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ST. LOUIS, MO ( KPLR ) -
Severe weather left a section of Washington Avenue downtown closed for much of the afternoon. Heavy rain and high winds caused a plaster and particle board façade to peel off the side of the Renaissance Hotel. Witnesses say it was about 1:00pm when the first of two severe storms blew through the area. Firefighters believe it was a combination of water and wind that did the damage.
"The rain and the heavy winds apparently pealed off the east side of the building," St. Louis fire Captain Bob Keuss tells News 11. "It's a fake façade. It's made up of particle board with skim coat of plaster that's painted to look like the rest of the brick building."
One guest of a nearby hotel said the storm sounded like, "someone beating on the window with a hammer."
Another guest, Steve Sundeen, says he was on the phone in his room, looked out the window, "and the side of the building wasn't there. I wasn't sure if the building was on fire or what was going on."
About five stories worth of material fell to the street, but, amazingly, no one was hit by debris.
"We're very fortunate, particularly in this area around the convention center where you have a lot of conventioneers going back and forth between these buildings we're very lucky no one was injured," Keuss says.
A worker from across the street looked on in amazement.
"It's just amazing to me," Tracey Gandy says. "I can't believe. I can't believe that building looks like that right now. I had to take a picture of that building".
Huge old trees were blown down in the afternoon storm that rolled through the St. Louis area. In Ladue, trees blocked roads and streams turned into raging rivers when heavy rains pounded the area. Dozens of businesses and stores in Ladue lost power. Ladue Pharmacy stayed open to keep serving customers to make sure they got their medcine. Pharamacists filled out prescriptions by hand.
In Kirkwood a big tree came crashing down on a home owned by a 93 year old woman. Thanks to a neighbor she escaped with only a scratch on her hand. She was shook-up but told News 11 she was fine, she added, she's tough. Lightning bolts lit up the sky as the storm passed through St. Louis County. Not only were businesses left in the dark, so were homes and signal lights stopped working.
St. Louis County officials will remove a 40 foot by 40 foot section of a roof that literally blew off the St. Louis County Poilice Headquarters building in Clayton on Tuesday. A section of the roof was resting several feet over the edge of the roof as a crane was brought in to remove the damage. Police tape went up around the the site to keep pedestrians away. A concrete section remained underneath the damage so County officials reported only minimal leaks and expected temporary repairs by the end of the night.
Trees and power lines are reported down across the area. Click on weather to see the Weather, radar, satellite and more images.
Check for Power Outages from Ameren
Fire crews are being warned to expect gusts from 20-60 miles per hour.
"The rain and the heavy winds apparently pealed off the east side of the building," St. Louis fire Captain Bob Keuss tells News 11. "It's a fake façade. It's made up of particle board with skim coat of plaster that's painted to look like the rest of the brick building."
One guest of a nearby hotel said the storm sounded like, "someone beating on the window with a hammer."
Another guest, Steve Sundeen, says he was on the phone in his room, looked out the window, "and the side of the building wasn't there. I wasn't sure if the building was on fire or what was going on."
About five stories worth of material fell to the street, but, amazingly, no one was hit by debris.
"We're very fortunate, particularly in this area around the convention center where you have a lot of conventioneers going back and forth between these buildings we're very lucky no one was injured," Keuss says.
A worker from across the street looked on in amazement.
"It's just amazing to me," Tracey Gandy says. "I can't believe. I can't believe that building looks like that right now. I had to take a picture of that building".
Huge old trees were blown down in the afternoon storm that rolled through the St. Louis area. In Ladue, trees blocked roads and streams turned into raging rivers when heavy rains pounded the area. Dozens of businesses and stores in Ladue lost power. Ladue Pharmacy stayed open to keep serving customers to make sure they got their medcine. Pharamacists filled out prescriptions by hand.
In Kirkwood a big tree came crashing down on a home owned by a 93 year old woman. Thanks to a neighbor she escaped with only a scratch on her hand. She was shook-up but told News 11 she was fine, she added, she's tough. Lightning bolts lit up the sky as the storm passed through St. Louis County. Not only were businesses left in the dark, so were homes and signal lights stopped working.
St. Louis County officials will remove a 40 foot by 40 foot section of a roof that literally blew off the St. Louis County Poilice Headquarters building in Clayton on Tuesday. A section of the roof was resting several feet over the edge of the roof as a crane was brought in to remove the damage. Police tape went up around the the site to keep pedestrians away. A concrete section remained underneath the damage so County officials reported only minimal leaks and expected temporary repairs by the end of the night.
Trees and power lines are reported down across the area. Click on weather to see the Weather, radar, satellite and more images.
Check for Power Outages from Ameren
Fire crews are being warned to expect gusts from 20-60 miles per hour.
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