DEFIANCE, Mo. — It’s been one year since an EF-3 tornado touched down in Defiance, Mo. injuring two residents and killing one. December tornadoes happen in the region and are not as rare as one might think.
Dec. 10, 2021, was an unusually warm day for the time of the year, with temperatures in the upper 60s. The forecast called for thunderstorms during the evening and while the risk of severe weather and tornadoes existed, no one would have thought of this magnitude.
National Weather Service St. Louis Warning Coordination Meteorologist Kevin Deitsch, explains the meteorological setup of that day: “We had a strengthening area of low pressure developing to our northwest.”
Adding, “Ahead of it, very unusually warm and moist air advanced north from the Gulf of Mexico. This combined with a cold front to develop super cell thunderstorms.”
Around 7:30 p.m., the tornado sirens went off in St. Charles County, Mo. as a severe thunderstorm roars outdoors. Just north of the town of Augusta, in the southwestern part of the county, a tornado touched down and began its track to the northeast.
Residents in the town of Defiance, about eight miles away, heard the sirens. Some heed the warning and head to their safe spaces, such as a basement or lower level. Patrons at Good News Brewing Company, located on the main drag in Defiance, were ushered into interior rooms under the direction of employees.
Unbeknownst to them, this tornado would become deadly as it traveled 25 miles from Augusta through Defiance, passing over the Missouri River into St. Louis County, just missing a popular Chesterfield shopping mall by mere miles, before lifting back into the clouds south of St. Charles City.
The National Weather Service in St. Louis surveyed damage along the path, classifying it as an EF-3 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Winds likely reached 165 mph along its track, enough to rip two homes clear off their foundations.
Two elderly people lived in one of the homes, and unfortunately, one person died.
I visited the region six months after the tornado and the only remnants that a tornado had touched down in this area included mangled and twisted trees and branches. I saw ongoing construction in the place of one home, but no other scenes of destruction.
Tornadoes in Missouri happen. It’s not uncommon for touchdowns in the state. On average, the St. Louis region sees six tornadoes touch down each year. However, what may have caught people off-guard about this tornado was the time of the year.
December tornadoes happen here, but not as much as spring tornadoes. In fact, as Deitsch explains: “Tornadoes are most frequent from March through June, but they can (and have) occurred every single month of the year.”
This statistic doesn’t mean residents should let their guard down just because Mother Nature says it is almost winter. In fact, there have been some other notable tornadoes that occurred in December.
Take the New Year’s Eve 2010 tornado outbreak. 12 separate tornadoes touched down in the St. Louis region, ranging from EF-0 to EF-3 intensity. The strongest tornado touched down in Jefferson County traveling 6.65 miles northeast through St. Louis County.
Some might remember this as the Sunset Hills tornado that injured six people and killed one person with widespread damage across town.
Deitsch notes that most tornadoes in our area as the weaker kind, the EF-0 to EF-1 intensity. That being said, he adds, “We do notice in the winter time that IF tornadoes occur, they tend to be stronger (EF2+) than in the warm season.”
Tornadoes can happen any time of the year in this region as witnessed. Preparation remains essential, including knowing what to do when the area is under a warning and the tornado sirens activate. Have that preparedness kit stocked and ready to go should you need it.
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