1959 — Feb 10, Tornado, St. Louis City and County, MO — 21

— 21 Grazulis, Thomas P. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, pp. 508 and 1018.
— 21 NWS, St. Louis, MO Weather Forecast Office. St. Louis County, MO, Tornadoes.
— 21 Redman. The St. Louis 1959 Tornado.
— 21 St. Charles County Division of Emer. Mgmt. “Tornado Hits St. Louis in February 1959.”

Narrative Information

Grazulis: “MO-IL FEB 10, 1959 0140 21k 345 inj 200y 27m F4. ST.LOUIS, MO / MADISON, IL–Moved ENE from 5m S of Ellisville. Minor damage was reported for the first several miles, followed by intensification to F2 damage in the Warson Woods development of St. Louis. Considerable damage to roofs and other property occurred south of Forest Park, as the tornado skipped parallel to Manchester Road. From that point, the tornado strengthened further to F3 and minimal-F4 intensity. The greatest damage from Forest Park to McKinley Bridge was to tenement houses and apartment buildings. A few homes were leveled, and some large tenement houses collapsed, burying the occupants in the wreckage. In St. Louis, nearly 2000 buildings were damaged or destroyed. Only 16 homes were listed as destroyed, 102 homes had major damage, and 750 homes had minor damage. Total damage amounted to over $10,000,000. The track of this tornado was not far from the tracks of major tornadoes in 1871, 1896, and 1927. Some factory damage (Fl) was reported in Madison and St. Clair Counties, in Illinois, after the tornado crossed the Mississippi River into the Venice-Granite City area.” (Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, p. 1018.)

Redman: “The year 2009 is the 50th anniversary of the St. Louis 1959 tornado, which occurred between 1:40 and 2:30AM, the morning of February 10th. This tornado first appeared southwest of the city near Pacific, then south of Ellisville, with damage from Warson Woods into Brentwood, then on northeast into North St. Louis where most of the damage and all the fatalities occurred. This tornadic storm was imbedded in a large area of thunderstorms and was at its largest in St. Louis, rated an F4 on the Fujita scale and a path of 27 miles, ending in Madison County, Illinois.

“This storm took almost the same path as the 1927 storm with most damage through parts of north St. Louis. An alert radar operator at the Lambert Airport Weather Bureau noted the now-familiar ‘hook echo’, but few heard any broadcast warnings due to the time of day. Warnings in 1959 consisted mainly of telephone calls to local civil defense officials. Oddly enough, the Ground Observer Corps, a volunteer network of observers whose primary function was to search the skies for enemy aircraft, was disbanded just ten days prior to the tornado. In the latter years of this program, observers were used to watch for tornadoes. This was before the days of the ‘Tornado Watch’.

“Reports of this storm were received from areas to the southwest, but without an organized spotter effort, there were no formal reports and no organized warnings. Twenty-one were killed and 345 injured, with property loss at $10 to $12 million. AM radio reports shortly after the storm indicated that a tornado had hit the city, but the extent of the damage, injuries, and fatalities was not known until daybreak.

“As a result of this tornado several actions were taken: 1) Outdoor warning sirens were to be used to warn of approaching tornadoes, 2) Schools began tornado drills and related safety efforts, 3) A ‘state-of-the-art’ radar system was installed at the Lambert Airport Weather Bureau office [the WSR-57], and 4) St. Louis Public school FM radio station KSLH (91.5 Mhz.) began the broadcast of emergency weather information to city schools as needed, interrupting instructional programming when necessary. School principals were required to monitor a radio on this station, continuously, whenever the weather was threatening or a weather forecast of ‘A chance of a tornado or two’ was issued. Every city school had these radios so they were already in place (typically Newcomb or Freed-Eisemann receivers). Transmissions came from a tower and radio station in a converted school building at 1517 Theresa Avenue, the city school system’s audio-visual building.” (Redman. The St. Louis 1959 Tornado.)

St. Charles County Division of Emergency Management: “The following is a public information statement by: The National Weather Service St Louis, Missouri

“During the early mornings of February 10, 1959, one of the worst tornadoes in St Louis history roared through parts of St Louis County and St Louis City. Following is information as it was written in the National Weather Service publication Storm Data which documented the event.

TIME: 1:40 am – 2:15 am
Length: 25 miles
Width: 100 – 200 yards
Killed: 21
Injured: 354

“Storm path first in evidence near Sherman….in the southwest corner of St Louis County. Several houses and buildings damaged in rural areas along the path.

“First major damage in vicinity of intersection of Manchester Road and Woodlawn in the southwest suburban area of the metropolitan area. Roofs off houses and stores….many trees and wires down. Next major damage in area just south of Forest Park including heavy damage to Arena roof…large TV tower blown down….and large trees and power lines down. Heavy damage to apartment houses in the vicinity of Boyle and Olive….and in an area centered near Page and Grand. People were buried in the debris of collapsed buildings. Many power and phone lines down. Heavy damage to parked cars in streets.

“Tornado crossed into Illinois in vicinity of McKinley Bridge. Forward speed of storm estimated at 5- to 60 MPH. Some evidence that more than one funnel involved. Some damage to homes in the northern and southern parts of the County in addition to the main storm path.” (St. Charles County Division of Emer. Mgmt. “Tornado Hits St. Louis in February 1959.)

Sources

Grazulis, Thomas P. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VE: Environmental Films, 1993, 1,326 pages.

National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, St. Louis, MO. Weather St. Louis County, MO Tornadoes. 11-2-2005 modification. At: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lsx/climate/torcli/stlouis.php

Redman, Michael G. The St. Louis 1959 Tornado. Accessed June 18, 2009 at: http://www.stlouisskywarn.com/1959tornado.html

St. Charles County Division of Emergency Management. “Tornado Hits St. Louis in February 1959.” Accessed 6-18-2009: http://www.scchealth.org/Docs/ems/docs/prepare/tornado_1959.html