Tornado: First New Year's Eve and Now Good Friday

Tornado-like winds roared through the St. Louis area Friday evening, leaving a trail of damage reminiscent of the Sunset Hills destruction from a New Year's Eve tornado.

Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency at about 12:45 a.m. Saturday after Lambert International Airport in St. Louis closed indefinitely from damage suffered in the storm.

Maryland Heights, Ferguson and Bridgeton—in addition to the airport—apparently took the brunt of the damage Friday evening, according to The Weather Channel.

Power was out after the high winds struck. Huge windows shattered at the airport, parked cars were roughed up, a shuttle bus blown about teetered on the edge of the top floor of a parking garage. Highways 270 and 70 were littered with debris and traffic snarled, according to KMOV4 television.

Houses lost parts of roofs, trees and power lines were downed, according to first reports. The American Red Cross set up shelters early on at the Maryland Heights Community Center along McKelvey Road for those without power.

Sirens warning to take cover began sounding in the St. Louis area by about 7 p.m. Friday as officials monitored the weather threat.

By about 8:40 p.m. the menace had crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois, according to weather officials. 

Sunset Hills was struck by tornado winds New Year's Eve, destroying some 20 houses and other buildings. The city and homeowners are still cleaning up from the 150mph wind damage.

Sunset Hills Alderwoman Dee Baebler, whose Ward 1 residents were hardest hit by the New Year's Eve storm, said she finds survivors coping anew with each threat of a tornado.