2011 St. Louis tornado

The 2011 St. Louis tornado, also called the Good Friday Tornado, was a storm that struck the St. Louis metropolitan area on April 22, 2011. The tornado, rated EF4 at its strongest point with winds exceeding 165 mph,[1] was the strongest to hit St. Louis County or City since January 1967.[2] In its 22-mile[3] track across the St. Louis metropolitan area, the tornado damaged about 200 homes; left thousands without power; and damaged the main terminal of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, closing it for nearly 24 hours.[4]

Contents

Tornado strikes the airport

The tornado hit Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, Missouri's largest, about 8:10 p.m. Three aircraft were on the tarmac with passengers aboard. Numerous passengers and other people were in the airport's terminals.[4]

Lambert Airport released surveillance video showing debris swirling inside the airport.[5] It was reported that an aircraft was moved away from its jetway by the storm, with passengers still on board.[6] One plane from Southwest Airlines was damaged when the wind pushed a conveyor belt used for loading baggage into it. American Airlines said that four of its planes were damaged, two of them significantly. One was buffeted by 80 MPH crosswinds while taxiing in from a landing when the tornado hit and the other has possible damage to its landing gear.[7] The tornado was rated an EF2 storm when it struck the airport.[1] [5]

The airport was closed by the FAA at 08:54 p.m., and reopened at temporarily reduced capacity on April 23. It was expected to be at 70% capacity on April 24.[1] [8]

Other effects

More than 54,000 customers of the utility company Ameren were left without power after the storm; more than 47,000 in Missouri and about 7,000 in Illinois.[9]

By 5:40am on April 24, 21,667 customers were still without power in Missouri and 131 in Illinois.[10]

On April 24, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported more than 2,700 buildings severely damaged in St. Louis County, including 900 in Bridgeton, 450 in Berkeley and 1,170 in Maryland Heights.[11]

The tornado may also have hit New Melle in St. Charles County, about 30 miles west of the airport. [12][13]

The tornado killed no one and injured relatively few.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c "UPDATE: Lambert reopening today, expects to be at 70 percent capacity Sunday". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 23, 2011. http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_f7e801d4-6dc7-11e0-b60f-0019bb30f31a.html. Retrieved April 24, 2011. 
  2. ^ Moody, Cassidy (April 23, 2011). "Up to 200 homes damaged in Maryland Heights, Bridgeton". KSDK-tv5. http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/255933/3/Hell-broke-loose-in-Bridgeton-Maryland-Heights. Retrieved April 24, 2011. 
  3. ^ http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lsx/?n=04_22_2011
  4. ^ a b Bowers, Cynthia (April 23, 2011). "Residents: St. Louis was "bedlam" during tornado". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/23/eveningnews/main20056781.shtml. Retrieved April 24, 2011. 
  5. ^ a b Held, Kevin (April 23, 2011). "St. Louis Airport storm caught on camera". KSDK. http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/255902/3/Days-not-hours-until-Lambert-St-Louis-Airport-re-opens. Retrieved April 23, 2011. 
  6. ^ Moore, Bryce. "Lambert passengers watch plane move, then evacuate terminal". http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Lambert-passengers-watch-plane-move-then-evacuate-terminal-120532999.html. Retrieved April 23, 2011. 
  7. ^ CBS News (April 23, 2011). "Airlines cancel St. Louis flights after tornado". http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/23/national/main20056752.shtml. Retrieved April 24, 2011. 
  8. ^ Salter, Jim & Suhr, Jim (April 23, 2011). "Mo. governor surveys tornado-ravaged St. Louis, calls lack of deaths 'divine intervention'". http://www.newser.com/article/d9mpprkg1/mo-governor-surveys-tornado-ravaged-st-louis-calls-lack-of-deaths-divine-intervention.html. Retrieved April 24, 2011. 
  9. ^ Salter, Jim & Suhr, Jim (April 22, 2011). "Tornado spawned by strong storms causes damage, injuries at Lambert Airport in St. Louis". http://www.newser.com/article/d9mp5m480/tornado-spawned-by-strong-storms-causes-damage-injuries-at-lambert-airport-in-st-louis.html. Retrieved April 24, 2011. 
  10. ^ Ameren Outage Map (April 24, 2011)
  11. ^ Staff reports. "Tornado confirmed; 2,700 buildings in St. Louis County with serious damage". http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_bf4b773d-1dd7-5a35-94b4-322d7542eb68.html. 
  12. ^ CBS News (April 23, 2011). "Mo. tornadoes destroy homes, damage airport". http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/04/23/earlyshow/saturday/main20056701.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody. Retrieved April 24, 2011. 
  13. ^ April 22nd Tornadic Supercell Greater St. Louis Metropolitan Area, National Weather Service, St. Louis, Missouri. (April 23, 2011).
  14. ^ Staff reports. "Disaster, miracle seen in swath of destruction". http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_a7b643a9-4372-580c-8e73-f4993d10aded.html. 

External links