Some storm damage outside the St. Louis Zoo, which will be closed the rest of Friday and Saturday after a storm hit on Friday, May 16, 2025.
Rosalind Early, Post-Dispatch
4:50 p.m.: The St. Louis Zoo sustained damage from the storm, including downed trees “throughout the zoo,” said spokeswoman Erin Heffernan.
The zoo closed early on Friday after the arrival of the storm, and will remain closed on Saturday, because of the damages. Assessment of those damages was underway late Friday afternoon, but Heffernan said that there were no serious injuries to any people or animals — which had all been accounted for.
The Harlem Taproom building, at 4161 Dr Martin Luther King Drive, collapsed during a storm on Friday, May 16, 2025.
Hannah Wyman, Post-Dispatch
The Harlem Taproom building, at 4161 Dr Martin Luther King Drive, collapsed during a storm on Friday, May 16, 2025.
Hannah Wyman, Post-Dispatch
4:45 p.m.: About 20 people were inside the Harlem Taproom, 4161 Dr Martin Luther King Drive, when the storm came through and leveled the upper stories, leaving a heap on what is now the roof of the first floor. Wood, bricks and crumbled building parts collapsed in a pile, creating a void where the interior used to be. String lights sag on the torn red Harlem Taproom awning.
But nobody inside was hurt.
“We know what to do during storms,” said Ricky Matthews, the nephew of the owner. The group huddled in the back of the building.
“It sounded like a roaring train,” said a man, looking at where the building used to stand.
A few blocks away, Raymond Johnson searched through through rubble and bricks for his cell phone. He had been waiting at a bus stop when the storm hit.
There was a whistling sound and pouring rain and things spinning in the wind, Johnson said. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “I’ve only seen it on TV.”
The Shakespeare Festival stage is damaged after storms hit the St. Louis area and Forest Park on Friday, May 16, 2025.
Rosalind Early, Post-Dispatch
4:25 p.m.: The stage for Shakespeare Festival St. Louis’ upcoming show “Hamlet” was severely damaged in Friday’s storm. The custom-painted backdrop was torn off and a lighting tower fell over damaging lights.
Tom Ridgley, executive producer for the festival, says that the stage has never been severely damaged before since he joined the festival in 2018.
“We’ve had some pretty strong winds before, but this was clearly a tornado,” he says. Despite the damage, the festival is committed to putting on the show.
“This may delay tech rehearsal,” Ridgely said, but he was fairly certain it wouldn’t delay performances, which begin May 28.
Blank Slate and other companies, which work with the festival to build the stage and provide lighting and sound equipment were on hand assessing damage Tuesday afternoon. But organizers said they would not know the true extent of the damage until the weekend.
Trees across the power lines and tracks at the Waterman Boulevard bridge over the MetroLink tracks on Friday, May 16, 2025.
Courtesy of Richard Bose
4:22 p.m.: Richard Bose, 44, walked home from Washington University and saw trees down across the MetroLink tracks at the Waterman Boulevard bridge.
“I got lucky,” he said of his Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood home. “Just tree branches for me.”
4:18 p.m.: Because of storm damage, the St. Louis Zoo will be closed for the rest of Friday and all of Saturday.
4:15 p.m.: Terran Dampier, a resident in the city’s Fountain Park neighborhood, said the high winds quickly turned dangerous. She watched as the roof of her home, in the 4800 block of Fountain Avenue, was blown off and the top floor of a neighboring building was torn away.
“This is something I’ve never seen in my entire life,” a tearful Dampier said. “To say I’m scared is an understatement…I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do.”
4:15 p.m.: The Shakespeare Festival stage, under construction in Forest Park, has been damaged. The Muny has some damage to a smaller stage in the Purina Plaza.
4:05 p.m.: Power is out in large areas of the St. Louis region. In the 6108 zip code, more than 40% of Ameren customers had no electricity. In the 63112 zip code, east of University City at the St. Louis border, more than 58%. In the Granite City area, more than 76% of residents were out of power. Scroll down to see a map of the outages.
Use this link to send photos of damage or descriptions of damage, if you are safe.
3:55 p.m.: Patrons at the Harlem Taproom, at 4161 Martin Luther King Drive, heard a loud roaring noise.
Previously: A strong line of storms and heavy winds on Friday afternoon tore away roofs and walls, uprooted trees and toppled bricks across the the St. Louis area. Damage reports were trickling in from Clayton, University City, and the Central West End and other St. Louis city neighborhoods.
Kimberly Mims was in her car at Delmar Boulevard and Kingshighway when the storm rolled through.
“God is good. He spared my life,” she said. “My car spun around three times. It lifted me up and put me down.”
The National Weather Service says it is investigating reports of tornados, including a possible touch-down in Clayton. Schools in Brentwood and Maplewood-Richmond Heights lost power. Tree limbs littered streets in several cities.
And across the area, massive trees crushed cars, fences and powerlines.
Rooms in a two-story brick building at Enright and Euclid were open to the air after the exterior collapsed.
This story will be updated.
“We don’t see stuff like this in Oregon,” said Marty Bankhead of Oregon, who took out her phone to capture the sunshine breaking through storm clouds on Friday, May 16, 2025, in Kirkwood.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
“I grew up in this are so tornado sirens don’t faze me until I see an actual tornado,” said Isabella Click, 21, wearing a neon rain coat, who takes orders in a neon rain coat from a line of customers on Friday, May 16, 2025, at 7 Brew Coffee in Kirkwood.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
“I grew up in this are so tornado sirens don’t faze me until I see an actual tornado,” said Isabella Click, 21, wearing a neon rain coat, who takes orders in a neon rain coat from a line of customers on Friday, May 16, 2025, at 7 Brew Coffee in Kirkwood.
Laurie Skrivan, Post-Dispatch
Trees across the power lines and tracks at the Waterman Boulevard bridge over the MetroLink tracks on Friday, May 16, 2025.
Courtesy of Richard Bose
The Shakespeare Festival stage is damaged after storms hit the St. Louis area and Forest Park on Friday, May 16, 2025.
Rosalind Early, Post-Dispatch
Some storm damage outside the St. Louis Zoo, which will be closed the rest of Friday and Saturday after a storm hit on Friday, May 16, 2025.
Rosalind Early, Post-Dispatch
The Harlem Taproom building, at 4161 Dr Martin Luther King Drive, collapsed during a storm on Friday, May 16, 2025.
Hannah Wyman, Post-Dispatch
The Harlem Taproom building, at 4161 Dr Martin Luther King Drive, collapsed during a storm on Friday, May 16, 2025.
Hannah Wyman, Post-Dispatch
Traffic light poles are damaged at Kingshighway and Forest Park on Friday, May 16, 2025, after a storm hit the area.
Ethan Colbert, Post-Dispatch
A view of Kingshighway, looking south, on Friday, May 16, 2025, after a storm hit the area.
Ethan Colbert, Post-Dispatch
A downed tree crushed a car on Waterman Avenue in University City after storms rolled through the area on Friday, May 16, 2025.
Blythe Bernhard
A building was leveled at Enright and Euclid avenues in St. Louis after storms rolled through on Friday, May 16, 2025.
Michael Hamtil
A building was leveled at Enright and Euclid avenues in St. Louis after storms rolled through on Friday, May 16, 2025.
Michael Hamtil
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