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2025 St. Louis tornado

Updated: Wikipedia source

2025 St. Louis tornado

On the afternoon of May 16, 2025, an intense and destructive tornado tracked more than 20 miles (32 km) through urban areas of Greater St. Louis, including Greater Ville and Fountain Park, in Missouri, United States. The tornado caused widespread destruction across St. Louis, while inflicting only relatively minor damage on neighboring areas in Illinois. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials called the residential damage the largest-scale the organization had surveyed since the 2011 tornado in Joplin, Missouri. Federal aid has been requested but is pending acceptance. Volunteer engineers have been surveying homes throughout the city. Damage estimate put damage caused by the tornado at $1.6 billion, among the highest figures for an individual tornado on record. The tornado was the first deadly tornado in St. Louis since 1959.

Infobox

Formed
May 16, 2025, 2:39 p.m. CDT (UTC–05:00)
Dissipated
May 16, 2025, 3:06 p.m. CDT (UTC–05:00)
Duration
27 minutes
Highest winds
152 mph (245 km/h)
Fatalities
4 ( 1 non-tornadic)[a]
Injuries
38 ( 1 indirect)
Damage
$1.6 billion (2025 USD)

Tables

· Tornado summary › Casualties
Deloris Holmes
Deloris Holmes
Name
Deloris Holmes
Age
70
Type of structure
Permanent home
Location
North St. Louis
Additional notes
Holmes was killed when the roof was ripped off of their three-story family home.
Rena Lyles
Rena Lyles
Name
Rena Lyles
Age
60
Type of structure
Permanent home
Location
Fountain Park
Additional notes
Lyles was attempting to shelter with her family when a dresser fell on her, followed shortly by the collapse of the entire house.
Patricia Ann Penelton
Patricia Ann Penelton
Name
Patricia Ann Penelton
Age
74
Type of structure
Church
Location
Centennial Christian Church in Fountain Park
Additional notes
Penelton was killed in the collapse of the Centennial Christian Church.
Larry Patrick
Larry Patrick
Name
Larry Patrick
Age
82
Type of structure
Permanent home
Location
O'Fallon neighborhood
Additional notes
Patrick was on an exterior room on the lowest floor of his house when the tornado struck, and was found dead by search and rescue crews.
Juan Baltazar
Juan Baltazar
Name
Juan Baltazar
Age
48
Type of structure
Motor vehicle
Location
Grand Drive in Carondelet Park
Additional notes
Baltazar, a food truck operator, was crushed by a falling tree while driving a truck on Grand Drive. While this death was caused by the same storm as the St. Louis tornado and initially attributed to the tornado itself, it was later attributed to non-tornadic wind to the south of St. Louis.
Name
Age
Type of structure
Location
Additional notes
Reference
Deloris Holmes
70
Permanent home
North St. Louis
Holmes was killed when the roof was ripped off of their three-story family home.
Rena Lyles
60
Permanent home
Fountain Park
Lyles was attempting to shelter with her family when a dresser fell on her, followed shortly by the collapse of the entire house.
Patricia Ann Penelton
74
Church
Centennial Christian Church in Fountain Park
Penelton was killed in the collapse of the Centennial Christian Church.
Larry Patrick
82
Permanent home
O'Fallon neighborhood
Patrick was on an exterior room on the lowest floor of his house when the tornado struck, and was found dead by search and rescue crews.
Juan Baltazar
48
Motor vehicle
Grand Drive in Carondelet Park
Baltazar, a food truck operator, was crushed by a falling tree while driving a truck on Grand Drive. While this death was caused by the same storm as the St. Louis tornado and initially attributed to the tornado itself, it was later attributed to non-tornadic wind to the south of St. Louis.

References

  1. The death of 48-year-old Juan Baltazar was initially attributed to the tornado, but a later assessment attributed his de
  2. "These are the victims killed in Friday's storm in St. Louis"
    https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/st-louis-tornado-victims-killed-identified/63-3f6c3c04-5f0d-4311-853d-8a7457f273ab
  3. ArcGIS StoryMaps
    https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/df6a15ddfa5e44308750aa22ec175da7
  4. "May 16, 2025 1300 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook"
    https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2025/day1otlk_20250516_1300.html
  5. Iowa Environmental Mesonet
    https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/wx/afos/p.php?pil=AFDLSX&e=202505161714
  6. "Mesoscale Discussion 813"
    https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/2025/md0813.html
  7. "Tornado Watch 262"
    https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/ww0262.html
  8. "Mesoscale Discussion 817"
    https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/2025/md0817.html
  9. Iowa Environmental Mesonet
    https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/event/2025-O-NEW-KLSX-TO-W-0063/radar/USCOMP-N0R-202505162000/tab/info
  10. "Damage Assessment Toolkit (event ID 'St Louis to Edwardsville')"
    https://apps.dat.noaa.gov/stormdamage/damageviewer/
  11. FOX 2
    https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/st-louis-public-transit-storm-damage/
  12. "Downed trees, power lines fill initial reports of storm damage as thousands go without power"
    https://www.firstalert4.com/2025/05/16/downed-trees-power-lines-fill-initial-reports-storm-damage-thousands-go-without-power/
  13. "St. Louis mayor says authorities have confirmed at least 4 deaths after severe storm damaged several buildings in city"
    https://www.yahoo.com/news/st-louis-mayor-says-authorities-225503510.html
  14. Twitter
    https://x.com/NWSStLouis/status/1923854179170148538
  15. Iowa Environmental Mesonet
    https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/wx/afos/p.php?pil=AFDLSX&e=202505161955
  16. "Clean up efforts at Saint Louis Zoo, Forest Park after EF-3 tornado"
    https://spectrumlocalnews.com/mo/st-louis/news/2025/05/20/tornado-st-louis-zoo-forest-park
  17. "Victims trapped inside a collapsed St. Louis church say 911 calls went to nonemergency line"
    https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2025-06-09/st-louis-tornado-church-victims-emergency-calls
  18. "St. Louis leaders share rescue and recovery effort after deadly storm"
    https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/tornado-destruction-st-louis-storm/
  19. spectrumlocalnews.com
    https://spectrumlocalnews.com/mo/st-louis/news/2025/05/21/fema-surveys-st--louis-
  20. News From The States
    https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/volunteers-help-tornado-hit-st-louis-amid-wait-federal-aid
  21. www.ncei.noaa.gov
    https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=1262207
  22. "Disaster response inspectors evaluate every building damaged by tornado"
    https://www.firstalert4.com/2025/05/23/disaster-response-inspectors-evaluate-every-building-damaged-by-tornado/
  23. "St. Louis focused on assessing – not condemning – homes after tornado, Spencer says"
    https://www.yahoo.com/news/st-louis-focused-assessing-not-164507774.html
  24. ksdk.com
    https://www.ksdk.com/article/weather/tornado/gov-kehoe-signs-bill-for-100m-in-st-louis-tornado-relief/63-fb425f78-9cbe-4469-9901-6df7ae11bcb8
  25. The Washington Post
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/05/23/fema-disaster-declaration-delays/
  26. "FEMA begins St. Louis survey as residents reel from tornado: 'Everything's been ripped away'"
    https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2025-05-21/fema-st-louis-survey-residents-reel-tornado
  27. "'Largest residential destruction since Joplin tornado,' Gov. Kehoe says on 2nd visit to St. Louis"
    https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2025/05/23/stl-largest-residential-destruction-joplin-kehoe.html
  28. "FEMA approves 2 Missouri disaster declarations, but funding varies"
    https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/st-louis-tornado-trump-fema-approves-missouri-disaster-declaration/63-20de260c-afe2-4d98-b582-7b601cb40178
  29. "Firefighter injured while responding to fire in tornado-affected portion of St. Louis"
    https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/firefighter-injured-fire-in-tornado-affected-portion-of-st-louis/63-b4ac41e0-17fd-4c27-8dce-3837dfb7c934
  30. "St. Louis tornado sirens didn't sound in deadly storm. Now a city commissioner has been placed on leave"
    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/st-louis-tornado-sirens-emergency-management-commissioner-leave/
  31. "'We are underfunded': Weeks before tornado, emergency management head warned St Louis leaders CEMA needed money"
    https://www.firstalert4.com/2025/05/23/we-are-underfunded-weeks-before-tornado-emergency-management-head-warned-st-louis-leaders-cema-needed-money/
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