Tornado Touchdowns and Paths, March 2019

East-West Gateway’s March 2019 Map of the Month depicts tornadoes that either touched down or crossed through our region for the years 1950 to 2017. Tornadoes are color coded according to the Fujita scale for tornado damage, which relates wind speed to structural damage. Since 1950, 72 percent of tornadoes were given intensity ratings of F0 or F1, indicating light to moderate damage. There were only 5 tornadoes rated at F4 on the Fujita scale. These occurred on February 24, 1956; February 10, 1959; January 24, 1967; April 3, 1981; and April 22, 2011. The April 2011 tornado was the most recent F4 to hit the St. Louis area. It caused extensive damage to Lambert airport, and over $30 million in damage. No F5 tornadoes were recorded in the East-West Gateway region during this period. The most common months for tornadoes in the region are April and May, though from 1950 to 2017, 65 percent of tornado related injuries and 71.4 percent of fatalities occurred within the months of January and February. Tornadoes after February 1, 2007 are evaluated using the Enhanced Fujita Scale. For more information on the Enhanced Fujita scale, visit The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at http://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.