Over its history, the St. Louis area has been a tornado hotbed, with numerous funnels making their presence known. Dating back as far as the early 1870s to 2025, many proved deadly and catastrophic, while others were only a footnote in history. In this summary, we discuss the sixteen twisters officially documented within St. Louis proper.
By the early morning of April 4, 1974, the Super Tornado Outbreak had dealt most of its rage throughout the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. The remnants of supercell thunderstorms had primarily congealed into a solid wall of severe winds and rain as it pushed into the Appalachian region. In East Tennessee, at least six twisters were documented by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) after midnight. Most were weak, and casualty numbers were relatively low.
However, one of these funnels proved deadly when it struck a mobile home park near Knoxville, TN. A set of twin infants lost their lives, and 21 people were injured along the path. At the time, it was only the third tornado ever documented in Knox County, and as of this summary’s publication, it is the only one to be fatal.
A rare winter tornado plowed through the city of St. Louis, MO, in the dead of night on February 10, 1959. It traveled close to 28 miles at an estimated 50-60 mph speed, leaving behind collapsed buildings and littered streets. Sadly, 21 precious souls lost their lives, and 345 were injured.
On March 31 and April 1, 2023, a large and widespread tornado outbreak took place over the Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States, stretching over to the Atlantic Coast. For two days, 145 twisters contributed to one of the most sizable events on record, taking 27 lives and affecting many more. Twelve of these were rated EF3 or greater across seven states. This summary focuses on a deadly EF3 that took place in northern Alabama and southern Tennessee.
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