5 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 19 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:37 UTC.
5 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Golfball-size hail was reported by the county sheriff's office in Harrisonville and an inch and a quarter size hail was reported in Freeman by the local fire department.
Severe weather spotters reported golfball-size hail from severe thunderstorms at Gunn City and about 7 miles northeast of Pleasant Hill.
A spotter just south of the Lafayette County line about 10 miles north of Elm reported golfball-size hail during a severe thunderstorm while another spotter observed dime-size hail in Kingsville.
Golfball-size hail was reported in a severe thunderstorm just off Z Highway in Chapel Hill.
A second round of severe thunderstorms produced large hail over portions of Cass County. A HAM Radio operator reported golfball-size hail at Gunn City.
A Bates County citizen reported a 60 MPH wind gust at Merwin. No significant damage was reported.
Severe thunderstorm winds blew down an old barn at Hughesville.
Severe thunderstorm winds were observed at 75 MPH in Butler. Several large trees were knocked down with the strong winds. In Rich Hill the thunderstorm winds knocked down power lines. The same severe thunderstorm produced dime-size hail as reported by the Rich Hill Police Department.
Lightning struck a power line which carries a surge of electricity into a a Richmond home during a thunderstorm. The electrical surge sparked a fire which resulted in about 10,000 dollars in damage to the home. No one was injured in the fire.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Missouri in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, May 1997
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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5587019, 5587018, 5587021, 5587024, 5587020, 5587022, 5587025, 5587023, 5587017.