Confirmed tornadoes in St. Louis kill five, injure dozens, and damage thousands of structures, leaving over 80,000 without power.
ST. LOUIS — St. Louisans were waking up Saturday to the aftermath of a couple of confirmed tornadoes that killed at least five people, left dozens injured and had 5,000 buildings and homes damaged and over 80,000 without power.
The weather forecast offers a respite of mild temperatures and clear skies Saturday and for the most part on Sunday.
Ameren noted that as of 6 a.m., 84,163 businesses were without power, and notices were going out to customers updating on the work, but, in many cases, without a firm timetable for restoration.
While two tornadoes were confirmed in Friday afternoon’s severe weather, investigators with the National Weather Service would be looking to determine the paths of the tornadoes and their severity.
The city of St. Louis planned a press conference at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, while Governor Mike Kehoe planned a visit.
Problems started Friday when storms with rotation started moving into the county and then traversed through the city. The worst of the damage appeared to be in Clayton, Richmond Heights, Forest Park, Central West End and North City.
There were evacuations in Clayton for possible gas leaks, while many Forest Park attractions were closed due to damage and power issues. Central West End suffered damage to buildings, and in North City, there were people counting their blessings that things weren’t worse, as collapsed and partially-collapsed buildings indicated the human toll could have been much worse.
