Turning the clock back ninety-six years, a powerful tornado blasted through the north side of St. Louis, Missouri and it crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois. In less than five minutes the tornado destroyed homes, schools, businesses, and other buildings. In all, 84 people would lose their lives and many others would lose their homes and their livelihoods.
Countdown To Destruction
On Thursday morning, September 29, 1927, meteorologists at the U.S. Weather Bureau were checking weather conditions. An area of low-pressure was passing through the Upper Midwest and a cold front was moving eastward through Missouri toward St. Louis.
The forecast indicated that rain would be moving into the area. As the morning progressed, the forecasters watched the barometric pressure fall as clouds increased. As midday arrived, many workers in St. Louis took a lunch break, This was also the case at schools on the north side of the city like West Belle, Riddick, and Central High School, along with St. Louis University High School and Hempstead High School.
A recreated surface weather map for September 29, 1927… Map Info – NOAA Central Library.
As the clock approached 1 p.m. many students and workers began to go back to work or they were settling into their classrooms. Little did they know of the horror that they would experience within a matter of minutes and unfortunately many of them would not survive to return home that day.
An Unforgiving Tornado
The U.S. Weather Bureau office was located at the Railway Exchange Building in downtown St. Louis. A couple of meteorologists went up to the roof of the building to take an observation as the sky began to darken.
They could see ominous black clouds off to the southwest and they were moving to the northeast. It began to rain so the meteorologists went back indoors to their weather office. At Hempstead High School a teacher and students in one of the classrooms could see out the window as the sky turned an ominous green color. The teacher fearing that a bad storm was coming, told them to put their heads down on their desk and sit still.
Another St. Louis meteorologist saw a funnel come from the sky and touch the ground near the intersection of Kingshighway and Market Street. A tornado had indeed touched down and in the course of fewer than 5 minutes, it would severely damage or destroy everything in its path across parts of St. Louis.
Immediately after the tornado struck, it killed three men at a brickworks, three more at an ice house, and two in a pipe yard. The tornado then ripped through upscale homes around West Pine and Lindell Boulevards. It moved along Westminister Place and smashed into Central High School where students had taken cover wherever they could.
This image shows an upscale home that was ripped to shreds by a tornado that struck St. Louis, Missouri on September 27, 1927. Image Credit-YouTube.
The principal took a headcount of students after the tornado passed but the count was several students short. Sadly that evening, a rescue crew found the bodies of five girls, ages 13 to 17, who had taken refuge in a biology lab.
Six other schools, including West Belle School, were severely damaged were an 11-year-old girl was killed by a collapsed wall. Brick houses were left crumpled in the affected areas. Roofs and sides of some newer homes were completely ripped apart.
The tornado cut through the district west of Grand Boulevard and Easton Avenue. In other parts of St. Louis, pedestrians were swept off their feet by the wind. Roofs were ripped off homes automobiles were blown about and trees were blown down or stripped of limbs. Wires and telephone poles were strewn all over. Power was lost and it would remain that way for days.
The image shows telephone poles that were snapped like matchsticks by a tornado that struck St. Louis, Missouri on September 29, 1927. Image Credit-KETC-YouTube.
The only silver lining was that the downtown area of St. Louis was not seriously impacted by the tornado but many homes on Lindell Boulevard were totally destroyed.
The tornado completed its ill-fated six-mile journey through St. Louis before crossing the Mississippi River into Illinois, where eight more people died, including Venice, Illinois Police Chief Michael Clifford. Six men died as they were scalded by molten metal at a Granite City foundry.
An image showing a September 30th newspaper headline and area of destruction in St. Louis Missouri following a tornado that struck the city on September 29, 1927. Image Credit- Louis- Post Dispatch Archives.
The Grim Aftermath
Many residents in St. Louis and the surrounding area were not aware of the tornado or its incredible damage until later in the day when it was broadcast on the radio. There was a story of one boy who came home from Central High School looking disheveled and he was scolded by his mother. It’s truly amazing how quickly any kind of news travels today.
The area that was impacted by the tornado was equal to 600 city blocks. All police and fire personnel were dispatched to the scene but the numbers were inadequate to patrol the area. The Army and National Guard were called to aid in rescue, recovery and just to maintain order. They were all under orders to shoot any looters. There was some looting but the situation remained under control.
The image shows Army and National Guard troops who were called to patrol the streets of St. Louis following a severe tornado that struck on September 29, 1927. Image Credit- KETC on YouTube.
A few hundred families spent the night at the National Guard Armory which was set up as a shelter. The Red Cross supplied food and other materials and set up a relief station. Mayor Victor Miller organized a citizens’ relief committee. Several fires broke out and they were extinguished by firemen as a steady light rain fell. There were three fatalities, all women, and the bodies were removed from the burning buildings.
A large number of buildings including seven schools and four hospitals suffered damage, among the 5,000 structures that were razed. The Columbia School was seriously damaged as was Central High. St. Louis University High was unroofed. Central High School was subsequently rebuilt later. The city Sanitarium, the Shriners Hospital, the Mullanphy Hospital, and the Washington University Medical School were also severely damaged.
An entire block of three-story apartment houses at Maryland and Whittier was destroyed. The Rozelle Gotel, Sarah McPherson Garage, Polar Wave Ice plant, and Nugent’s branch dry goods store were seriously damaged.
Shocked residents sit in front of their homes that were destroyed by a tornado that struck St., Louis, Missouri on September 29, 1927. Image Credit-KETC – YouTube.
Odds And Ends
The tornado struck with no warning, although a few saw signs that a bad storm was coming in and there was at least some action taken. The death toll from this horrific event was 84 and nearly 700 were injured. Around 5,000 homes and businesses were destroyed. The damage total was estimated to be around 22 million (1927 dollars) which would amount to just under two billion dollars today.
The intensity of the tornado was estimated to be an F3 on the original Fujita Scale but there is some conjecture that the damage suggests an F4 rating in some locations.
After the storm, many sightseers roamed the streets to see the damage. The police chief was incensed at the situation and quipped “We will give them a shovel and put them to work.” A week later a dog led searchers to his master, William Sarnoff, whose body was found beneath two feet of broken brick on McPherson Avenue.
A U.S. Weather Bureau report indicated that the tornado formed from one of a group of thunderstorms that had moved northeastward from Arkansas to Missouri ahead of a cold front.
Although the tornado missed the Weather Bureau office, they did report a peak wind of 90 mph at 1:03 p.m. and the average wind velocity between 1 and 1:05 p.m. was 72 mph. So, some of the damage resulted from strong straight-line winds. Nearly one inch of rain fell during the day.
