St. Louis Tornado: 5 Dead And 30 Injured In Severe Storm

Authorities searched from building to building for those who were injured or trapped as severe storms, including a potential tornado, swept through St. Louis, resulting in at least five fatalities.

The storms on Friday afternoon ripped bricks off siding, blew out windows, pulled up trees and electricity wires, and tore roofs off structures. About 100,000 customers were still without power on Friday night, and over 5,000 residences were impacted, according to St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer.

“The loss of life and the destruction are truly, truly horrendous,” Spencer stated. “It truly is a hard night for many, many people and many, many families in our community.”

The immediate number of casualties remained unknown. According to hospital spokesperson Laura High, Barnes-Jewish Hospital received 20 to 30 patients from the storm, some of whom were in critical condition, and the majority of whom were anticipated to be released by Friday evening.

According to her, two of the fifteen patients who were admitted to St. Louis Children’s Hospital are anticipated to stay there through the weekend.

In some areas of St. Louis, the city imposed a curfew at 9 p.m. on Friday night, urging residents to remain indoors as authorities examine every building in the storm’s path for possible victims.

“In the upcoming days, we will have a lot of work to accomplish. Without a doubt, but tonight our priorities are to save lives, keep people safe, and let our community grieve,” Spencer stated.

As the storms have damaged cell coverage in the city, Spencer asked people to stay at home and refrain from using their phones unless it is an emergency. Officials want to ensure that anyone who has to contact 911 can get through to receive assistance.

William Pollihan, the battalion chief for the City of St. Louis Fire Department, told The Associated Press that three individuals needed to be rescued from Centennial Christian Church after a portion of the building collapsed. One of those individuals passed away.

According to National Weather Service radar, a tornado made landfall in Clayton, Missouri, in the St. Louis region, between 2:30 and 2:50 p.m. According to Marshall Pfahler, a weather service meteorologist, it received reports of damage, primarily downed trees.

According to Pfahler, the said tornado made landfall at Forest Park, which is the location of the St. Louis Zoo and the location of the Olympic Games and the World’s Fair in 1904.

Due to the weather, the St. Louis Zoo announced on X, the messaging app that was once known as Twitter, that it would be closed for the remainder of the day. A zoo representative did not immediately return a phone call for comment, and the tweet contained no details regarding damages.

“We can’t definitively say whether or not it was a tornado — it likely was,” Pfahler stated.

Around 2:50 p.m. CDT, radar verified a tornado over Venice, Illinois. The St. Louis National Weather Service warned that golf-ball-sized hail might accompany it. Northeast of St. Louis, on the other side of the Mississippi River, is Venice.

The tornado was traveling east at 50 mph and was deemed “extremely dangerous” by the weather agency. The tornado is a component of a severe weather system that caused trees to fall, tornadoes to form in Wisconsin, thousands of people in the Great Lakes region to lose power, and a scorching heat wave to hit Texas.

On Friday, severe storms with hail and perhaps hurricane-force winds could cripple portions of the Midwest and Appalachia, according to weather forecasts. There was also a chance of tornadoes.

Severe weather was predicted by the National Weather Service for portions of the Mid-Atlantic states and the middle Appalachians.

Residents in Kentucky, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, parts of Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, and Ohio should brace for intense storms that could include baseball-sized hail.

The weather service’s Storm Prediction Center said that “strong, potentially long-track tornadoes and very large hail” could be expected. The threat for damaging winds above 75 mph will increase into this evening as storms grow into larger clusters.

Appalachian Power, which serves one million customers in West Virginia, Virginia, and Tennessee, said Friday that it has asked 1,700 more workers from nearby utilities in addition to sending its own crews from unaffected areas to help restore service ahead of the expected storm that is expected to hit Friday night.

Residents were warned by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear in a post on the social media site X.

“A hazardous weather system is sweeping across Kentucky, with a major round expected this afternoon and continuing through tonight. In Western Kentucky, strong winds, hail, flooding, and tornadoes are predicted to begin at 2:00 PM CT and move to Louisville by approximately 5:00 PM ET, he stated.

In the vicinity of Paducah, Kentucky, shelters were opening.

Middle Tennessee should anticipate “all types of severe weather,” according to Faith Borden, a meteorologist in the Nashville office of the National Weather Service, on Friday. 70 mph winds. For us, big hail is defined as hail that is three inches or more in size.

Meanwhile, Texas had intense temperatures. With temperatures reaching a scorching 95 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit, a heat alert was issued for Austin and San Antonio. Temperatures in the 90s plagued portions of the southern East Coast, extending from Virginia to Florida.

According to the Austin/San Antonio National Weather Service Office, the humidity that will arrive over the weekend is predicted to raise temperatures on Friday.

Meteorologist Jason Runyen stated, “There are concerns of heat exhaustion for people who aren’t taking proper precautions outdoors.” He suggested that anyone who was impacted take pauses and drink plenty of water.

Storms with thunder, flashes of lightning, and strong winds raced across portions of Wisconsin, Illinois, northern Indiana, and Michigan overnight Thursday, bringing down thousands of trees and cutting off electricity to thousands of homes.

On Thursday, several tornadoes made landfall in central Wisconsin. According to Timm Uhlmann, a Green Bay National Weather Service meteorologist, none of the twisters have been rated as of yet.

According to Uhlmann, “We’re still gathering reports,” “Video and photos are still being taken while we examine some of the damage.

The damage is extensive. A lot of big hail fell, including softball-sized hail in Eau Claire.

There have been no reports of injuries.

According to Steven Freitag, a National Weather Service meteorologist in White Lake Township, northwest of Detroit, damage surveys were also being conducted Friday to see if any tornadoes made landfall in Michigan.

According to Freitag, a cold front that moved through triggered the storms, which were fuelled by temperatures in the lower 80s that spanned from Illinois into Michigan.

A Beyoncé performance at Soldier Field on Thursday was postponed by almost two hours due to the possibility of heavy weather in Chicago.