Tornado Moves A Jet, Collapses Roof At St Louis Airport

A possible tornado made a direct hit on St Louis Lambert Field last night, pushing a Southwest jet away from a gate (the immediate aftermath seen in the video above), shattering windows, crushing a roof, and causing enough damage to shut down the airport.

As you can see in the video shot by a traveller at the airport, strong winds appear to push a Southwest jet away from the extended boarding ramp. Smartly, as soon as windows start to collapse the videographer moves away so you only catch a glimpse of what happened.

Video from a helicopter crew this morning shows the roof entirely collapsed in Terminal 1/Concourse C. Although local news sources say the airport will be closed “indefinitely”, Delta is reporting their operations will resume on Monday. Despite the significant damage, injuries were minor.

It hasn’t yet been determined if this was a tornado or a similar event such as a downburst or merely strong straight-line winds and it could take as long as two days for a classification. If you were supposed to fly through St. Louis this weekend and now have a delayed flight the distinction probably isn’t important.

Photo: Getty Images