Two metro-east tornadoes confirmed. Here’s how to help storm victims, dispose of debris
The National Weather Service has confirmed two tornadoes struck the metro-east Friday night when a storm system ripped through the region, the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency announced Monday.
An EF-2 tornado began in northern Mascoutah and continued northeast into Clinton County, the St. Clair County agency said in a news release. This classification means the tornado had speeds of 111 mph to 135 mph.
The second confirmed tornado was classified as an EF-1 that began on the northeast side of O’Fallon and moved into Lebanon. An EF-1 tornado can have speeds ranging from 86 mph to 110 mph.
That tornado is suspected to have struck an area north of the city limit, causing damage to the Keck Ridge subdivison and blowing the steeple and siding off New Life In Christ Church on Scott-Troy Road. It also caused significant damage to Parkview Mobile Home park, where at least two people were rescued by first responders from a trailer that blew over on its roof.
No serious injuries were reported in the storms, which knocked out power for thousands of residents. On Monday afternoon, Ameren Illinois reported there were still 460 outages in St. Clair County, 204 in Monroe and 58 in Clinton.
“We’re just thankful we didn’t have a loss of life like they did over in Missouri,” St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons said.
CNN has reported there have been at least 12 storm-related deaths in Missouri.
The National Weather Service released a map Monday that shows the paths of the two metro-east tornadoes. You can get detailed information about the tornadoes on the agency’s website under the “damage assessment toolkit,” which is an interactive map. Click on the triangles in the storm paths to get more information and photos of the damage.
Simmons said county officials went out Monday to assess storm damages but he did not have a total number of properties affected.
One farm near MidAmerica St. Louis Airport had $2 million to $3 million in damages to barns, grain silos and equipment, Simmons said.
Randolph County said the National Weather Service was scheduled to be in the Rockwood area Monday afternoon to conduct a damage survey.
Here is the Enhanced Fujita Scale the National Weather Service uses to classify wind speeds in tornadoes:
- EF0.....65 to 85 mph
- EF1.....86 to 110 mph
- EF2.....111 to 135 mph
- EF3.....136 to 165 mph
- EF4.....166 to 200 mph
- EF5.....>200 mph
How to help
GoFundMe announced Monday that at least two fundraising pages have been set up to help metro-east families.
Michelle Chaplin established a page for her grandmother and spouse, whose O’Fallon home was “demolished” Friday night.
“They are facing many different health issues due to the incident and are both unable to work due to them,” the page. “They have completely lost everything, including their vehicles that were totaled during the tornado.”
Also, a family in Alton needs assistance after a tree fell on their home.
Yard waste collection
O’Fallon announced Monday that city residents could drop off “storm-related yard debris” to O’Fallon Fire House #4 at 1215 Taylor Road.
“This service is available exclusively for O’Fallon residents and is not for use by contractors or commercial entities. The site is intended for yard waste such as tree limbs, branches, and other organic debris caused by the storm.
The hours of the site are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
This story was originally published March 17, 2025 at 2:54 PM.