EF3 Tornado — Ste. Genevieve, Missouri

2021-10-24 · near Avon, Ste. Genevieve, Missouri

Event narrative

The 400+ yard wide tornado crossed the St. Francois County/Ste. Genevieve County line just north of Green Acres Lane. The tornado then traveled to the northeast crossing Route F multiple times as it traveled towards Coffman. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted along this path, a number of farm outbuildings and barns were damaged or destroyed, and several homes suffered partial roof damage. The worst damage occurred to a home on Route AA just north of Route F. This home was completely destroyed. All of the walls were completely blown into the rear of the foundation and the roof was totally removed. Little anchoring was evident to the walls. One minor injury occurred to a male at the residence who found shelter in the pantry area. Tree damage in this area was some of the worst noted with every tree snapped or sheared supporting an EF-3 damage rating to the home. Another home on McDaniel Road just north of Route F sustained severe damage. The roof was completely removed and a large portion of the northeast walls were removed. Little if any anchoring of the walls was evident which supported an EF-2 damage rating. Numerous power poles and trees were snapped along Route F as the tornado traveled to the northeast into Coffman. Crown Valley Brewing and Distilling suffered minor damage, however the building on the north side of Route F was heavily damaged, rated at EF-1. A small building adjacent to the main Coffman Baptist Church was completely destroyed with debris blown into the main church building. There was no anchoring evident in this small building and damage was rated at EF-1. The tornado continued to the east-northeast crossing Madden Creek. The last detectable damage and thus end point was around 4 miles east-northeast of Coffman, southeast of Brands Lake near Goat Hill Trail. Overall, the tornado was rated EF3 with a path length of 16.74 miles and a max path width of 450 yards (St. Francois/Ste. Genevieve Counties).

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 → (37.7530, -90.2990)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 988880. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.