storms moved northeastward, they moved into a moist, energy-rich environment with substantial wind shear in the low and mid-levels. They quickly intensified, remaining somewhat isolated as they moved through southeast Missouri and into southwest Illinois. The environment was very favorable for tornadic development, and these storms produced several tornadoes and wind damage as they moved through the area. Two storms produced tornadoes that remained on the ground for significant distances. The tornado that moved through Fredericktown, MO, passing through Madison County into Perry County, was on the ground for 18.9 miles. Another tornado moved from St. Francois County through St. Genevieve County in Missouri into Randolph County in Illinois, staying on the ground for over 40 miles.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.8580, -89.9800)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1007859. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.