ST. LOUIS — Severe weather rolled into the St. Louis area Friday afternoon, bringing hail, high winds and possibly a tornado. Radar indicates that a twister may have rolled through Clayton, University City, and St. Louis. Four people died when the severe weather swept through the city.
The tornado damage is around 20 square blocks. There are search and rescue operations underway. First responders are going from building to building to make sure everyone is accounted for and to check for injuries. City officials are asking people to stay out of the streets. They need the space to make sure everyone is safe.
There are currently over 100,000 electrical outages reported across the region. This number is expected to climb as Ameren works on restoring power to the area.
There is substantial damage in the area with widespread tree damage, buildings with windows blown out, and vehicles dented by hail. A partial building collapse was initially reported at the Harlem Tap Room on Martin Luther King Drive. The winds also blew over a street light along the road in The Ville neighborhood.
There are several other building collapses reported in neighborhoods near Forest Park. Trees crashed into several homes. Video shows roof damage to many buildings.
There appears to be significant storm damage in Forest Park, disrupting an MS walk setting up for the weekend. There were over 1,000 people signed up to participate in it.
Forest Park Parkway appears to be at a standstill because of the storm damage. Some people are walking instead of driving on the blocked road. The MetroLink is also not running because of debris along the light rail line.
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