# Tornado in St. Louis (2025 edition) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 16, 2025, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461 "2025-05-16T22:46:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/1 "2025-05-16T22:46:14Z")
What was supposed to be a severe but relatively normal line of thunderstorms suddenly dropped a tornado right in the heart of the metropolitan area. The twister went through so fast there was little warning time, and it ripped through both affluent and some of the oldest and poorest neighborhoods in St. Louis City. Right now there are more than 100,000 customers on both sides of the Mississippi River without power. For the last 90 minutes or so news crews have been following the attempt to rescue a man who was in his basement when his house caved in on top of him. Note: century old buildings with foot-thick brick walls may be able to survive a fire, but not a tornado. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/2 "2025-05-16T22:54:29Z")
Oh. I was watching weather and saw. So sorry for the folks there. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/3 "2025-05-17T00:34:25Z")
It was bizarre how fast it developed. Everyone was focused on the cells to the north and south, and then it was “oh shit!” So far four confirmed fatalities. Lots of building damage, tons and tons of tree damage. The zoo got clipped, but all people and animals are safe, except I think they may have lost a few butterflies when a tree landed on the butterfly house. I’m in South county where it was just windy. Big branch down in my yard, but nothing dramatic. > [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > For the last 90 minutes or so news crews have been following the attempt to rescue a man who was in his basement when his house caved in on top of him. From what I’ve seen, the rescue was successful. One of the firefighters was quoted as saying something along the lines of “he’s doing pretty well for someone who had a building fall on him.” ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/4 "2025-05-17T01:03:54Z")
Sorry to hear this. My area had a derecho a couple weeks ago and the devastation was intense. But nothing like a tornado. It’s insane how quickly one’s life can change. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/5 "2025-05-17T01:14:35Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > The zoo got clipped, but all people and animals are safe, That’s good to hear. I’ve been there a few times. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/6 "2025-05-17T02:37:34Z")
I’ve seen footage from the area, including a picture of said tornado from the top of the Arch. I still can’t get over seeing a tree levered, roots and all, out of the ground, and taking pavement with it. Nature sure is a powerful thing. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/7 "2025-05-17T03:13:14Z")
Looks like the death toll is up to five. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/8 "2025-05-17T14:06:04Z")
I won thirty bucks yesterday in a lawsuit so want to send it to an org that’s helping out; I was going to add it to my Red Cross schedule but am searching for another org that could be assisting too. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/9 "2025-05-17T17:39:44Z")
Convoy of Hope is the first one I heard. They’re also going to some disaster sites in Kentucky. They’re faith-based if that matters to you. Otherwise the Red Cross is as good as anyone else right now. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/10 "2025-05-17T17:59:30Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > I think they may have lost a few butterflies when a tree landed on the butterfly house. Isn’t that just going to cause even more tornadoes? ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/11 "2025-05-17T18:54:27Z")
Only if they’re in China. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/12 "2025-05-17T21:28:32Z")
The NWS officially designated it a tornado, tentatively an EF-3. That means winds of 136-165 mph. Currently there are five known dead and 38 injured. It’s a wonder that total is so low. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2025, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/13 "2025-05-17T23:08:57Z")
The Red Cross is helping people right now, and if you want to provide longer-term assistance, Habitat for Humanity is a good organization too. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/14 "2025-05-18T00:05:20Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Currently there are five known dead and 38 injured. It’s a wonder that total is so low. I’m originally from St. Louis. It’s tornado country. Most people who have been there awhile know what to do/where to go if one shows up. That sort of cultural knowledge goes a long way towards keeping injuries and deaths lower than they might otherwise be. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/15 "2025-05-18T01:35:26Z")
While that’s true, this thing came with almost no warning. There was a tornado watch, but the tornado threat wasn’t the main focus. All of the local meteorologists were focused on the hail threat. Then this thing just popped up and whipped through the city. By the time people got the warnings it was on top of them. It’s really astonishing the casualty count is as low as it is (as tragic as those deaths are). The damage is really quite dramatic. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/16 "2025-05-18T09:28:49Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > Then this thing just popped up and whipped through the city. By the time people got the warnings it was on top of them. In other words… it was like the situation when I was a kid, before we had doppler radar and satellite photos. I suppose some people rely utterly on the phone alerts, but the point of a tornado _watch_ is that one could form at any time. Granted, if you’re right under it at first touch down you’re kind of screwed (unless you’re already in your basement or other safe spot) but if it sounds like a train is coming down your street and trees are flying by most people understand that getting under cover is a good idea. Severe thunderstorm and hail also means most people are going to already be inside. And, on top of that - the actual footprint of a tornado is kind of small, most of them aren’t very wide. While the destruction they cause can be severe where they do, actually, touch the ground if you’re just one block over your home might be untouched. Or just have bits of other houses rain down on it (which can cause damage, too, but usually not as bad as what the tornado itself causes) I don’t want to minimize the damage - even if people are unharmed tornadoes can cause a lot of property damage. I certainly don’t want to minimize the injuries and death, all of which are tragic. But some cultural knowledge of tornadoes and how to take cover will help in this sort of situation. _Help,_ I’m not implying it’s a cure-all. But I do think it’s a factor why, in areas prone to tornadoes, the death rates are in many ways surprisingly low for such a violent phenomena. Where tornadoes are less common they seem to be more deadly. I could also mention building codes - tornado prone areas often (thought not always) have building codes that take that into account, just as hurricane prone areas might take that into account in their building codes, and earthquake prone areas take _that_ into account. That might not keep your home intact in a direct hit, but anything that slows the collpase/disassembly will give the people inside a few more seconds to get under something, down into the basement, etc. Tornadoes don’t stay very long over a particular point, if you have enough stuff around you to avoid injury by flying debris (which is the real killer, not the wind itself) for that half minute you’ll be OK. The outer walls of your house might be gone, but you’ll survive. The tornado was in a densely populated, urban area and severe enough to cause building collapses. Having even just a few seconds warning _and knowing what to do_ can make a big difference in that situation. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/17 "2025-05-18T23:11:13Z")
Final survey is out: 23 miles long, up to a mile wide, with an EF-3 rating estimating winds up to 152 miles per hour. Here’s a link to an interactive map with surveyed damage (not all damage surveyed)b and storm track. Aqua is EF-0, green is EF-1, yellow EF-2, and orange EF-3. [Interactive map.](https://mappingsupport.com/p2/gissurfer.php?center=38.651080,-90.279514&zoom=12&basemap=USA_basemap&overlay=Damage_assessment&data=overlay%5Ename=Damage_assessment%5Eurl=https://services.dat.noaa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/nws_damageassessmenttoolkit/DamageViewer/MapServer%5Elayers=0-2) ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2025, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/18 "2025-05-19T17:21:18Z")
and there was supposed to be siren test the day before which I didn’t hear, so probably it didn’t work on Friday either. Supposedly Mayor Spencer is having an investigation. Of course, with Trump/Musk decimating FEMA we may not get much aid. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2025, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/19 "2025-05-19T17:25:12Z")
Is that why Dorothy moved to Kansas? ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2025, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461/20 "2025-05-19T17:28:43Z")
but will they survive earthquakes, since we’re on New Madrid Faultline (one of 5 worse quakes in US history)? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tornado-in-st-louis-2025-edition/1018461.md?page=2)