Overview of the October 24, 2021, Tornadoes

Summary:

The tornado touched down near the St. Francis River approximately 5.5 miles to the WSW of Fredericktown, MO, where it topped or snapped the trunks of several trees. The tornado continued to the northeast along the river and began impacting homes as it approached Fredericktown. Here the tornado ripped half of the roof off of one home, rolled a manufactured home onto its side, pulled roofing material from another home, and continued to cause considerable tree damage. The tornado widened to about 1/2 mile as it approached MO Highway 72 from the southwest, damaging multiple homes and businesses. A business on the south side of Highway 72 is where the only known injury took place, where an individual was hurt climbing out of the debris after the tornado had exited the area. The tornado strengthened as it moved north of Highway 72, completely destroying a number of homes. It was determined that the frames of these homes were largely only toe-nailed into their foundation, which precluded a higher rating than a low-end EF-3. The tornado then impacted the Black River Electric Co-op. Here the tornado ripped a well-built canopy from between two small warehouses, completely destroyed one of these small warehouses, and then completely destroyed a larger steel warehouse attached to the main office. The steel warehouse was very well constructed, with steel I-beams approximately 1 foot in width, bolted into the concrete foundation roughly every 20 feet. These beams spanned the roof of the structure and supported a thick, crimped sheet metal exterior. This is believed to be where the tornado reached peak intensity, with approximately 150 mph winds. The attached office fared notably better, sustaining mainly roof damage and the loss of several windows. The office was very well constructed, consisting of brick and concrete walls. The tornado then crossed US highway 67 and continued to cause considerable damage. Two newly built self-storage buildings with north facing bay doors were completely destroyed, while a third identical building with south facing doors was damaged, but remained standing. Two more homes were also impacted in this area. The roof was completely ripped from one of these homes, though most of the walls, which were bolted into the concrete foundation, were left standing. Only a few interior walls remained on the second home, though it appeared that the frame of this home was only toe-nailed into the foundation. The poor construction of the second home, and the lack of hurricane clips on the roof of the first, precluded a higher rating than EF-2 in this area. As the tornado continued northeast, it moved through additional residential areas, damaging several more homes and businesses. The tornado may have begun to weaken somewhat at this point, as the walls largely remained standing on most of these buildings. The tornado then began to move into more rural areas to the northeast of Fredericktown, where it caused consistent tree damage for several more miles, ripped most of the roof from one home, and completely destroyed a barn. The tornado may have briefly lifted as it moved into northeastern Madison County before coming back down and causing considerable tree damage along Madison county road 252. Along the Madison/Perry county line, the width was about 1/2 of a mile wide with numerous trees snapped and uprooted. The tornado then moved nearly parallel to county road 238. Here several houses and a hunting lodge sustained minor damage, mainly to roofs and posts to a porch. One barn and a small shed were destroyed along with numerous trees being uprooted and snapped.  The tornado continued on to produce tree damage on Highway 730 where it was only a few hundred yards wide and dissipated shortly thereafter.

Summary:

The tornado uprooted and snapped numerous trees. A school gymnasium in Zalma suffered roof damage, including air conditioning units being blown off the roof. The top half of a two story barn was destroyed. A chicken house suffered roof damage. 

Summary:

The tornado began in southwest Perry County, crossing J Highway three times. Trees were uprooted and snapped along the path.