Possible tornado hits O’Fallon mobile home park; wind and hail cause widespread damage

The National Weather Service is investigating property damage along the path of thunderstorms that blew through the St. Louis region and metro-east Friday night with high straight-line winds and hail.

Investigators also will be looking for evidence tornadoes, including one believed by local authorities to have touched down near O’Fallon, said St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons.

“They’ll go where the storm began and follow it’s path to assess damage and its characteristics,” he said. “We expect the National Weather Service will be in O’Fallon later Saturday or Sunday to confirm whether it was a tornado that touched down, or if the damage was from the wind gusts.”

Meteorologists at the National Weather Service’s St. Louis office were not available for comment Saturday morning. Its website, however, confirms at least two tornadoes touched down in Missouri, where at least 10 people died in the overnight storms, according to KSDK-Channel 5 and other St. Louis media.

Damage survey teams will begin investigating damage in Hillsboro, Missouri, according to a release from the National Weather Service.

“There is no way we will be able to survey all the suspected tornado damage today, so please be patient,” it said. “The process takes time and we will continue surveying as needed the next few days.”

There have been no deaths or serious injuries reported in the metro-east, Simmons said.

“There was a report of a 9-year-old girl in Cahokia Heights injured when a tree fell into the family home, but it apparently wasn’t serious,” he said. “I always say after incidents like that that property can be replaced, but you can’t replace a life that’s been lost.”

Property damage was widespread throughout the metro-east, but an area off Troy-Scott Road, just north of the city limits sustained more concentrated damage, said O’Fallon Director of Public Safety Kirk Brueggeman. Public safety authorities believe it was caused by a tornado.

New Life in Christ Church, 689 Scott Troy Road, lost its steeple and some siding and was forced to cancel in-person services on Sunday.

The nearby Keck Ridge subdivision suffered “substantial” hail and wind damage, he said. Saturday morning, the front of one house was still impaled by a recreational vehicle. Multiple trees were snapped at the roots.

Across Troy-Scott Road to the east, the entrance to Parkview mobile home park was blocked off by down power lines Saturday morning. Most of the mobile homes inside sustained some degree of damage, including three that were completely destroyed.

The streets were littered with debris, including torn sheet metal, insulation, uprooted trees and limbs, and whole pieces of furniture.

O’Fallon Fire Chief Brad White said two women at Parkview were rescued from their mobile home, which had rolled over in the storm.

“The call came in that a trailer had blown away with the family in it and that another was on fire,” White said. “Sheriff’s deputies were able to help one lady out of the trailer before we arrived and we helped the other get out. There is significant damage, but no serious injuries.”

Alisha Curtis, a resident of the neighborhood, identified the two women pulled from the overturned trailer as her mother and sister. She said her mother was treated at the hospital for lacerations to her legs, but is “doing fine.” The younger woman got out with minor cuts and bruises, Curtis said.

“I left my house because I didn’t feel safe. I came to my brother’s house,” Curtis said. “I kept calling them and calling them but didn’t get an answer. When I came to check on them, the trailer was upside down and I think there was a tree inside, don’t ask me how.”

Amanda Hargis, a resident of the Parkview neighborhood, said the storm hit hard and fast.

“It took 10 minutes to do all this. It was that fast,” she said Saturday morning as she and neighbors stepped outside to see the damage in the daylight. “It was like a freight train when it came through. Within moments, that power line was down, the sky was lit up blue, it sounded like aliens landing, and you could hear people stuck in there calling for help.

“I was lucky. There are a few of us in metal homes that got lucky. Anything made of plastic got beat the crap up.”

Jesse Annis’ trailer also rolled over and came to rest against his neighbor’s house. He and his wife spent part of the evening in the hospital emergency room.

“I hurt all over,” he said Saturday. “I heard the sound of a freight train and then, all of the sudden, (the trailer) started to roll. I came to and was underneath the TV, dresser and walls. It took me about 10 minutes to crawl out.”

Curtis, Hargis, Annis and others in the O’Fallon neighborhoods praised the responsiveness and professionalism of the first responders who helped them at the scene.

“We’re just waiting for the power company to come fix power lines and, hopefully, for somebody to come with some chainsaws to help us clear the branches,” Hargis said.

Damage in other parts of the metro-east were more spotty, Simmons said.

“There was a lot of wind damage and some hail,” he said. “We checked wind speeds at St. Louis Downtown Airport and they were clocking gusts at 77 and 78 mph. That was at about 9 p.m. We’ll be out to assess damage, but we had 51 reports of damage to property this morning.

Simmons said Ameren Illinois had 44 power trucks staged for dispatch at Bell-Clair Fairgrounds early Saturday morning. More than 30,000 customers across the St. Louis area were without power at noon Saturday, the power company reported. West Belleivlle and Fairview Heights are among the areas reporting widespread outages.

Belleville avoided “cataclysmic” damage in the storm, said Police Department Lt. Col. Mark Heffernan.

“Fire took a few calls, but there was nothing really major and no injuries reported that have gotten back to us at this time,” he said. “I think St. Clair County EMA did a good job getting the word out and people listened.”

This story was originally published March 15, 2025 at 12:25 PM.