Severe thunderstorm warning, tornado watch issued for metro-east
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning and a tornado watch for several counties in the metro-east Wednesday afternoon.
A tornado watch was issued at 2:10 p.m. and is expected to last until at least 9 p.m., the National Weather Service Office in St. Louis stated. The counties affected include St. Clair, Madison, Monroe, Clinton, Randolph and Bond.
At 4:20 p.m., the weather service issued the severe thunderstorm warning, which included St. Clair, Madison and Monroe counties. According to the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency, the storms could bring 60 mph winds and nickel-sized hail and could cause potential damage to roofs, siding and trees.
Municipalities named in the severe thunderstorm warning include St. Louis, Belleville, Granite City, O’Fallon, Alton, East St. Louis, Collinsville, Edwardsville, Godfrey, Fairview Heights, Cahokia, Swansea, Glen Carbon, Shiloh, Wood River, Highland, Troy, Waterloo, Columbia and Bethalto. Highways affected include Interstate 70 between exits 21 and 30, Interstate 55 between exits 23 and 37 and Interstate 64 between exits 9 and 27.
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