A severe weather event developed across the Midwest and southern Great Plains on April 19 as a dynamic low pressure system tracked across the area.

Thunderstorms began in the late afternoon and early evening with large hail and several tornadoes.

Overnight, the squall line tracked eastward with widespread wind damage[5] and many embedded tornadoes across several states.

Louis International Airport, with injuries reported; airplanes were damaged from the high winds and terminal windows blew out.

Following assessments by the local National Weather Service, it was determined that a single tornado tracked for 22 miles (35 km) through parts of Missouri and Illinois.

[13] This powerful tornado began near Creve Coeur Lake at 7:59 p.m. CDT (00:59 UTC)[149] and moved into Maryland Heights, producing EF3 damage.

The tornado continued eastward and reached EF4 intensity in Bridgeton, where a number of houses were completely destroyed.

The tornado then moved into the Berkeley neighborhood where it continued to produce EF2 damage, tearing the roofs from several homes.