Tornado in St Louis kills 5 as severe weather rolls through Central US

At least five people were killed after a tornado struck St. Louis on Friday afternoon and left a trail of destruction of uprooted trees, downed power lines and collapsed buildings, authorities said.

The tornado was part of widespread severe weather across several states moving through the Midwest and mid-Atlantic, unleashing large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes, including some strong ones.

“Our city is grieving tonight. The loss of life and the destruction is truly, truly horrendous,” Cara Spencer, the mayor of St. Louis, said in a Friday night news conference where she announced the new death toll. “Tonight, we are focused on life, saving lives and keeping people safe.”

The storm initially hit the city around 3 p.m. local time and damaged an area of about 20 square blocks, said Dennis Jenkerson, the St. Louis fire commissioner.

The city has urged residents to stay off the roads and away from damaged areas while emergency crews sweep through neighborhoods responding to distress calls and looking for people trapped in their homes. On Friday evening, officials announced a curfew in parts of the city until 6 a.m. Saturday.

“This is going to be a very exhausting and extensive search pattern,” Jenkerson said.

The tornado had also affected cellphone towers, city authorities said, and service was being gradually restored in the area damaged by the tornado.

The Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Missouri’s largest hospital, received about 20 to 30 injured patients. A number were in critical condition, but most were expected to be discharged Friday, a spokesperson said. The St. Louis Children’s Hospital received 15 patients with storm-related injuries, all but two of whom were expected to be released Friday.

The National Weather Service in St. Louis said it confirmed a tornado on its radar Friday afternoon.

Large portions of the Midwest and the mid-Atlantic were at significant risk of severe weather Friday as a multiday storm system moved slowly east. A bull’s-eye centered over parts of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky was at risk for some of the most severe weather.

Here are the key things to know.

— Images on social media showed numerous trees down in St. Louis. The tornado also damaged buildings in St. Louis, as seen in images and videos shared online. Ripped brick facades, mangled chairs and a badly damaged building with water spraying out of it were among the scenes in the city.

— More than 725,000 customers were without power from Missouri to Maryland, according to poweroutage.us.

— Some of those power outages were lingering from Thursday, when at least 11 tornadoes spun up across the Upper Midwest.

— Weather service forecasters in Chicago issued a rare dust storm warning for portions of northwest Indiana and north-central Illinois.

Indiana, Kentucky and Missouri were expected to see major storms.

The risk Friday generally stretched from eastern Texas into the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast. But the area of highest concerns were in Bloomington, Indiana; Evansville, Indiana; Louisville, Kentucky; and St. Louis.

Those areas were at particular risk of supercells: highly organised, longer-lasting storms that produce stronger winds and larger hail than typical thunderstorms.

The weather service office in St. Louis warned of hail of nearly 3 inches in diameter and damaging winds. Large hail was reported in Van Buren, Missouri, about 150 miles south of St. Louis.

The weather service issued tornado warnings Friday night for several counties in Kentucky. The warning zone included Laurel County, about 65 miles south of Lexington.

“Parts of Kentucky particularly and southern Ohio will have the potential for multiple rounds of thunderstorms and each producing heavy rain,” said Richard Bann, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center.

On Friday, a curtain of dust pushed into Chicago at about 6:30 p.m. and visibility dropped to a quarter-mile at Chicago Midway International Airport and near zero on highways.

Weather service forecasters in Chicago issued a dust storm warning for portions of northwest Indiana and north-central Illinois, including the Kankakee River Valley.

This is only the third time the office has ever issued a dust storm warning.

“This is not common at all,” said Zachary Wack, a meteorologist with the weather service in Chicago.

Wack said webcams along sections of Interstates 55 and 57 showed zero visibility. The dust storm was kicked up by powerful winds generated by thunderstorms that raced across central Illinois.