Hail and Damaging Winds in Missouri, October 23, 2001

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Missouri, October 23, 2001
Start: 2001-10-23T13:35
End: 2001-10-23T13:40
Location: Missouri

October 23, 2001 · NWS LSX · 3 events in 1 county or zone

A severe thunderstorm dropped 1 inch hail and caused wind damage in the Fredericktown area. The hail accumulated up to 2 to 3 inches on the ground in some areas.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $210,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS LSX wrote it up.

A severe thunderstorm dropped 1 inch hail and caused wind damage in the Fredericktown area. The hail accumulated up to 2 to 3 inches on the ground in some areas. Some power lines were downed in Fredericktown. Just east of town, several large trees were downed one of which fell on and damaged a mobile home. At the Fredericktown Intermediate School, wind tore off a roof of a modular classroom, knocked down 5 trees and smashed windows on three teacher's cars.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS St. Louis, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 23, 1:00 PM CST, 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 23, 1:00 PM CST, 35 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
200 PM CDT TUE OCT 23 2001

SHWRS/TSTMS CONT TO MOVE ACRS THE ERN OZARKS IN AREA OF HIER MSTR.
AREA IN FVRBL RGN OF RRQ OF UPR JET.  ETA FCSTS DECENT DVRGC ACRS SE
MO THIS EVE AND THEN MOVES AREA INTO KY BY MIDN.

STRG COLD FNT WILL MOVE ACRS THE AREA ON WED.  AVN AND ETA ARE FAILY
CLOSE AT 12Z WITH FNT FCST TO BE NR A UIN-JLN LN.  BY EVE THE FNT
WILL BE WELL BYND THE BOOTHEEL.  MESOETAS TEMPS LOOK RNSBL AND WILL
FOLLOW FOR FCST ON WED.  MODELS SUGGSTS BEST SVR POTENTIAL FOR WED
WILL BE ACRS SE MO INTO E CNTRL IL.

IN THE EXTNDD, THE MRF, NEW UKMO, AND MONS RUN OF ECMWF ARE VERY
SMLR AT H5 FOR SAT MRNG WITH HUGH RDG ACRS THE ROCKIES AND DEEP TRO
ALG THE APPLACHIANS.  12Z AVN AND UKMO MOVE TROF OFF THE E COAST BY
SUN MRNG WHILE 00Z MRF AND MONS ECMWF HOLD TROF ALF THE E COAST.
AS A RESULT, MUCH WARMER AIR AT 850 SPREADS ACROS THE RGN BY SUN
WITH AVN FCSTG +6C ACRS CNTRL MO WHILE OLD MRF FCST -8C. LRG
CANADIAN SFC HI SLIDES DWN INTO THE RGN AND IS FCST TO BE CNTRD OVR
E MO NOON SAT.  THIS HI COMES RIGHT OFF THE ICEFIELDS PARKWAY OF
ALBERTA.

.STL...NONE

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 132 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:32 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Madison

When: October 23, 1:35 PM CST
Where: Madison County, Fredericktown
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.550, -90.300

Thunderstorm Wind, Madison

When: October 23, 1:35 PM CST
Where: Madison County, Fredericktown
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph)
Property damage: $200,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.550, -90.300

Thunderstorm Wind, Madison

When: October 23, 1:40 PM CST
Where: Madison County, 2 mi E of Fredericktown
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.550, -90.267

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Missouri in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Missouri, October 2001

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5270681, 5270682, 5270750.