1871 St. Louis tornado
American meteorological event
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1871 St. Louis tornado was an F3 tornado that touched down in St. Louis, Missouri on Wednesday, March 8, 1871, at 3:00 pm. It traveled east-northeast at 70 miles per hour (113 km/h), cutting a swath up to 250 yards (229 m) wide and 5 miles (8 km) long into East St. Louis, Illinois. The tornado was on the ground for 3 minutes.[1] A total of 30 homes were destroyed and 30 severely damaged. Six railroad depots were destroyed with eight deaths in them. One death occurred on a bridge. Overall, 9 people were killed, 60 injured, and $1,500,000 damage occurred. It is one of four tornadoes (1896, 1927, 1959) that have ripped through the central business district of St. Louis.[2]
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | March 8, 1871 3:00 P.M. CDT (10:00 A.M. UTC) |
| Dissipated | March 8, 1871 3:03 P.M. CDT (10:03 A.M. UTC) |
| F3 tornado | |
| on the Fujita scale | |
| Overall effects | |
| Casualties | 9 fatalities, 60 injuries |
| Damage | $1.5 million |
| Areas affected | St. Louis, Missouri area |
