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7:45 p.m. — Preliminary reports to the National Weather Service from local officials, spotters and the general public included accounts of 70 mph wind gusts in Madison County, a handful of building collapses in Florissant, trees falling on cars in St. Ann and near Union, and hail measuring as much as 4 inches in diameter in Washington County.

Thousands of power outages

7:45 p.m. — At least three other ZIP codes in the immediate vicinity reported more than 1,000 outages each.

Another pocket of pronounced outages was a bit to the southwest, in the 63131 ZIP code, reaching from Town and Country to Huntleigh.

7:30 p.m. — Ameren said that more than 24,000 of its Missouri customers were without power, in addition to over 12,000 of its Illinois customers.

Data showed that more than 4,000 outages were in the 63033 ZIP code, which covers parts of Florissant and Black Jack.

More than 2,000 additional outages were in the 63136 ZIP code, covering Jennings and parts of Ferguson.

Weather warnings continue

7 p.m. — Even places sandwiched between a tornado warning zone to the north and another in Jefferson County to the south have their own hazards to contend with. A severe thunderstorm warning envelopes much of the metro area until 7:45 p.m.

"This storm will contain golf ball sized hail!" the NWS wrote on social media, adding that winds of up to 60 mph were another threat in that area.

Tornado warnings in St. Louis area

6:45 p.m. — The National Weather Service has issued several tornado warnings for the St. Louis region in the last half hour.

Around 6:30 p.m., a fresh line of storms produced another tornado warning for an area south of St. Louis, including the bulk of Jefferson County, after radar indicated a twister. That warning is in effect until 7:30 p.m. 

A different storm near St. Charles is tornado warned until 7:30 p.m. for areas of northeastern St. Charles County, northeastern St. Louis County, and northwest Madison County in Illinois.

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Flood warning for Meramec River

3:25 p.m. — The NWS issued a flood warning for the Meramec River near Arnold on Monday afternoon, based on both observed and expected rain. The until further notice, when "minor" flooding is forecast for the area.

The river stage Monday was 20.5 feet; it was forecast to rise above flood stage Wednesday afternoon. Flood stage for the river near Arnold is 24 feet; the crest early Friday is expected to be 28.7 feet, the warning said.

Earlier storms damaged prisons

3 p.m. — Storms that swept across Missouri Monday morning damaged correctional facilities in Moberly and Farmington. No injuries were reported, officials said. No injuries were reported at either prison.

The damage to the Moberly facility was “a little more extensive,� said Karen Pojmann, the communications director for the Missouri Department of Corrections.

“Lots and lots of trees were ripped up and knocked over,� she said, adding that electrical poles, windows, and the wall for the handball court were also broken or damaged.

Bagged lunches were brought to inmates instead of having them come to the dining hall, because “there’s debris everywhere,� Pojmann said. 

In Farmington, she said most of the damage seemed to be from hail, in the form of broken windows and dented vehicles.

Tornado warning in St. Charles County

2:50 p.m. — A was issued for the area of Wentzville, O'Fallon and St. Peters. The warning is in effect until 3:30 p.m. and is for a radar-indicated rotation. A continuation of that warning was issued for , until 4 p.m.

Tornado warning for St. Louis has expired

2:30 p.m. — The tornado warning for St. Louis has expired. The radar shows scattered storms, some with severe thunderstorm warnings. The tornado watch remains in place.

Tornado warnings continue

2:02 p.m. — The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for a storm moving through St. Louis County and St. Louis, north of Interstate 64. 

Flooding on I-70

1:45 p.m. — At 1:05 p.m., St. Louis police issued a traffic alert about reports of flooding on Interstate 70, between Riverview and Kingshighway, urging motorists to use an alternate route.

Electricity outages up after storm

1:35 p.m. — The area near Creve Coeur had about 6% of Ameren customers, about 700 households, out of power after a tornado-warned storm went through west St. Louis County.

The tornado warning was for radar-indicated rotation; the storm moved into the Metro East area. 

St. Louis County officials said before 2 p.m. that there were no reports of damage.

St. Louis-area schools, city offices to close early due to storms

Area under a tornado watch until 9 p.m.

1:30 p.m. — Monday thunderstorms in the St. Louis area will be capable of delivering a variety of threats in the late afternoon and evening, forecasters warn — including strong tornadoes, large hail and damaging gusts of wind.

A tornado warning issued about 12:30 p.m., expired by 1:50 p.m. for much of St. Louis County north of Highway 40 (Interstate 64) east through the Metro East. The warning was issued after a radar-indicated tornado was detected, the National Weather Service said. 

Before 1 p.m., the NWS issued a tornado watch for St. Louis and much of southern Missouri and Illinois until 9 p.m.

The watch said that “several tornadoes likely,� and scattered hail also “likely� to reach up to the size of tennis balls, according to the NWS.

By noon, a flood watch had taken effect for St. Louis and surrounding areas, set to last until 9 p.m., due to possible “flash flooding caused by excessive rainfall,� the NWS said.

In University City, the upper River Des Peres — a notoriously sensitive and flash flood-prone waterway — was nearly at a dry channel early Monday afternoon, even after overnight rain.

“If we get an inch and a half in an hour, there’s generally trouble,� said Bob Criss, a Washington University professor and University City resident who has extensively studied local flood issues. "We weren’t anywhere close last night."

Despite early storms, threat continues

11:45 a.m. — Despite some stormy activity Monday morning, “the most potent thunderstorms will occur this afternoon and evening,� said the National Weather Service’s local forecast office, in an analysis online.

The showers and thunderstorms are mainly expected between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m., the agency said, adding that heavy rainfall could accompany some of the storms.

The forecast has prompted the cancellation of some afterschool activities and services; St. Louis city offices that will close at 2 p.m. 

As of Monday morning, the St. Louis area was already blanketed in a severe thunderstorm watch issued by the NWS, with other advisories — like flood warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings — affecting pockets of the region.

The nearest flood warning is along the Mississippi River north of the city, with the waterway at minor flood stage in places like Grafton. The river is not expected to rise significantly higher before gradually subsiding.

Meanwhile, a flash flood warning was in effect for portions of central and northern Missouri, where some places had seen between 1 and 3 inches of rain, with up to 2 more inches possible.

St. Louis, however, is expected to see about 1.6 inches of rain from 7 a.m. Monday through the coming days. Over that same window, the highest rainfall totals are generally expected in areas south and east of the city, with 2.1 inches predicted for Farmington and 2.4 inches for Cape Girardeau, for instance.

Even though Tuesday’s forecast calls for mostly sunny conditions, the chances for some wet and stormy activity could linger, with showers and thunderstorms possible later in the day.

By Wednesday morning, though, the skies in the area should be clear, with a period of relatively cool and calm weather expected to follow in the storm’s wake, running through the weekend.