East-West Gateway’s January 2022 Map of the Month depicts tornadoes that either touched down in or crossed through the region between 1950 to 2019. Tornadoes are color coded by the season in which they occurred. The width of the lines are weighted according to the Fujita scale or the Enhanced Fujita Scale (starting February 1, 2007) for tornado damage. The scales relate wind speed to structural damage. The lines indicate the start and end points of each tornado. On December 10, 2021, two tornados touched down in the East-West Gateway region, in Edwardsville, IL and Defiance, MO. Both have a preliminary rating of EF-3 with wind speeds of 150 and 165 miles per hour, respectively. They caused at least 7 fatalities and several injuries.
From 1950 to 2019, 68.8 percent of tornado related injuries and 81 percent of fatalities in the region occurred during winter (December to February) tornados. This is high relative to the number of tornadoes during this season. The 37 winter tornadoes represent 14.3 percent of all tornadoes in the region during this time period. About half (51.2 percent) of tornadoes over the time period occurred in the spring (March to May). Most of these (90.9 percent) were rated F2 or less. Of the 258 tornadoes during the 70 years, only five were rated as F4 or EF4. These occurred on February 24, 1956; February 10, 1959; January 24, 1967; April 3, 1981; and April 22, 2011. No F5 or EF5 tornadoes were recorded in the East-West Gateway region during this period. For more information on the Enhanced Fujita scale, visit The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at https://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/ef-scale.html. For information of tornado preparedness, visit the Red Cross at https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/types-of-emergencies/tornado.html.