Tornadoes confirmed in Missouri’s Lead Belt, southwestern Illinois

October 25, 2021 139

ST. MARY, FREDERICKTOWN and FARMINGTON, Mo./CHESTER, Ill. — The National Weather Service (NWS) in St. Louis confirms that tornadoes touched down Sunday evening throughout the bi-state region.

NWS alerts at around 8:30 p.m. Sunday reported confirmation of a tornado touching down in Farmington inside Missouri‘s Lead Belt region.

40 minutes later, NWS confirmed other tornadoes touching down near Fredericktown and St. Mary.

Farmington fire officials report significant damage on the south side of town. Reports of “significant damage” also came from St. Mary as part of the immediate aftermath.

Tornadoes Missouri Illinois — [/media-credit] Damage from near Farmington, MO from Farmington Fire Department

The tornadic cell would later move across the Mississippi River, making things problematic in portions of the Metro-East area in Illinois. A tornado was reported to have touched down near Chester, with damage reported in Steeleville and Coulterville.

There are reports of widespread power outages in the region. A time frame as to when service will be restored is currently unknown. Ameren, which services Illinois and Missouri, did not return a request for comment as of publication.

The severe weather was to impact six counties in southwestern Illinois and 25 counties in Missouri, as well as the City of St. Louis. The Illinois counties include Calhoun, Greene, Jersey, Adams, Brown and Pike. Additionally, on the Missouri side, Audrain, Boone, Calloway, Cole, Moniteau, Osage, Crawford, Franklin, Gasconade, Jefferson, Lincoln, Montgomery, St. Charles, St. Louis County, Warren, Washington, Knox, Lewis, Marion, Monroe, Pike, Ralls, Shelby, Iron and Reynolds counties were in the path of the storms.

This is a developing story.