TOP 10 BEST TORNADOES
Updates with governor declaring state of emergency for Missouri areas affected by Monday night storms.
WENTZVILLE The National Weather Service confirmed Tuesday that it was a weak tornado not straight line winds that hit Wentzville about midnight Monday, injuring two people and damaging homes and businesses.
A tornado also hit Oak Grove, Mo., near Kansas City, where nearly 500 homes and commercial buildings were damaged. Gov. Eric Greitens toured the area Tuesday and declared a state of emergency.
Police thought the damage resulted from straight line winds from Hepperman Road to Continental Drive and East Pearce Boulevard. However, the National Weather Service determined in a preliminary report that it was an EF1 tornado, packing winds up to 88 mph.
The St. Charles County Division of Emergency Management, which is responsible for sounding the outdoor warning sirens, didn"t sound them, for several reasons.
The agency"s operations coordinator, Ina Obenland, said the National Weather Service had not issued a tornado warning and there were no radar indications of a tornado and no sightings of a tornado on the ground by trained spotters, first responders or others.
"We had no indication a tornado was on the ground," Obenland said.
The tornado touched down about 11:51 p.m. Monday and ended about three minutes later, the Weather Service says. As the storm moved east, St. Peters reported some trees down and tree limbs in the road, as well as siding damage at an apartment complex. Farther east, in St. Charles, there was a minimal number of power outages.
The short duration of the tornado, the fact that it was wrapped in rain and the dark may have contributed to the difficulty in spotting it, Obenland said.
The area had been under a tornado watch for much of the night, but never a tornado warning, Obenland said. She said this illustrates why residents should always be aware that a severe thunderstorm can produce a tornado at any time. Rapid onset of a tornado, she said, is one of the characteristics of a severe thunderstorm.
At Wentzville Mobile Manor, a mobile home park off of West Main Street, Sandra Orr and her husband Mike Orr were taken to a hospital after being injured when their mobile home overturned. Police said the injuries were minor.
"It was really loud," Sandra Orr said. "Next thing we knew all h**l broke loose."
The storm also caused a gas leak that led to the evacuation of residents in the mobile home park.
A fifth wheel vehicle turned over at a camper company and several buildings sustained structural damage on Swantnerville Road and at Wentzville Millworks. A tractor-trailer overturned at the Super 8 Motel, and several buildings had roof damage near Continental Drive and East Pitman. In addition, there was minor damage to commercial buildings at West Pearce and Choctaw Drive.
An EF-1 on a scale of tornado strength has winds of 86 mph to 110 mph. By comparison, the tornado in Perryville, Mo., that killed one motorist Feb. 28 and damaged dozens of homes was classified as an EF-4, with winds reaching 180 mph.
The storms that rolled through the St. Louis region on Monday night and early Tuesday also downed trees and power lines in Jefferson County and produced large hail in Macoupin County, according to the National Weather Service.
On the western side of Missouri, at least two tornadoes touched down Monday. Storm Prediction Center meteorologist Ryan Jewell says the first tornado was reported about 7:20 p.m. Monday near Platte City, about 20 miles north of Kansas City. Jewell says radar indications showed the twister continued northeast into Clinton County, toward the town of Lathrop, before it began to dissipate.
A short time later, another tornado touched down east of Kansas City in Jackson County, just south of Interstate 70. Jewell says the tornado hit near Grain Valley and moved east toward Oak Grove. Other severe damage was reported in Smithville, north of Kansas City.
On Tuesday morning, Ameren reported nearly 9,000 electric customers without power across Missouri, including central Missouri, northeast Missouri and and Jefferson County.
About 9,200 were without power throughout Illinois. About half of those were in the Metro East.
The Associated Press and Robert Cohen of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
Source: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/weak-tornado-in-wentzville-injures-people-damages-mobile-homes-businesses/article_d1224724-5a20-54fd-8418-b13c2e6737ab.html
