St. Louis, MO

Weather Forecast Office

May 19, 2022 Tornadoes

Overview

During the early afternoon of Thursday, May 19, 2022, a complex of thunderstorms expanded and intensified over sections of south-central Missouri. Thunderstorms quickly became strong to severe as the complex tracked east-northeast, impacting east-central Missouri, southeast Missouri, west-central Illinois and southwest Illinois. Numerous thunderstorms embedded within the broad complex exhibited signs of rotation, resulting in nine confirmed tornadoes. Of the nine tornadoes, six tornadoes occurred in Missouri and three occurred in Illinois. In Missouri, five of the six tornadoes were rated EF-0 and one tornado was rated EF-1. In Illinois, two tornadoes were rated EF-0, while the third was rated EF-1. In addition to the nine tornadoes, several locations were impacted by straight-line wind damage. The greatest impact from straight-line winds extended west to east through sections of southeast Missouri into southwest Illinois. The most extensive straight-line wind damage was in a swath from Desloge, MO through Chester, IL. Between the tornadoes and straight-line winds, much of the damage was similar in nature, taking out several trees, damaging outbuildings, machine sheds, and a few grain silos. Some residential homes also suffered damage, largely due to fallen trees, large limbs and/or flying debris. No fatalities nor injuries were reported.

Tornado
Straight-Line Winds
Radar Data

Tornadoes:

Tornado - St. Clair, MO
Franklin County

Date	May 19, 2022
Time (Local)	4:16 - 4:18 PM
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	80 MPH
Path Length	2.6 Miles
Max Width	50 Yards
Injuries/Deaths	0/0
Summary: An EF-0 tornado touched down around 4:16 PM along Anaconda Road approximately 2 miles southwest of St. Clair, MO in Franklin County. The tornado produced tree damage along its path as it headed north-northeast. It dissipated around 4:18 PM just south of Rout WW.

Track Map

Interactive Damage Assessment


Tree damage associated with the St. Clair, MO tornado. (NWS Storm Survey)	Minor tree damage associated with the St. Clair, MO tornado. (NWS Storm Survey)

Tornado - Leslie, MO
Franklin County

Date	May 19, 2022
Time (Local)	4:23 - 4:25 PM
EF Rating	EF-1
Est. Peak Winds	100 MPH
Path Length	1.3 Miles
Max Width	100 Yards
Injuries/Deaths	0/0
Summary: A brief EF-1 tornado occurred south of Leslie, MO in Franklin County. The tornado moved north-northwest through wooded areas producing tree damage. Maximum estimated wind speed was 100 mph.

Track Map

Interactive Damage Assessment


Snapped trees and branches along the side of Little Creek Road south of Leslie. (NWS Storm Survey)	Several snapped trees and branches along the side of Little Creek Road south of Leslie. (NWS Storm Survey)	An uprooted tree on the side of Haag Road south of Leslie. (NWS Storm Survey)

Tornado - Eureka, MO
St. Louis County

Date	May 19, 2022
Time (Local)	4:50 PM
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	70 MPH
Path Length	0.1 Miles
Max Width	20 Yards
Injuries/Deaths	0/0
Summary: A brief EF-0 tornado occurred east of Eureka, MO in St. Louis County. The tornado formed near the entrance of the Bussen Quarry Antire Plant and moved northward, dissipating as it crossed I-44. Maximum estimated wind speed was 70 mph.

Track Map

Interactive Damage Assessment

A large tree branch snapped and a dead tree downed. (NWS Storm Survey)

Tornado - Kirkwood, MO
St. Louis County

Date	May 19, 2022
Time (Local)	4:58 - 5:03 PM
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	80 MPH
Path Length	3 Miles
Max Width	75 Yards
Injuries/Deaths	0/0
Summary: A weak tornado formed off of East Jefferson Ave in Kirkwood and began moving north-northeastward through the Glendale neighborhood. Here, it produced tree damage, with a tree falling on a house, causing damage to the house. The tornado continued northward, crossing Manchester Rd near Bennett Ave while producing more tree damage. The tornado crossed through Old Warson Country Club and then dissipated as it crossed Litzsinger Rd. The tornado lasted approximately 5 minutes and was on the ground for just over 3 miles. Time estimated from radar. No injuries were reported.

Track Map

Interactive Damage Assessment


An uprooted tree in front of a house in Kirkwood. (NWS Storm Survey)	An uprooted tree in front of a house in Glendale. (NWS Storm Survey	A tree branch that fell on a house in Kirkwood. (NWS Storm Survey)

Tornado - Frontenac, MO
St. Louis County

Date	May 19, 2022
Time (Local)	5:03 - 5:04 PM
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	85 MPH
Path Length	1.3 Miles
Max Width	50 Yards
Injuries/Deaths	0/0
Summary: A brief and weak tornado touched down in St. Louis County near the city of Frontenac and moved north for just over a mile. The touchdown occurred 0.4 miles southwest of Frontenac and the tornado lifted 1 mile north of Frontenac. Damage caused by the tornado mainly consisted of downed trees and snapped limbs.

Track Map

Interactive Damage Assessment


Tree trunk and several branches snapped near a home in Frontenac. (NWS Storm Survey)	A tree snapped at the trunk on the side of Clayton Road in Frontenac. (NWS Storm Survey)	An uprooted tree fell onto part of this house in Frontenac. (NWS Storm Survey)

Tornado - Creve Coeur, MO
St. Louis County

Date	May 19, 2022
Time (Local)	5:06 - 5:07 PM
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	80 MPH
Path Length	0.9 Miles
Max Width	50 Yards
Injuries/Deaths	0/0
Summary: A brief EF-0 tornado with estimated maximum wind speeds of 80 mph impacted portions of central St. Louis County. The tornado developed around 5:06 p.m. 1.7 miles NW of the center of Creve Coeur, near the intersection of Kram Road and Olive Boulevard. The tornado ran nearly parallel to Timber Run Drive before turning northwest at Markaire Drive and impacted areas just southwest of North High School. The tornado crossed Fee Fee Road as it moved northwest and lifted over Seven Pines Drive at approximately 5:07 p.m. Several trees were damaged, power poles were snapped and a few homes were damaged due to falling limbs.

Track Map

Interactive Damage Assessment


An uprooted tree at the intersection of Seven Pines Drive and Fee Fee Road in Creve Coeur. (NWS Storm Survey)	Snapped branches near a fence dividing two houses on Markaire Drive in Creve Coeur. (NWS Storm Survey)	Several branches down along Seven Pines Drive in Creve Coeur near the end of the tornado track.. (NWS Storm Survey)

Tornado - Summerfield, IL
St. Clair County

Date	May 19, 2022
Time (Local)	5:44 - 5:45 PM
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	85 MPH
Path Length	0.3 Miles
Max Width	50 Yards
Injuries/Deaths	0/0
Summary: A weak tornado touched down over a residence just east of Summerfield Street/St. Jacob Road, 1 mile north of Summerfield, IL. Trees suffered damage on the property before the tornado continued north-northeast through a small, open field. The tornado impacted a row of tree on the north edge of the field, entered another field and lifted approximately one minute after initially developing.

Track Map

Interactive Damage Assessment


Several branches, some of them large, down on a house, car, and driveway off Summerfield St. Jacob Road in Summerfield. (NWS Storm Survey)	Several tree limbs snapped, and some debris strewn into the tree itself. (NWS Storm Survey)	Several tree limbs strewn across a field. (NWS Storm Survey)

Tornado - Okawville, IL
Clinton County

Date	May 19, 2022
Time (Local)	5:53 - 5:54 PM
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	85 MPH
Path Length	1.6 Miles
Max Width	50 Yards
Injuries/Deaths	0/0
Summary: A weak tornado touched down briefly 2.8 miles east-southeast of Okawville, Illinois, traveled 1.6 miles northeast and lifted 3.9 miles east-northeast of Okawville, Illinois. A few sheds and outbuildings suffered damage along the path of the tornado, including one shed that was completely destroyed. Maximum wind speed of the tornado was estimated at 85 mph at the site of the destroyed shed. Crop damage was also observed.

Track Map

Interactive Damage Assessment


Part of a large outbuilding was damaged off Cardinal Road east of Okawville. (NWS Storm Survey)	A shed was destroyed, leaving only the concrete slab beneath it. (NWS Storm Survey)	A few walls of an outbuilding were blown out. (NWS Storm Survey)

Tornado - Breese, IL - Greenville, IL
Clinton/Bond Counties

Date	May 19, 2022
Time (Local)	5:57 - 6:16 PM
EF Rating	EF-1
Est. Peak Winds	110 MPH
Path Length	16.9 Miles
Max Width	250 Yards
Injuries/Deaths	0/0
Summary: An EF-1 tornado with estimated maximum wind speeds of 110 mph impacted northern Clinton and southern Bond counties in Illinois. The tornado touched down around 5:57 PM 3.6 miles north of Breese, Illinois and moved north-northeast to 1.2 miles southeast of Greenville, Illinois before lifting. The tornado damaged trees, farm outbuildings and machine sheds, as well as roofs and garages of homes. The worst damage was mainly to farm outbuildings.

Track Map

Interactive Damage Assessment


Part of a metal roof was torn off by the tornado, and a grain silo was also damaged. (NWS Storm Survey)	A detached garage was largely destroyed, though a small portion remains standing. (NWS Storm Survey)	Trees were snapped at the trunk near their bases. (NWS Storm Survey)	The metal roofs of several outbuildings were largely torn off by the tornado. (NWS Storm Survey)

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph

Straight-Line Winds:

There were numerous reports of straight-line wind damage across the region, with some of the most concentrated damage spanning from near Farmington, MO into Chester, IL. Much of this damage was similar to that from the tornadoes, illustrating the fact that straight-line winds can be just as dangerous as low-end tornadoes.

AwningÂ and attached support structure was lofted by straight-line wind, thrown into a utility pole and carried across the street near Chester, IL.

Large tree snapped and fell across powerlines near Chester, IL.

Several large limbs were snapped off multiple trees. A few of the largest branches landed on a garage on residential property in Chester, IL.

Awning and attached support structure was lofted by straight-line wind, thrown into a utility pole and carried across the street.

Chester, IL

Large tree snapped and fell across powerlines.

Chester, IL

Several large limbs were snapped off multiple trees. A few of the largest branches landed on a garage on residential property.

Chester, IL

Small trees split in half under stress of straight-line winds.

Chester, IL

Radar Data:

The tornadoes and straight-line winds that were observed were triggered by a Mesoscale Convective Vortex (MCV), which is a feature usually resulting from earlier organized thunderstorm complexes. The MCV interacted with plentiful instability and spawned a quasi-linear convective system (QLCS), on which the tornadoes and straight-line winds developed. Below is a radar loop of the MCV spawning the QLCS (bowing line of thunderstorms) along with an annotated image of the two features.

A regional radar loop from KLSX in St. Louis, showing the MCV spawn a QLCS from 3:03 PM until 7 PM on May 19th, 2022.

A regional radar loop from KLSX in St. Louis, showing the MCV spawn a QLCS from 3:03 PM until 7:00 PM on May 19th, 2022. The QLCS eventually caused the tornadoes and straight-line wind observed across east-central Missouri and west-central Illinois.

Annoted radar image pointing out the two features with this event, an MCV and a developing QLCS.

A regional radar loop from KLSX in St. Louis starting at 3:03 PM. During this loop, six tornadoes occurred in east-central Missouri.

The tornadoes across Missouri occurred as the northern end of the QLCS moved through east-central Missouri and St. Louis County from 4:15 PM until 5:30 PM. During this time, six tornadoes occurred: two in Franklin County, MO and four in St. Louis County, MO.

Below are screenshots of the radar data for each tornado during this time, with an annotation of the signature indicative of a potential or radar-confirmed tornado.

Image orientation from top left (clockwise): Reflectivity, Velocity, Correlation Coefficient, Storm-Relative Velocity.

Radar data from the St. Clair, MO tornado.

Radar data from the Leslie, MO tornado.

Radar data from the Eureka, MO tornado.

Radar data from the Kirkwood, MO tornado.

Radar data from the Frontenac, MO tornado.

Radar data from the Creve Coeur, MO tornado.

A regional radar loop from KLSX in St. Louis starting at 5:21Â PM. During this loop, three tornadoes occurred in west-central IllinoisÂ and notable straight-line wind damageÂ occurred in southeast Missouri and southwest Illinois.

A regional radar loop from KLSX in St. Louis starting at 5:21 PM. During this loop, three tornadoes occurred in west-central Illinois and notable straight-line wind damage occurred in southeast Missouri and southwest Illinois.

The tornadoes in west-central Illinois and straight-line wind damage across southeast Missouri and southwest Illinois occurred as the southern part of the QLCS crossed those areas from 5:30 PM until 7:00 PM. During this time, three tornadoes occurred: one in St. Clair County, IL, one in Clinton County, IL, and one that started in Clinton County, IL and ended in Bond County, IL. Notable straight-line wind damage was also observed in the Chester, IL area.

Below are screenshots of the radar data for each tornado and the straight-line wind during this time, with an annotation of the signature indicative of a potential or radar-confirmed tornado.

Image orientation from top left (clockwise): Reflectivity, Velocity, Correlation Coefficient, Storm-Relative Velocity.

Radar data from the Summerfield, ILÂ tornado.

Radar data from the Summerfield, IL tornado.

Radar data from the Okawville, IL tornado.

Radar data from the Breese, IL - Greenville, ILÂ tornado.

Radar data from the Breese, IL - Greenville, IL tornado.

Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor (MRMS) Base Reflectivity and GOES-East Infrared satellite imagery of the thunderstorm complex from its formation on the afternoon of May 18th, 2022Â to its dissipation during the evening of May 20th, 2022. Credit: Tomer Burg

Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor (MRMS) Base Reflectivity and GOES-East Infrared satellite imagery of the thunderstorm complex from its formation on the afternoon of May 18th, 2022 to its dissipation during the evening of May 20th, 2022. Credit: Tomer Burg (@burgwx)

The impacts felt in our region were only part of a long journey the storm complex took. It began as several thunderstorms east of the Rocky Mountains congealing into a Mesoscale Convective System (MCS) across southern Great Plains late on May 18th.

The MCS weakened during the early hours of May 19th, but as it approached our region the remnant energy was reinvigorated and interacted with moisture ahead of it to cause our region's impacts.

It then moved east across the Ohio River Valley, weakened during the early morning on May 20th, and redeveloped across the Mid-Atlantic region.

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