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ST. LOUIS — The severe storm that hit St. Louis on May 16 had all the ingredients to create the now-historic deadly tornado , according to a newly released report.

National Weather Service meteorologists for the St. Louis region released the first in-depth report on the lead-up and aftermath of the tornado on Monday, exactly one month after the twister left five people dead and over $1.6 billion in damages .

The St. Louis region was just one part of a large-scale severe thunderstorm outbreak across the Middle Mississippi River and Ohio River Valleys, according to the report. NWS's radars showed the coming thunderstorm morphed into a severe supercell in under two hours.

"As the supercell continued eastward across St. Louis County, significant hail became less common in its core that began to surge forward, quickly increasing low-level rotation," the report said. "The persistent and increasing rotation allowed a deadly EF3 tornado to form and track east-northeastward 23 miles through north St. Louis City into Granite City and Edwardsville, leaving a path of damage and destruction."

The tornado reached peak strength in North St. Louis City with winds as high as 152 mph, despite continuing northeast through the Metro East, according to the report. More than 5,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed along the nearly 23-mile-long tornado track.

It was the first violent and deadly tornado to hit the city since 1959, when an F4 tornado killed 21 people and left hundreds injured.

Halfway through 2025, the St. Louis region is close to making history for its number of annual tornadoes , according to the report.