August 19th, 2026 Local News
St. Francois Co., Mo. (KFMO) - Severe thunderstorms swept through the Parkland Friday evening, prompting tornado warnings across several counties and leaving behind widespread tree damage and scattered power outages.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Washington and St. Francois counties at approximately 9:15 p.m. As the storm tracked eastward, tornado warnings were extended to include Ste. Genevieve and northern Madison counties. The severe weather threat continued until about 10:30 p.m.
Most of the reported damage occurred in St. Francois County, where strong winds toppled trees, damaged structures and knocked down power lines.
Among the reported damage:
- A gazebo was lifted and destroyed in Doe Run.
- Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped throughout the county.
- Power lines were reported down near Plum Creek Road and Highway OO near Libertyville.
- A tree blocked Highway N south of Bismarck near Iron Mountain Lake.
- A tree fell across U.S. Highway 67 north of St. Francois State Park.
- Trees blocked Davis Crossing at Highway 32, Buck Mountain Road in Doe Run, Berry Road near Valles Mill, St. Francois Road in Terre Du Lac, and the entrance road to St. Joe State Park.
- Tree debris was reported on Boyce Street in Farmington.
- A home in Farmington sustained minor siding and gutter damage.
- A 14-inch diameter tree snapped halfway up the trunk and blocked Route 32 in Farmington.
- Water was reported over a roadway near Potosi.
Despite the extensive damage, no injuries were reported.
The storms also caused scattered power outages across the region. Ameren Missouri reported more than 1,000 customers without electricity in St. Francois and Washington counties during the height of the storm. More than 100 customers in Farmington also experienced power outages.
Cleanup efforts continued Saturday as utility crews worked to restore power and highway crews removed fallen trees and debris from roadways across the Parkland.