'Severe Thunderstorms' Are Coming for St. Louis and Maybe Tornadoes Too

Two storms are on the way — one tonight and one beginning tomorrow afternoon

Mar 13, 2024 at 12:59 pm

The National Weather Service says severe weather will hit St. Louis on Wednesday, March 13. SHUTTERSTOCK/Piotr Krzeslak

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Batten down the hatches: Severe thunderstorms are likely coming for St. Louis tonight.

The National Weather Service says there will be two rounds of severe scattered thunderstorms in St. Louis — one from 5 to 11 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13, and the next Thursday afternoon and evening. The first is largely centered in central and northeast Missouri (yep, that's us), as well as west central Illinois. It includes a good chance of hail from 5 to 7 p.m. and (brace yourself!) possibly a tornado or two before the storm moves east.

Then, on Thursday, March 14, the National Weather Service says most of Missouri and Illinois could see more thunderstorms, with very large hail, damaging winds and again the possibility of tornadoes. Egads!

That said, while the risk is real, it's worth noting that on the National Weather Service maps, St. Louis is located in an area of "slight risk" tonight — things get worse due west of here (including Warrensburg and Chillicothe).

The latest update for the increasing threat for severe t-storms this evening: storms will form between 5-7 PM 🙴 move northward. Threats are golf ball sized hail, damaging winds up to 60 mph, 🙴 a tornado or two. #mowx #ilwx #stlwx #midmowx pic.twitter.com/pOp2QPnUIj
— NWS St. Louis (@NWSStLouis) March 13, 2024

The specifics for tomorrow are still in flux, but you'll want to keep an eye out for further updates:

There will be two rounds of potential severe weather between now and tomorrow night. One will occur this evening and the other will occur Thursday afternoon and evening. #stlwx #midmowx #mowx #ilwx pic.twitter.com/h7XhgkYiPi
— NWS St. Louis (@NWSStLouis) March 13, 2024

As it turns out, the St. Louis area is uniquely positioned to get positively creamed by tornadoes, being located in an area of high risk at the same time we have a comparatively high population and lots of old houses that haven't been retrofitted to withstand cyclones. So, we're basically sitting ducks.

Keep an eye on the National Weather Service for updates. And when they tell you to seek shelter in your basement, maybe turn off the TV and listen. This one could get ugly.

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About The Author

Sarah Fenske

Sarah Fenske is the executive editor of the RFT and its sister papers. She is the former host of St. Louis on the Air and continues to host its Legal Roundtable, as well participating as an occasional panelist on Nine PBS' Donnybrook. She lives in St. Louis.

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