Sat Mar 15 05:10:00 UTC 2025: **Major Tornado Outbreak Sweeps Midwest, Threat Continues Eastward**
ST. LOUIS, MO – A powerful storm system brought a devastating tornado outbreak across the Midwest on Friday, March 14, 2025, causing significant damage in Missouri and prompting warnings across a vast area. Storm chasers captured footage of a tornado moving along the I-44 corridor west of St. Louis, and numerous other tornadoes touched down in communities including Rolla and Hartville. Dramatic video showed a tornado striking a gas station in Rolla, with two men narrowly escaping injury. Multiple tractor-trailer trucks were overturned along I-44.
While damage was extensive, no fatalities were reported in Missouri. However, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned that the worst was yet to come. Bill Bunting, operations branch chief for NOAA and the NWS Storm Prediction Center, described the storm as having “all the ingredients” for a highly explosive and potentially deadly event, with ample moisture, wind shear, and lift. Over 150 million people were under a heightened severe weather risk.
The storm system left nearly a quarter-million people without power across the Midwest and lower Mississippi River Valley. The Storm Prediction Center issued “Particularly Dangerous Situation” (PDS) Tornado Watches for parts of several states, indicating a high likelihood of multiple violent tornadoes.
The threat continues eastward. On Saturday, a high risk (Level 5 out of 5) of severe weather, including tornadoes, impacted the central Gulf Coast and Deep South, targeting major cities like Birmingham, Alabama and Jackson, Mississippi. By Sunday, the system is forecast to move across the entire U.S., with the threat of tornadoes shifting to the Virginia coast and Carolinas, along with damaging winds and large hail across a wide swathe of the eastern U.S. Emergency management officials urge residents in the affected areas to monitor weather reports and heed warnings.
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