Not Again? Twister Whacks Area; Thousands Without Power in Metro Area

Another twister and high winds roared through Sunset Hills, Crestwood and Concord Village areas near midnight Sunday, leaving thousands without electrical power Monday.

By Monday night, all but 20 customers in the Sunset Hills and Crestwood areas were in the dark.

A tornado reportedly touched down in Concord. Traffic lights were out at Lindbergh and Rott Road during Monday's early morning rush hour.

Sunset Hills Mayor Bill Nolan said broken trees limb dangled dangerously over new fencing around the city swimming pool but public works got them down in the early morning hours. The city just replaced the costly fencing destroyed after a New Year's Eve twister hit. 

Ronnie's 20 Cine stand-alone sign on Lindbergh Boulevard was whacked and downed by the 60 mph winds that moved through. Cinema staff said there was no word whether the sign would be replaced. Moviegoers said the letterboard-style sign went up in 1998 when Ronnie's re-opened with 20 theaters and became somewhat of a landmark along Lindbergh, listing the current movies.

Ameren power outage maps showed 3,000 without power in Sunset Hills and Crestwood areas shortly after the storm whipped through about 11:30 p.m. Sunday.

In Richmond Heights, power lines were downed across Big Bend Road between Wise and Clayton roads.

A squall line and some hail moved through the area, lasting about 10 minutes, from the southwest to the northeast in the metro area starting about 11 p.m.

So-called straight line winds moved through Sunset Hills and Crestwood with lightening but little thunder, according to a National Weather Service advisory.

Tree limbs were down in the areas surrounding Sunset Hills and Crestwood, according to eyewitnesses.

Temperatures soared to nearly 70 degrees late Sunday night, swiftly dropping to 53 degrees as the storm blew through. Temperatures dropped to the 30's by dawn.

In St. Albans, Missouri, cedar trees snapped in half and were uprooted in a resident's backyard. She saw patio furniture flying through the air outside her back window when the storm hit.

On New Year's Eve, Sunset Hills suffered severe damage from 150mph tornado winds about noon and 10 homes were destroyed, others damaged. No one was killed. A swath of Crestwood homes lost portions of their roofs in the New Year's Eve tornado. Trees were snapped in two and uprooted in Watson Trail Park by Sunset Hills City Hall in the New Year's Eve storm.