The 1871 St. Louis tornado was an F3tornado that touched down in St. Louis, Missouri on Wednesday, March 8, 1871, at 3:00 pm. It traveled east-northeast at 70 miles per hour (113 km/h), cutting a swath up to 250 yards (229 m) wide and 5 miles (8 km) long into East St. Louis, Illinois. The tornado was on the ground for 3 minutes.[1] A total of 30 homes were destroyed and 30 severely damaged. Six railroad depots were destroyed with eight deaths in them. One death occurred on a bridge. Overall, 9 people were killed, 60 injured, and $1,500,000 damage occurred. It is one of four tornadoes (1896, 1927, 1959) that have ripped through the central business district of St. Louis.[2]
