Perry County, Missouri

Widespread damaging winds affected most of the county. Hundreds of trees were blown down, roofs were blown off, and signs became airborne. In Perryville, the exterior wall of a tire company collapsed. The entire building was deemed a total loss. Structural damage occurred in many communities, mostly due to falling trees. Among other structures, a machine shed was destroyed in Millheim. Most residents of the county experienced some type of damage, ranging from downed trees to roofs off. Vehicles were smashed by falling trees. At a church, the roof was damaged, and tombstones were toppled at an adjacent cemetery. The glass of the front door was blown out. At another church in Altenburg, a 22,000-pound steeple constructed in 1867 blew down onto the roof. A large portion of the roof was peeled off an apartment complex in Perryville, forcing its evacuation. The roof of the new senior center in Perryville was destroyed. Emergency workers conducted door-to-door checks using vehicles and helicopters.

An extensive hailstorm pounded much of Perry County with hailstones up to 2 inches in diameter, which is slightly bigger than a golf ball. In downtown Perryville, hailstones measuring up to 2 inches in diameter fell for 10 to 12 minutes. Insurance companies estimated damage in excess of 5 million dollars. Windows were broken out of homes and vehicles, skylights were broken, and vinyl siding was damaged. Most of the hail damage in Perryville was on the southern side of town. At the Perry County Sheriff Department, all the police vehicles were dented, and a skylight in the main cell block broke. All 200 vehicles at an auto dealership near I-55 and Route 51 received damage, including some broken windshields.

An EF-1 tornado touched down southwest of Precinct in Bollinger County and moved northeast to the Perry County line near Highway KK. It proceeded northeast toward the east side of Perryville, damaging trees and a few barns along the way. In Perryville, it did EF-2 damage to a few homes. It also damaged three buildings in the Perryville Middle and High School complex. It knocked in the exterior walls on the top floor of one building and did extensive roof damage to two other buildings. Two nearby houses had a large portion of the roof structure removed. As it headed northeast out of town and toward the Mississippi River, it did significant roof damage to a few more homes, damaged several barns and more trees. The estimated peak wind was 135 mph. The tornado continued northeast into Randolph County Illinois just north of Rockwood. The total path length of the tornado was 33.5 miles.