Live
Active alerts for this county
Air Quality Alert
Madison; St. Clair; Monroe; St. Charles; Franklin; St. Louis; St. Louis City; Jefferson
Heat Advisory
Madison; St. Clair; Monroe; St. Charles; St. Louis; St. Louis City; Jefferson
Air Quality Alert
Madison; St. Clair; Monroe; St. Charles; Franklin; St. Louis; St. Louis City; Jefferson
St. Louis city, Missouri severe weather history spans 286 recorded events between 1958 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 45.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,865 nationally and #81 in Missouri.
286
Recorded events
19
Direct deaths
362
Direct injuries
$1.7B
Property damage
The record
What the St. Louis city, Missouri severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, St. Louis city, Missouri severe weather history averages 4.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 81 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 55 events fall before 1990 and 231 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the St. Louis city, Missouri record is tornado, responsible for 15 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $1.6B in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in St. Louis city
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 129 | 2 | $1.7M | 71 | 1964–2026 |
| Hail | 102 | 0 | $750K | 4.5 | 1965–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 33 | 1 | $85.8M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 8 | 15 | $1.6B | F4 | 1958–2025 |
| Lightning | 5 | 1 | $5K | 0 | 2002–2020 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2024 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $1K | 0 | 2008–2013 |
Decade by decade
St. Louis city, Missouri severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
9 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 4 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959-02-10 | EF4 | 21 | 345 | 23.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-04-22 | EF4 | 0 | 5 | 21.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2013-05-31 | EF3 | 0 | 8 | 31.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-05-16 | EF2 | 4 | 38 | 23.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2010-12-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-08-15 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 3.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1958-09-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-04-10 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-03-31 | EF0 | 0 | 2 | 1.7 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in St. Louis city
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 10, 1959 | Tornado | 11 | 175 | $25.0M | |
| May 16, 2025 | Tornado | TOWER GROVE | 4 | 38 | $1.6B |
| Apr 28, 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | ST LOUIS | 1 | 100 | $0 |
| Jul 20, 2020 | Lightning | CARONDELET | 1 | 3 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | TOWER GROVE | 1 | 0 | $500K |
| Jul 26, 2022 | Flash Flood | CARONDELET | 1 | 0 | $85.0M |
| Jul 20, 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | ST LOUIS | 0 | 30 | $259K |
| Jul 18, 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | ST LOUIS | 0 | 3 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado was its widest and strongest in St. Louis City. After it crossed into the City, the tornado caused major tree and structural damage in and around Forest Park and its northern neighborhoods. The then EF-3 tornado continued northeast into North St. Louis City where 4 individuals lost their lives. Continuing northeast still, the tornado began to weaken. Overall, thousands of buildings were damaged in St. Louis City costing an estimated $1.6 billion in damages.
Up to 9 inches of rain fell in a period of 8 hours causing catastrophic flooding in portions of the city of St. Louis. Numerous roads were flooded. There were multiple swift water rescues and scores of flooded interstates and homes across the City of St. Louis. One fatality was at the intersection of Skinker Boulevard and Enright Avenue, just north of the Delmar Loop, where a 60 year old man drowned after driving into the flooded roadway. Firefighters helped or rescued around 70 residents. Property damage was very significant in some hard-hit areas, including the southwest part of the city where 14 to 15 homes experienced significant flooding. A large number of unoccupied vehicles were damaged/destroyed due to the flooding as well. The Metro Link station at Forest Park Parkway and DeBaliviere Avenue was flooded causing $35 million in damage to a two car train, tracks, towers, vehicles and equipment at the station. Dollar amount damage so far is estimated around $85 million.
Widespread wind damage across the northern portions of the city as a line of storms moved through. Numerous large trees, tree limbs, power poles and power lines were blown down. A woman who was waiting for the storm to pass was killed when a large tree was blown over, crushing the car in the alley of the 4100 block of Chouteau Avenue. Two historical cemeteries, Calvary and Bellefontaine, sustained widespread damage. Around 100 trees at Calvary and nearly 40 significant trees and 100 smaller ones at Bellefontaine, were either uprooted or snapped off near the base, as well as numerous tree limbs. Several gravestones were either damaged or destroyed by fallen trees and/or tree limbs. A large tree was uprooted in the 3000 block of Longfellow Boulevard, landing on a house causing major roof damage. A couple of power poles were snapped off along Hall Street. Over 100,000 customers (St. Louis County/St. Louis City) were without power due to this storm. It took a little over 4 days to restore power to all of them.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
288,512
Population (ACS)
$198K
Median home value
25
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 9, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 8, 2022 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 26, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jul 9, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jan 21, 2016 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- St Louis 160
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in St. Louis city, Missouri?
286 events are on record between 1958 and 2026, causing 19 direct deaths and $1.7B in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in St. Louis city?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 129 recorded events — 45.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed St. Louis city?
9 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 4 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover St. Louis city?
25 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include St. Louis city, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is St. Louis city compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates St. Louis city as relatively high risk, placing it in the 99 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the St. Louis city, Missouri severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Wright County 752
- Worth County 126
- Webster County 856
- Wayne County 347
- Washington County 354
- Warren County 283
Cite this page
“St. Louis city, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/st-louis-city/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.