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F1 tornado in St. Louis County, Missouri

Tornado May 30, 2004 · St. Louis County, Missouri

Rating

2.0 mi

Path length

50 yd

Path width

Death

$100K

Damage as recorded

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F1 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F1 meant moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken; the scale paired it with winds of 73–112 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A tornado formed near I-170 and Frost Avenue in Berkeley causing F1 damage to the roof of a business and several apartment buildings. On Frost Avenue, a 15 inch branch from an elm tree fell on a SUV killing the driver. The tornado weakened and caused mainly tree top damage as it moved east northeast The tornado crossed New Florissant Road and entered Calverton Park where several large trees and power lines were downed. The tornado dissipated as it approached North Elizabeth Avenue.

Began near Berkeley (38.7500, -90.3500).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5396287. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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