Severe Storm Outbreak Threatens Millions With Tornadoes And Damaging Winds In St. Louis Monday

A multiday severe weather outbreak is building toward what CNN described as its “most dangerous phase yet” as parts of the Midwest face a serious threat of tornadoes and widespread damaging wind gusts on Monday.

CNN said a Level 4 of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms is in place for parts of southern Illinois and eastern Missouri, including St. Louis, where the most significant threat of intense tornadoes, of EF3 or greater, looms later Monday afternoon.

CBS News

CNN added that damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes also threaten nearly 40 million people across a broader zone from the Mississippi Valley into the lower Ohio Valley Monday.

The Weather Channel’s coverage, though presented as an older version, also framed the event as a continuing deadly severe weather outbreak across the Plains and Midwest.

FOX Weather similarly said a Level 4/5 threat was issued in the Midwest as a dangerous severe weather outbreak threatens millions, describing a high-end tornado outbreak potential for parts of the Mid-Mississippi Valley Monday.

FOX Weather said the Storm Prediction Center issued a Level 4 out of 5 severe weather risk for southeast Missouri and southwest Illinois, and it named St. Louis as one of the major cities in that Level 4 threat zone.

The forecasts describe a volatile setup in which storms could intensify after earlier rounds, with the timing of cloud cover and morning thunderstorms repeatedly highlighted as key variables.

CNN said the upgrade in risk level came Monday morning and “signals that the ceiling for danger is high if storms form and tap into plentiful fuel,” while also warning that the precise location of the greatest tornado potential could depend on “how morning thunderstorms shape the atmosphere ahead of further storms in the afternoon and evening.”

CNN

FOX Weather said whether the outbreak materializes would be “largely dependent on ongoing thunderstorm activity and how long cloud cover will remain over Missouri, Illinois and Indiana early Monday,” and it described a corridor of undisturbed air that could support potentially intense EF-3+ tornadoes.

FOX Weather also said ongoing morning storms may limit afternoon storm development where they persist, but it framed increasing confidence in the corridor that could support long-track tornado potential.

The Weather Channel’s older version likewise emphasized that the outbreak was continuing across the Plains and Midwest, aligning with the multiday framing in CNN and FOX Weather.

New York Post coverage added a broader framing, saying more than 55 million Americans across the Midwest and Mississippi Valley are in the threat zone for a brewing severe weather outbreak expected to develop on Monday.

The current forecasts are explicitly tied to damage and tornado reports from earlier in the week, with CNN and FOX Weather both pointing to a destructive EF-4 tornado in Enid, Oklahoma, and deadly tornadoes in North Texas.

“There's potential for a high-end tornado outbreak for parts of the Mid-Mississippi Valley Monday, as a broader severe weather threat targets more than 60 million people across a corridor from southern Minnesota to parts of the South, including Arkansas, northern Mississippi and northern Alabama”

FOX Weather

CNN said a violent, preliminarily rated EF4 tornado in Enid, Oklahoma, triggered a rare tornado emergency and caused EF4 damage in parts of the city, with some areas flattened, and it described the Enid tornado as having winds estimated at 170 to 175 mph.

CNN also said at least 10 people were injured and about 40 homes were damaged in Enid, while officials said no deaths were reported.

CNN further said deadly tornadoes struck North Texas Saturday, including an EF2 tornado near Runaway Bay, about 80 miles northwest of Dallas, and it reported at least two people were killed and homes and infrastructure were damaged, displacing dozens of residents.

FOX Weather echoed the Enid and Runaway Bay events, saying the outbreak began last Thursday and produced a destructive EF-4 in Enid, Oklahoma, and twisters that killed at least two people in Runaway Bay, Texas late Saturday.

FOX Weather also described Sunday’s severe weather threat producing large hail and damaging wind gusts across Kansas, Oklahoma and parts of North Texas, and it reported quarter-sized hail and winds gusts up to 70 mph in Kansas City, Missouri.

While the core hazard—tornadoes, damaging winds, and hail—appears across the coverage, the outlets emphasize different scales and details, including how many people are threatened and which cities are highlighted.

CNN framed the Monday threat as nearly 40 million people across a broader zone from the Mississippi Valley into the lower Ohio Valley, and it described the tornado threat as intense tornadoes of EF3 or greater looming later Monday afternoon in southern Illinois and eastern Missouri.

NBC News

FOX Weather, by contrast, said the broader severe weather threat targets more than 60 million people across a corridor from southern Minnesota to parts of the South, including Arkansas, northern Mississippi and northern Alabama, and it listed multiple major cities in the Level 4 threat zone such as Cape Girardeau, Rolla and Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and Mount Vernon, Illinois.

The New York Post used yet another figure, saying more than 55 million Americans across the Midwest and Mississippi Valley are in the threat zone, and it described the potential for large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes while also referencing EF-4 damage in Enid and a fatality in Wise County, Texas.

CNN also described the hazard progression as storms evolve through the evening with the tornado risk not fully vanishing, while FOX Weather specified a forecast window that Monday afternoon storms are expected to begin after 2 p.m. and last through 10 p.m.

The Weather Channel’s older version, meanwhile, presented the event as a continuing deadly severe weather outbreak for the Midwest and Mississippi Valley, without adding the same level of numeric detail in the excerpt provided.

Looking beyond Monday’s peak, the forecasts describe a continuing but somewhat lower risk as the system pushes east Tuesday, along with additional hazards such as destructive wind gusts.

CNN said the severe system pushes east Tuesday, with a somewhat lower, but still significant, Level 2 of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms from the southern Plains through the Mid-South and into the lower Ohio Valley.

New York Post

FOX Weather similarly described Tuesday’s severe weather forecast as dependent on how storms develop Monday, but it said storms are expected to fire in the afternoon primarily across the cold front draped over the Lower Mississippi Valley, including southern Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, northeastern Alabama and Tennessee.

FOX Weather also said a Level 2 threat stretches from northeast Texas into central Kentucky, and it named major cities including Chicago, Indianapolis, Memphis and Nashville as included in that broader Level 2 threat.

CNN added that destructive wind gusts are likely to be the most widespread threat, especially from northeast Texas to the lower Mississippi Valley, even as the tornado risk changes with storm evolution.

The FOX Weather excerpt also described a Level 4 out of 5 risk of wind gusts exceeding 60 mph across the same area as the Level 4 tornado corridor, and it said if clouds remain after noon, severe weather will likely be less intense but still pack damaging wind gusts, hail and a tornado or two.