ST. LOUIS — The National Weather Service has confirmed five tornadoes hit in parts of southeastern Missouri and southwestern Illinois as severe storms raked the region on Sunday.
The area saw two EF3 tornadoes, including one that tore through St. Mary, Missouri, across the Mississippi River and over parts of Chester, Illinois, the St. Louis office of the weather service said in a tweet late Tuesday.
The other EF3 tornado hit Fredericktown, Missouri.
An EF3 tornado is considered strong with winds ranging from 136-165 mph.
"It was so close that we felt the shake and it does sound like a freight train," Jennie Moore in Fredericktown told 5 On Your Side.
About a dozen Red Cross volunteers from the St. Louis area are helping to assess damage to homes. Another group of volunteers are getting supplies to the people of St. Mary and Fredericktown. The third group of volunteers will be working with the community of Chester. The American Red Cross is distributing cleaning supplies.
"We can build another dealership, we can’t replace a person," Fredericktown business owner Gerry Stephens said.
Two others were rated weak EF1 tornadoes, with wind speeds of 86-110 mph, and touched down on rural parts of Reynolds and Madison counties in Missouri. The fifth tornado near Richview, Illinois, rated weakest on the enhanced Fujita scale at EF0, with wind speeds of less than 85 mph.
The storms caused power outages and widespread damage to some trees, power structures and some buildings, but left no serious injuries.
