Quick, vicious storm rips St. Louis area

ST. LOUIS -- A vicious spring storm walloped St. Louis and parts of eastern Missouri on Tuesday, knocking out power to thousands, flooding interstates, shattering windows, and postponing the Cardinals game.

Around 2:30 p.m., the skies over St. Louis grew dark as night, and unleashed torrents of rain, high winds, and hail as large as golf balls. There were no tornado sightings, but the National Weather Service issued tornado warnings south of St. Louis, including in Ste. Genevieve County.

The violent storm was not the same system that produced tornadoes in northwest Missouri Monday night. But it was associated with the same cold front that clashed with hot, humid air from the south.