ST. LOUIS — We’re getting a first look at how our communities were affected by the extreme weather in the St. Louis area Friday night.
Businesses have been damaged, some homes lost to fire and heavy winds, and vehicles turned over as the storm system raced through, spawning several tornado warnings and hail.
Our crews are out in our hometowns, talking with neighbors and officials, and getting an up-close look. Here’s what we’ve seen so far.
Traffic was disrupted and even blocked on highways due to overturned vehicles.
Tractor-trailers on I-44 were overturned. One of them near Villa Ridge was flipped upside down entirely. The other completely blocked traffic near American Inn Road.
We’re hearing from Alicia Wilson, a neighbor in Villa Ridge. She said her neighborhood of Charing Cross was hit hard, and some people were evacuated to a command post.
“It was the scariest thing I’ve ever been through, it was so fast, our ears were all about to burst. I have a 2-year-old at home and I’m pretty sure we lost our house and cars,” Wilson said.
5 On Your Side’s sports reporter Corey Miller was out on Old Lemay Ferry Road in Arnold, where a downed power line completely blocked the street.
He described seeing guard rails twisted in unnatural ways and road signs flipped over, including a Drury Inn sign.
5 On Your Side’s Megan Kernan was at MO-100 and I-44 in Villa Ridge where two gas stations were torn into by the extreme storm.
The roof of the Phillips 66 gas station was partially torn off. A nearby Burger King was also damaged.
Semi-trucks were thrown over, and a Mr. Fuel gas station across the street was also damaged.
5 On Your Side’s Robert Townsend has been in the Parc Argonne neighborhood where tree limbs, furniture and debris were thrown across the street. Neighbors described the unimaginable moment for them, seeing their homes broken up.
Some neighbors were hit with unexpected damage, even hours before the storms reached the St. Louis region.
Six homes in East St. Louis were hit by fires. Heavy winds reportedly caused the fire to spread from home to home.
“It was like a volcano, it looked so bad,” Otis Eanes said, who was driving past the neighborhood hit and saw the fire. “It’s an unusual occurrence, but I’ll tell you what, it’s awful for someone to be put outdoors as a result of this fire.”
A vacant building in East St. Louis collapsed earlier Friday night on the corner of Missouri Avenue and North 6th Street. This also happened before the extreme storm reached the St. Louis region.
On social media, Missouri State Highway Patrol said troopers are assisting the Rolla Police Department at Mark Twain School. Pictures they shared included broken fencing and downed tree limbs.
