Weather

Let's Twist Again, Vicariously

2011: St. Louis' 4th Warmest Year on Record

​If you thought last year seemed a bit hotter than normal, guess what? You were right! According to the National Weather Service, last year's average temperature of 58.7 degrees was tied for fourth as the warmest year on record. The summer months of June, July and August were also the fourth-warme ... More >>

Judgment Awarded Against Suspect Charity Aiding Joplin Tornado

Photo: Albert SamahaThe Joplin tornado leveled the town and killed more than 160 people.​Here's an update to a story we originally reported on back in July. Yesterday, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced that his office had received a consent judgment against Puerto Rico-based charity ... More >>

St. Louis Heat Warning Now Extended into August

​Yesterday's high temperature in St. Louis reached 101, and while the mercury is expected to dip a bit today, the humidity is also expected to climb, making it feel just as warm or even hotter than the past few days. And the heat isn't going to let up anytime soon. Today the National Weather Servi ... More >>

Enjoy Today, Heat Cranks Up Again Tuesday

​We here at Daily RFT were a bit confused this morning when we heard that that National Weather Service had issued an excessive heat warning for St. Louis. Compared to the last week or so, the weather this morning is absolutely delightful, with scant humidity and temps still in the 70s at 9 a.m.Al ... More >>

Missouri Sues Dubious Charities Collecting Money for Joplin

crowdrise.com/JoplinMissouriTornadoAlivio Foundation has raised more than $9,700 online for Joplin, but where is the money?​Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced today that he's filed suit accusing two alleged charities of defrauding donors who thought they were helping victims of the J ... More >>

Heat Wave Injures Four People in St. Louis

This weather is getting intense, y'all.​It's sweltering. In fact, it's officially time to start blasting Nelly's "Hot in Herre." (That's the most appropriate way Daily RFT could devise to both celebrate the city's skyrocketing temperatures and validate every citizen's complaint that the weathe ... More >>

It's Effing Hot in St. Louis, National Weather Service Confirms

The thermometer today could reach into the triple digits for the first time this year, leading the National Weather Service to place St. Louis under an extreme heat warning through Tuesday evening. crh.noaa.gov​

June Rainfall Could Triple St. Louis Average for Month

Area rain gauges runneth over in June.​Surprise! It's raining -- again. The National Weather Service warns that St. Louis is likely to see strong thunderstorms mixed with heavy rains throughout the day and into the evening. Today's precipitation could help triple the region's normal rainfall for J ... More >>

Documentary Will Feature Joplin Globe's Tornado Coverage

​OK, so we get that it's annoying when journalists stroke each other within their own little media bubble, but permit us one moment of congratulatory naval-gazing. Today's Post-Dispatch ran a guest editorial written by editors at The (Washington) Missourian, singing the praises of Joplin's l ... More >>

Dine Out at These Local Restaurants -- Help Joplin [Updated]

Sweet TomatoesSalad bar Sweet Tomatoes is just one local eatery donating to the Joplin tornado victims. ​Update: Another restaurant is the latest in the string of eateries to donate to the Joplin relief effort. This time, area Culver's (4140 Rusty Road, South St. Louis County; 314-845-0964 or ... More >>

Rare Fungal Disease the Latest Horrible Thing to Hit Joplin

image viaZygomycosis: the next horrible thing to hit Joplin.​Just when you thought things in Joplin couldn't get any more post-apocalyptic, the Huffington Post reports this morning that a rare and deadly fungus is now infecting tornado survivors. Zygomycosis happens when soil or vegetative m ... More >>

Jam for Joplin Concert to Benefit Tornado Survivors is Tonight

​In the two-and-a-half weeks since a massive tornado leveled the town of Joplin, Missouri and left over 140 people dead and scores more injured and homeless, the enormity of the event is still staggering. People across the state and beyond have banded together to help survivors with food, clot ... More >>

Joplin Tornado: 600 Animals Still in Limbo

Toto's not the only dog whose life was upended by a tornado -- rescue workers in Joplin have helped 900 animals.​You can see their faces on the web site for the Joplin Humane Society: eager, sad, hopeful.They are the animals of Joplin, Missouri, displaced by the tornado that tore through town two ... More >>

Joplin Tornado Relative to St. Louis (Map)

Struggling to get a sense of the size of the Joplin tornado? Look no further. Below is a map showing the twister's path relative to St. Louis. ​As you can see, the path begins at Lindbergh Boulevard and travels east though Ladue, Clayton, Forest Park and the Central West End before ending at the r ... More >>

Final Death Tally From Joplin Tornado: 134

Mike MezuelThe tornado that tore through Joplin on May 22 killed 134 people.​It's official.There are no more residents of Joplin, Missouri, on the missing person's list. There are no human remains that haven't been accounted for. The final number of fatalities, attributed to the tornado that tore ... More >>

Calculating the St. Louis Heat Index

Mike MezuelThe tornado that tore through Joplin on May 22 killed 134 people.​It's official.There are no more residents of Joplin, Missouri, on the missing person's list. There are no human remains that haven't been accounted for. The final number of fatalities, attributed to the tornado that tore ... More >>

Tornado Alarms Got You Down? Move to Corvallis, Washington

The Ingalls would have been better off staying in Wisconsin. And why, oh why oh, did we ever leave Ohio?​With all the flooding downstate, and the tornadoes that destroyed one wing of Lambert and almost all of the city Joplin, and the golf-ball-sized hail that pummeled parts of St. Louis yesterday, ... More >>

Tornado in Joplin, Missouri, Kills at Least 89

Not the actual tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, yesterday afternoon -- but pretty scary, too.​So the world didn't end on Saturday. But residents of Joplin, Missouri, could have been forgiven for wondering yesterday if the apocalypse was merely a day late. A tornado ripped through the town in ... More >>

Tornado Relief at Ferguson Restaurants This Friday, May 6

Jennifer SilverbergCork Wine Bar in Ferguson​Between the devastating outbreak of tornadoes in the South and this past weekend's killing of Osama bin Laden, the tornadoes that struck north county last month might seem like a distant memory.For victims of that storm, however, the need for help remai ... More >>

The "Tornado Alley" Menu: Terrible Timing or Terrible Taste

Courtesy Erin K. Thompson, Seattle Weekly​Mike Seely, former RFT staff writer and now editor of our sister paper Seattle Weekly, passes along this item from the Emerald City: 5 Spot, a restaurant that adopts the cuisine of a different region every few months, is currently featuring the foods of... ... More >>

Delta Flight Skids in Snow Saturday; Plane Carried Kit Bond and Adam Wainwright

The spring storm that dropped more than four inches of snow Saturday at St. Louis Lambert Field is being blamed for a frightful landing that day. A Delta flight from Atlanta carrying 142 passengers touched down around 5:30 p.m. and briefly skidded off the runway before the pilot was able to correct ... More >>

Mother Nature Loves the Irish More Than the French

When Irish hearts are happy all the world seems bright and gay, And When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, sure, they steal your heart away.​Could it be that Mother Nature (or perhaps even God!) loves the Irish more than the French? That's the message one could get while staring at the heavens this ... More >>

Snow!? Haven't We Seen Enough of This Sh@# Already?

​As of 7 a.m. it's more like a mini-blizzard outside the windows of the Daily RFT "Storm Center." The white stuff is coming down fast, and the National Weather Service predicts we could get 2 to 4 inches of snow by noon before the precipitation turns to rain.  Lovely. Here's the good news, th ... More >>

Let's Twist Again, Vicariously

​As of 7 a.m. it's more like a mini-blizzard outside the windows of the Daily RFT "Storm Center." The white stuff is coming down fast, and the National Weather Service predicts we could get 2 to 4 inches of snow by noon before the precipitation turns to rain.  Lovely. Here's the good news, th ... More >>

Boston Mayor of 1940s Offers Solution to St. Louis' Ice Problem

Boston's mayor appealed for M.I.T. engineers to develop flame throwers to help save the city from record snowfall.​Francis Slay is back in town. The St. Louis mayor arrived home Wednesday via Amtrak after his flight from California was canceled Monday due to Midwest snow storms.  One of the m ... More >>

St. Louis Region Hit with Snow; Some Areas Receive a Foot of White Stuff

Schools are canceled, and the flakes are still coming down. Here are the most recent snowfall totals from the National Weather Service:​According to the weather service, St. Louis picked up seven inches of snow at Forest Park. In my sliver of south-central St. Louis, I'm seeing about five inches ( ... More >>

It's Just Snow, People!

​Oh no! Call in the National Guard! A few inches of snow have accumulated...in fucking January! Who could have ever seen this coming? Let's all freak out, buy up all the bread and toilet paper in stock at the stores -- since we seem to be on the verge of shitting ourselves anyway -- and sit at hom ... More >>

Nine Confirmed Tornadoes Touch Down Near St. Louis New Year's Eve

crh.noaa.gov​The National Weather Service has confirmed that nine twisters struck ground in and around St. Louis around mid-day December 31. The tornadoes destroyed several homes in Robertsville and Sunset Hills. In St. Louis an EF-1 twister with winds between 80 and 100 m.p.h. carved a path (righ ... More >>

Oklahoma Favored by Three Points Over Missouri; Forecast Calls for Rain

Image ViaMizzou lost a heartbreaker last October when Nebraska (and a monsoon) visited Faurot Field.​The early line on Saturday's face off between No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 11 Missouri favors the Sooners by a field goal. The over-under on the game is 53 points. At first glance, I thought the bookies ... More >>

For Your Next Vacation, How About Some Twister Chasing?

Yes, it's the end of September and summer vacation season is officially deader than the Cardinals' playoff hopes. But it's never too early to start planning for next year. A couple of University of Missouri professors report that Missourians who are sick of float trips and paranoid about the e coli ... More >>

Iced Tea with Limoncello, Stellina Pasta Café

Our water glass is perspiring so furiously, it's making a puddle on the bar. Diners are fanning themselves with menus. We are waiting for a table at the newly renovated Stellina Pasta Café. It's Friday night, the place is packed and the a/c is on the fritz. An employee opens a few windows, and the ... More >>

Three St. Louis Females are "One in 6,250" Kind of Ladies

​In that the odds of being struck by lightning during a person's lifetime are 1 in 6,250, and three St. Louis females were hit (by a single lightning bolt) Monday in the parking lot of St. Vincent Park in north county. So, you know where to go during the next lightning storm? St. Vincent Park 'cau ... More >>

This October Already Wettest on Record and Guess What? It's Raining Again!

Katie White Snow via Flickr​Last Friday, October 23, was an exciting day for St. Louis weatherwatchers: 1.91 inches of rain landed at Lambert Airport, giving October, 2009, the final boost to become the wettest October in recorded St. Louis weather history, soundly beating 1919 by .3 inches. (It w ... More >>

Midwest Winter Weather Forecast: Cold and Wet With a Chance of Warm and Dry

media.photobucket.com/image/Weatherman/lizzye82/posted/-weather-man.jpgSt. Louis' forecast: cloudy with a chance of sexual innuendo​Rise and shine campers. Take a look outside: the leaves are changing, the air is crisp and it's shaping up to be another beautiful fall day (with a forecasted high of ... More >>

County Police Offer "SKYWARN" Training to the Public

flickr.com/photos/apothekerLook! Up in the sky. It's a bird. It's a plane. No! It's a f@%#ing funnel cloud! ​Ever want to be a storm spotter, but just didn't know if you have what it takes? Well, you're in luck. The St. Louis County Police Department this fall is offering free SKYWARN training to ... More >>

Think We've Been Getting A Lot of Rain Here in Missour-ah? You're Right!

With thundershowers in the forecast again today and tomorrow (and for much of the next seven days), you may be wondering if it will ever stop raining. You may also be wondering if anyone else in the nation is getting as much rain as we've had in the past two weeks. The answer to that question? No. N ... More >>

Reminder: Don't Drive and Drown this Month

Wikimedia CommonsApparently people do very stupid things in March, which is why the month is home to about a dozen different prevention weeks. My favorite thus far is the following pearl I received yesterday from the State Emergency Management Agency. The department has dubbed March 16-20 as "Turn A ... More >>

Raindrops Keep Falling on our Heads

Anyone feeling a wee bit wet lately can look to the record-breaking St. Louis clouds for the reason.Remember the floods in the spring and in the fall? (Photo from O'Fallon, Missouri in September. More photos here.) That's right. In a year of historical benchmarks -- first black president e ... More >>

Eat for the Cause

Anyone feeling a wee bit wet lately can look to the record-breaking St. Louis clouds for the reason.Remember the floods in the spring and in the fall? (Photo from O'Fallon, Missouri in September. More photos here.) That's right. In a year of historical benchmarks -- first black president e ... More >>

Holy Lightning Strike, Batman!

Anyone feeling a wee bit wet lately can look to the record-breaking St. Louis clouds for the reason.Remember the floods in the spring and in the fall? (Photo from O'Fallon, Missouri in September. More photos here.) That's right. In a year of historical benchmarks -- first black president e ... More >>

Press Release Headline of the Day

Anyone feeling a wee bit wet lately can look to the record-breaking St. Louis clouds for the reason.Remember the floods in the spring and in the fall? (Photo from O'Fallon, Missouri in September. More photos here.) That's right. In a year of historical benchmarks -- first black president e ... More >>

The Benjamin-O

Anyone feeling a wee bit wet lately can look to the record-breaking St. Louis clouds for the reason.Remember the floods in the spring and in the fall? (Photo from O'Fallon, Missouri in September. More photos here.) That's right. In a year of historical benchmarks -- first black president e ... More >>

Series/Festivals

Week of January 2, 2002

After the Deluge

Since the Flood of 93, Chesterfield boosters have used millions in public money to raise a levee and turn the bottomlands into a boomtown. But betting against the river is risky business.

Best Meteorologist

Ben Abell

Best TV Weathercaster

Dave Murray

Collision Course

Gateway International Raceway is speeding to expand parking. But environmentalists are waving a red flag.

Voodoo Engineering

New plans for a levee in St. Charles County raise concerns about flooding in Illinois and the completion of Missouri's popular Katy Trail