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Is Nelly and the St. Lunatics OK?
Wow.
Prayers for St Louis.
Wow, what time did this blow in? I fly out of St Louis today at 4:40pm when it was a pleasant 100F outside with clear skies and wind out of the east (which is rare).
I heard Busch stadium is damaged.
My mother is one of them without power. Temps are suppose to be 100F with the heat index as high as 115F for Thursday.
Local STL News is showing some major damage to the area. One tornado was spotted in Jefferson Barracks (South St. Louis County)
Video showing people trying to take shelter a Busch Stadium with newspaper boxes flying into the main entrances of the stadium due to 80mph winds.
Storms Pound St. Louis Area; 350,000 Lose Power, Buildings Collapse
http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=100574
No water service for parts of North St. Louis County. The water treatment plant is without power.
Is there more? What happened?
Compost Dispatch of some value this evening:
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/916EBEC69E47CAD5862571B1000A7CE6?OpenDocument
powerful storm system pounded the St. Louis area early this evening, packing wind gusts that pelted people in cars with debris, toppled street lights and snapped branches.
At least 400,000 households lost power. Meteorologists with the National Weather Service said high winds, lightning and thunderstorms smacked most of the St. Louis metro area from St. Charles County east to Madison County.
"We didn't have much warning," said St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay in a news conference. Commenting on reaction from one emergency official he spoke to, "this is one of the worst storms he could remember to hit the city."
St. Louis Police Chief Joe Mokwa reported three collapsed buildings in the region and one injury that had been reported -- a woman who was 8 months pregnant. Advertisement
The storm moved quickly north of St. Louis County, but turned south. Meteorologists said the storm was unusual because "the gust front" blew through the area first, tipping over tractor trailers and shattering car windows, toppling trees and power lines and pushing dust and debris throughout the area.
The Cardinals game against the Atlanta Braves was delayed by the storm. At least four people were taken from the stadium in ambulances with unknown injuries and windows were blown out of the press box.
Mokwa said MetroLink was shut down, mostly because of the electrical problems, but also because of a tree down across the tracks at the Saint Louis University stop. Metro buses were being brought in to ferry Cardinals fans from Busch Stadium who had arrived at the stadium by train.
The storm hit shortly after 7 p.m., and electricity was out to about 402,500 customers in the St. Louis area, according to Ameren's web site.
Authorities reported widespread incidents of toppled trees and downed power lines.
At the Missouri Botanical Garden, hundreds of people who had been attending the Whittaker Music Festival free concert were moved to shelters at the Schoenfeld Auditorium.
Damage from shattered glass was reported in the Linnean House, one of the nation's oldest conservatories. Trees were reported down at the garden and in the neighborhoods around it.
Blowing dust and debris and then torrents of rain limited visibility on area roads.
The westbound lanes of Highway 370 were shut down because of at least two overturned mobile homes, according to the Missouri highway patrol.
Said Luthor Lowe of Little Rock, Ark., in town for the National College Democrats Convention at Saint Louis University wondered, "Does this always happen in St. Louis?"
Near Lambert Field, strong winds ripped off the roof of a MetroLink station and dumped it across several lanes of Interstate 70 near Lambert Field.
A building near the Eads Bridge collapsed onto the bridge, trapping a driver for some time.The bridge was closed, Mokwa said, because of the debris. The eastbound lanes of Interstate 270 near the Chain of Rocks Bridge were closed as emergency crews responded to tractor trailers that had flipped over, authorities said.
In parts of South St. Louis, trees and limbs almost covered the pavement for whole blocks in the area south of Meramec Street. South of Interstate 55 and in the area around Carondelet Park, motorists had to weave around limbs and thick branches.
In St. Charles, tree limbs were down. The area was hit by power outages and the Rascals baseball game was cancelled.
Witnesses reported a driver trapped inside a car at Morgan Ford and Arsenal streets in St. Louis.
In Bellefountaine Neighbors, hundred-year-old trees were thrown down, said resident Stephanie Russell, an employee at Saint Louis University.
"We had to use four-wheel drive low just to get up the street," Russell said. "It was everything from water to debris to branches 5 feet to 20 feet long."
Russell said she eventually got to her driveway, but a fallen branch blocked her progress and then another fell behind the car.
"We can't get in or out," she said, as neighbors worked to remove branches from the road. "I've never seen anything like it."
Power went out during the Bridgeton City Council meeting, but the council continued its deliberations. By 8:30 p.m., the storm had left the north county area. Planes were landing and taking off at Lambert Field.
In North St. Louis County, the storm caused a gas leak in the 10000 block of Lord Drive. Authorities were evacuating the block, according to St. Louis County police.
Chairmaine Manse and Anna Hollands, customers at the St. Louis Bread Co. at Manchester and Interstate 270 were taken by surprise by the storm.
"It came up as a strong wind, knocking over umbrellas and tables. It got dark and all hell broke loose," said Hollands, who lives in nearby Normandy. "I'm willing to go, but I'm not willing to chance it."
In Ladue, Elfriede Olney worried about her 16-year-old grandson making it to school Thursday. At least two oak trees -- one about 3 feet in diameter and one more at 50 feet tall -- fell in their front yard.
"It's a total disaster area in the front," Olney said. "The driveways are blocked. I've never seen anything like this."
You OK???
Check in when you can.
Lights were out from Kingshighway out Manchester all the way to Kirkwood.
Damn Rove and his weather machine.
BTW, Bush's fault
/s
Late start because of the weather, but Cards are up 8-1 after 5 1/2 innings. Considering the last 2 games this is a great improvement!
ping
BREAKING NEWS: It has just been reported the President George W. Bush was responsible for this natural disaster; a payback for the city of St. Louis voting Democratic in the last two Presidential Elections.
More details as they come in.
Check in if you can.
Leni
Anybody live around the Creve Coeur area? Heard power was out yesterday. Does anybody know if it's back on yet?