EF3 Tornado — St. Louis, Missouri

2010-12-31 · near St Louis Weiss Arpt, St. Louis, Missouri

Event narrative

The tornado's second touchdown occurred at the Jefferson, St. Louis County Line at Delmar Gardens on Arbor Terrace. Small trees and minor roof damage occurred at Delmar Gardens. The damage path was 50 yards wide and rated EF0.

The tornado continued to skip northeast along Highway 30, in St. Louis County, through a large subdivision in which many homes sustained minor roof and tree damage, however three homes on the east end of the subdivision sustained both siding damage and a greater degree of roof damage. The width of the damage area was 100 yards. Damage intensity over much of the subdivision was EF0, except for the three homes, this damage intensity was rated EF1.

The tornado crossed Highway 141 just north of Highway 30. A 2007 Honda CR-V was driving northbound on Highway 141 when the tornado picked it up and slammed it sideways into a wall along the highway. The occupant, a 70 year old woman, sustained major injuries and died about eleven days later from her injuries. The tornado then hit a church, elementary school and parsonage, which sustained various degrees of damage with the parsonage having the highest degree of damage. Most of the roof was removed and one wall collapsed. Three trees sustained substantial damage in which one tree was partially debarked. Damage intensity was rated EF2 while the damage width was 100 yards.

The tornado moved through the Fenton City Park and crossed the Meramec River half mile north of Highway 30. Much of the tree damage was minor over this area. The tornado paralleled Watson Road and crossed it near Bond Road where three separate large trees damaged a house, vehicle and garage.

The tornado continued northeast and crossed Interstate 270, two miles southeast of Interstate 44. Just east of I-270 the tornado paralleled Old Watson Road in which an intermittent path of damage was observed. One home northeast of I-270 sustained minor roof damage and a second home further northeast experienced shingle and tree damage. The damage over this area was rated EF1 while the damage width was 50 yards.

At approximately 11:56 AM the tornado rapidly intensified as it neared Lindbergh Blvd. Many trees in Watson Trail Park were snapped or uprooted. Seven homes along Old Watson Road sustained varying degrees of damage. Peak intensity was EF3 with 145 mph winds. Two homes had the roofs removed and most of the exterior walls collapsed.

Several homes along Court Drive sustained significant damage. The worst damage occurred on the east end of Court Drive in which four homes had large portions of the roof removed and one had several walls collapsed. Damage intensity was rated EF3 with wind speeds near 150 mph.

On Lindbergh Blvd, one home was completely demolished and moved less than 50 yards from the foundation. A brick veneer garage was also destroyed by the tornado. Further north on Lindbergh a medical facility also sustained heavy damage. Damage over this area was rated EF3, but the demolished home was rated high-end EF3. Damage over this area was a quarter of a mile wide.

The tornado crossed Lindbergh near Court Drive and crossed over a strip mall. Two cars and a delivery truck were tipped over in the parking lot. Several windows were blown in on the stores in the strip mall and a greenhouse behind and adjacent to the mall suffered roof and water pipe damage. The tornado made a turn to the east-northeast and crossed the east end of Woodfox Drive. About a dozen pine trees along the east end of Woodfox Drive were blown over, all lying to the north. Eight homes on Woodfox Drive suffered roof damage and several trees were either pushed over or snapped off about halfway up the trunk. The tornado crossed Woodpark Drive were it caused roof damage to three more homes and downed a large oak tree. One home had the roof lifted and partially removed. The damage path width from Woodfox to Woodpark was 300 yards wide and was rated EF1.

The tornado then turned a bit to the northeast and crossed Eggeling Lane and Gladlea Drive. On Eggeling Lane, four homes suffered roof damage and several trees were downed. On Gladlea Drive, three homes suffered roof damage and several more trees were downed. This damage path was 150 yards wide and rated EF0. The tornado crossed East Watson between Lynn Lane, Watson Woods Court, and Kathy Court. On Lynn Lane, a couple of trees were snapped off and two homes suffered roof damage and had windows blown in. This portion of the damage path was 100 yards wide and rated EF1.

The tornado crossed over Kathy Court and Fern Glen Drive. Some large tree branches were broken which took down some power lines. This damage was rated EF0 and the damage path was 100 yards wide.

The tornado continued northeast and crossed the area near Maebern Terrace, Sturdy Drive and Crestwood Lane. At Sturdy and Maebern Terrace, two homes suffered roof damage with one home having the roof lifted and partially removed. A couple of large trees were also downed in this area. This damage was EF1 and 100 yards wide. The tornado continued northeast to Watson Road with minor tree and roof damage noted. Six power poles were pushed over along Watson Road. The tornado continued northeast with additional damage to trees and roofs until it weakened and lifted at the intersection of Rayburn Avenue and S. Sappington Road.

Wider weather episode

Severe thunderstorms developed ahead of a strong cold front, triggering numerous showers and thunderstorms. A number of tornadoes were reported as well as damaging winds and large hail.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.5024, -90.4622)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 275090. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.