St. Louis tornado history and risk

Last updated: October 10, 2026

Yes — St. Louis gets damaging tornadoes, and its record includes the 1896 tornado, one of the deadliest in U.S. history. Downtown St. Louis has been struck four times (1871, 1896, 1927 and 1959, per the Missouri Climate Center). Since 1967 the National Weather Service has surveyed an F4 and an EF4 across north St. Louis County, EF3s across St. Charles County in 2013 and 2021, a deadly EF3 in Edwardsville in 2021, and the 2025 EF3 from Clayton through north St. Louis into Granite City. A striking share of these struck in the evening, after dark, or in winter.

The major events

Sources: NWS St. Louis event pages and surveys (1967, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2021, 2025); NOAA storm database (2025); Missouri Climate Center (downtown strikes). The 1896 and 1927 figures come from historical compilations of NWS and contemporary records and are approximate.

1896: the Great Cyclone

The May 27, 1896 tornado is one of the deadliest in U.S. history. It crossed the city and the river into East St. Louis, killing at least 255 people — at least 137 in St. Louis and about 118 in East St. Louis by commonly cited counts. It remains the region's benchmark for what a tornado through a dense city can do.

1927 and 1959: downtown again

The September 29, 1927 tornado crossed the city around midday, killing an estimated 79 people. A 1959 tornado struck the city, including downtown — one of four times downtown St. Louis has been hit, according to the Missouri Climate Center.

1967: the north County corridor

On January 24, 1967, an F4 touched down around 6:55 p.m. at Olive Street Road in western St. Louis County and moved northeast at about 40 mph for 21 miles, through Creve Coeur-area subdivisions, Maryland Heights, Bridgeton, St. Ann, Edmundson, Woodson Terrace, Berkeley, Ferguson, Dellwood and Spanish Lake, before weakening as it crossed the Mississippi. Three people died and 216 were injured; 168 homes were destroyed. The NWS describes it as part of a historic winter outbreak — 32 tornadoes that day from Oklahoma to Wisconsin.

2011: Good Friday, almost the same path

Forty-four years later, on April 22, 2011, an EF4 touched down near Creve Coeur Lake around 7:55 p.m. and tracked 22 miles through Maryland Heights, Bridgeton — where it peaked at EF4 along Old St. Charles Rock Road — St. Ann, Lambert airport, Berkeley, Ferguson and Dellwood, ending near Pontoon Beach, Illinois. It damaged about 2,700 structures, including 251 homes heavily damaged or destroyed, and peeled part of the roof from Lambert's Concourse C. No one was killed.

The overlap between 1967 and 2011 is the clearest pattern in the local record: the same corridor through Maryland Heights, Bridgeton, St. Ann, Berkeley and Ferguson, hit twice by violent tornadoes, both in the evening.

2013 and 2021: St. Charles County

On May 31, 2013, an EF3 ran 32.5 miles from about four miles southwest of Weldon Spring to the north edge of St. Louis city between 7:50 and 8:25 p.m., with the worst damage in southern St. Charles County along Haversham Drive in the Harvester area. A second EF3 followed from northeast St. Louis County into Madison County, Illinois.

On December 10, 2021, an EF3 with 165 mph winds touched down near Augusta at 7:35 p.m. and crossed Defiance, destroying two homes and killing one person, before crossing the Missouri River into the Chesterfield Valley. The NWS noted the first destroyed home was about 110 years old and did not appear to be anchored to its foundation. Less than an hour later, an EF3 collapsed walls at the Amazon facility in Edwardsville, Illinois, killing six.

2025: Clayton to Granite City

On May 16, 2025, an EF3 with 152 mph winds crossed Clayton, Forest Park and north St. Louis city into Granite City. The NWS's 2026 re-survey found it was 1.8 miles wide at its widest. Full detail is in our 2025 tornado guide.

Patterns that matter for a household plan

Evening and night. 1967 (6:55 p.m.), 2011 (7:55 p.m.), 2013 (7:50 p.m.), and both December 2021 tornadoes (7:35 and 8:28 p.m.) came in the evening or after dark. A plan that only works in daylight with everyone awake isn't a plan; our household tornado plan is built for night.

Winter. January 1967, December 2010 and December 2021 are reminders that tornado season here isn't only spring.

Repeat corridors. The north County corridor through Bridgeton and Berkeley has been hit by violent tornadoes twice in living memory.

Cities, not just open country. Downtown has been struck four times; the 2025 tornado crossed one of the densest parts of the region. For older city homes, the basement vs safe room guide is the next read.

How the risk compares

We'd like to show you county-by-county tornado counts from the NWS for St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson and the other counties we serve. The NWS climatology tables we sought weren't reachable when we updated this page; we'll add them once confirmed rather than repeat secondhand figures. What the event record above shows is enough to make the practical point: the St. Louis metro sees significant tornadoes repeatedly, in populated places, often at night.

Related guides

• The May 16, 2025 tornado
• Household tornado plan
• Do you need a shelter if you have a basement?

Frequently asked questions

Does St. Louis get tornadoes? Yes. Major tornadoes have struck the city and county repeatedly, from 1896 to 2025.

What was the worst tornado in St. Louis history? By deaths, the May 27, 1896 tornado, which killed at least 255 people in St. Louis and East St. Louis.

Are St. Louis tornadoes only in spring? No. Major tornadoes have struck here in January (1967) and December (2010, 2021).

Where in the metro is most at risk? Any part of the metro can be hit. North St. Louis County has the most striking repeat record, with the 1967 F4 and 2011 EF4 following nearly the same path.

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