Portions of Monroe County were placed under a tornado warning as a severe storm barreled through the region early Sunday evening.

Fortunately, the only reports locally were of heavy rains and some strong winds that took down a few trees and power lines.

However, Columbia had a close call with a weak tornado that sent many residents into their basements or other safe spaces.

The National Weather Service confirmed that an EF1 tornado touched down at 5:48 p.m. southeast of Butler Hill and Tesson Ferry roads in south St. Louis County, traveling east for nearly nine miles through Mehlville and Oakville before crossing the Mississippi River into Illinois and then lifting at 6:02 p.m.

An EF1 tornado has winds ranging from 86 to 110 miles per hour, which can still cause quite a bit of damage.

At about 6:10 p.m., the Columbia Fire Department assisted Columbia police and EMS in responding to the report of a large tree that fell on an SUV with occupants inside.

Police said a 2015 Chevy SUV was driving on Ghent Road when a large tree was uprooted and landed on the vehicle. The driver of the SUV was Eric Woodcock, 41, of Columbia, with his wife Jennifer and their two young children riding as passengers.

Firefighters helped pry open a door to the SUV so all occupants could safely exit the heavily damaged vehicle. Jennifer and one of the Woodcock children were transported by ambulance to Mercy Hospital South in St. Louis County for treatment of injuries described as minor in nature.

The heaping helping of rainfall is something residents have been quite familiar with of late. Following a rainy April, May has also seen its share of precipitation. 

Elsewhere in the region on Sunday evening, fire department volunteers joined Monroe County Emergency Management Agency officials, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department and road district personnel in handling multiple calls of trees on roadways and/or on power lines in the Fults, Maeystown and Renault areas.

A downed tree was cleared from the roadway in the 2500 block of Sutterville Road, with another similar situation near the intersection of Fults and Brandt roads. 

A tree was also over the roadway in the 4200 block of JJ Road.

Another tree was down in the area of LL and Wetzler roads east of Maeystown. 

The Prairie du Rocher Fire Department responded to a tree on a power line in the 5100 block of VV Road.

For a change, it looks like a dry week for Monroe County – though there is a 50 percent chance of rain again Saturday.