1871 St. Louis tornado

{{Short description|American meteorological event}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox storm

| name = 1871 St. Louis tornado

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| formed = March 8, 1871 3:00 P.M. CDT (10:00 A.M. UTC)

| active = 3 minutes

| dissipated = March 8, 1871 3:03 P.M. CDT (10:03 A.M. UTC)

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| fujitascale = F3

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| total fatalities = 9 fatalities; 60 injured

| damages = $1.5 million

| affected = St. Louis, Missouri area

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}}

The 1871 St. Louis tornado was an F3 tornado that touched down in St. Louis, Missouri on Wednesday, March 8, 1871, at 3:00 pm. It traveled east-northeast at {{convert|70|mph|km/h|0}}, cutting a swath up to {{convert|250|yd|m|0}} wide and {{convert|5|mi|km|0}} long into East St. Louis, Illinois. The tornado was on the ground for 3 minutes.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gendisasters.com/missouri/21408/east-st-louis-mo-tornado-mar-1871|title=East St. Louis, MO Tornado, Mar 1871 {{!}} GenDisasters ... Genealogy in Tragedy, Disasters, Fires, Floods|website=www.gendisasters.com|language=en|access-date=2017-06-27}} A total of 30 homes were destroyed and 30 severely damaged. Six railroad depots were destroyed with eight deaths in them. One death occurred on a bridge. Overall, 9 people were killed, 60 injured, and $1,500,000 damage occurred. It is one of four tornadoes (1896, 1927, 1959) that have ripped through the central business district of St. Louis.{{Cite web|title = Missouri Climate Center|url = http://climate.missouri.edu/news/arc/apr2011.php|website = climate.missouri.edu|access-date = 2016-02-16}}