Tornadoes in Missouri
2,656 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 34.9 a year, 10th of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 368 people and injured 4,108. 35 were rated F4 or EF4 and above, 1 of them F5 or EF5.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The deadliest in Missouri
- EF5, Newton and Jasper counties, MissouriMay 22, 2011
- F4, Saint Louis, City of Saint Louis and Madison counties, Missouri and IllinoisFebruary 10, 1959
- F4, Pemiscot County, MissouriMarch 21, 1952
- F3, Washington and Saint Francois counties, MissouriMay 21, 1957
- F3, Newton, Lawrence, Greene and Christian counties, MissouriMay 4, 2003
- F4, Carter County, MissouriMay 21, 1957
- F4, Franklin, Saint Louis, Saint Clair and Clinton counties, Missouri and IllinoisFebruary 24, 1956
- EF2, Bollinger and Cape Girardeau counties, MissouriApril 5, 2023
- F3, Barton, Cedar, Polk and Hickory counties, MissouriMay 4, 2003
- EF2, Saint Louis, City of Saint Louis and Madison counties, Missouri and IllinoisMay 16, 2025
- F3, Randolph and Monroe counties, MissouriMarch 12, 2006
- F3, Camden County, MissouriMay 4, 2003
The strongest
- EF5, Newton and Jasper counties, MissouriMay 22, 2011
- F4, Harrison, Decatur, Wayne, Lucas and Monroe counties, Missouri and IowaJune 7, 1984
- F4, Franklin, Saint Louis, Saint Clair and Clinton counties, Missouri and IllinoisFebruary 24, 1956
- F4, Dunklin, New Madrid and Mississippi counties, MissouriApril 22, 1981
- F4, Linn, Macon and Knox counties, MissouriApril 21, 1967
- EF4, Perry, Randolph, Jackson and Franklin counties, Missouri and IllinoisFebruary 28, 2017
- F4, Ray, Carroll and Chariton counties, MissouriMay 4, 1977
- F4, Carter and Butler counties, MissouriApril 24, 2002
- F4, Monroe County, MissouriMarch 12, 2006
- F4, Macon and Shelby counties, MissouriApril 23, 1975
- F4, Washington and Iron counties, MissouriDecember 21, 1967
- F4, Perry and Jackson counties, Missouri and IllinoisSeptember 22, 2006
The longest paths
- F4, Harrison, Decatur, Wayne, Lucas and Monroe counties, Missouri and IowaJune 7, 1984
- F2, Perry, Randolph, Perry, Jefferson and Wayne counties, Missouri and IllinoisMarch 6, 1961
- F2, Boone, Monroe, Shelby and Clark counties, MissouriApril 30, 1954
- F3, Barton, Cedar, Polk and Hickory counties, MissouriMay 4, 2003
- F4, Franklin, Saint Louis, Saint Clair and Clinton counties, Missouri and IllinoisFebruary 24, 1956
- F3, Worth, Gentry, Ringgold, Union, Clarke and Madison counties, Missouri and IowaApril 11, 2001
- F4, Dunklin, New Madrid and Mississippi counties, MissouriApril 22, 1981
- F4, Linn, Macon and Knox counties, MissouriApril 21, 1967
- F2, New Madrid, Dunklin and Mississippi counties, MissouriNovember 24, 1973
- EF3, Oregon, Sharp, Shannon, Izard, Randolph, Carter, Ripley, Reynolds, Stone and Butler counties, Missouri and ArkansasMarch 14, 2025
- F0, Barton, Dade, Cedar and Polk counties, MissouriMarch 12, 2006
- F3, Sainte Genevieve and Perry counties, MissouriMarch 11, 2006
The costliest
- EF5, Newton and Jasper counties, MissouriMay 22, 2011
- EF2, Saint Louis, City of Saint Louis and Madison counties, Missouri and IllinoisMay 16, 2025
- EF4, Saint Louis, City of Saint Louis and Madison counties, Missouri and IllinoisApril 22, 2011
- EF3, Miller, Cole and Callaway counties, MissouriMay 22, 2019
- EF3, Pulaski County, MissouriDecember 31, 2010
- EF3, Saint Charles and Saint Louis counties, MissouriMay 31, 2013
- F2, Clay County, MissouriMay 4, 2003
- F3, Lawrence, Greene and Christian counties, MissouriMarch 12, 2006
- F3, Barton, Cedar, Polk and Hickory counties, MissouriMay 4, 2003
- F3, Newton, Lawrence, Greene and Christian counties, MissouriMay 4, 2003
- F4, Carter and Butler counties, MissouriApril 24, 2002
- F4, Clay County, MissouriMay 4, 2003
The biggest days in Missouri
Every year
| Year | Tornadoes | Deaths | Injuries | F4 and above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 96 | 13 | 53 | |
| 2024 | 94 | 7 | ||
| 2023 | 21 | 5 | 14 | |
| 2022 | 14 | |||
| 2021 | 46 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2020 | 19 | |||
| 2019 | 63 | 3 | 38 | |
| 2018 | 46 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2017 | 81 | 1 | 33 | 1 |
| 2016 | 18 | |||
| 2015 | 47 | |||
| 2014 | 46 | 5 | ||
| 2013 | 48 | 10 | ||
| 2012 | 29 | 6 | 70 | |
| 2011 | 77 | 158 | 1180 | 2 |
| 2010 | 63 | 5 | 19 | |
| 2009 | 44 | 3 | 11 | |
| 2008 | 94 | 4 | 42 | |
| 2007 | 42 | 3 | 5 | |
| 2006 | 96 | 11 | 144 | 2 |
| 2005 | 39 | 1 | 9 | |
| 2004 | 71 | 7 | 27 | 1 |
| 2003 | 80 | 16 | 146 | 1 |
| 2002 | 28 | 4 | 61 | 1 |
| 2001 | 39 | 1 | 12 | |
| 2000 | 27 | |||
| 1999 | 40 | 12 | ||
| 1998 | 23 | 18 | ||
| 1997 | 12 | 1 | ||
| 1996 | 29 | 14 | ||
| 1995 | 35 | 20 | ||
| 1994 | 34 | 2 | 4 | |
| 1993 | 43 | 7 | ||
| 1992 | 23 | 4 | ||
| 1991 | 17 | 2 | 64 | 1 |
| 1990 | 31 | 45 | ||
| 1989 | 13 | |||
| 1988 | 17 | 1 | 28 | |
| 1987 | 6 | 1 | ||
| 1986 | 17 | 1 | 34 | |
| 1985 | 13 | 5 | ||
| 1984 | 40 | 5 | 96 | 1 |
| 1983 | 22 | 1 | 35 | |
| 1982 | 74 | 3 | 68 | 1 |
| 1981 | 33 | 3 | 40 | 1 |
| 1980 | 10 | 48 | ||
| 1979 | 8 | 49 | 1 | |
| 1978 | 9 | 10 | ||
| 1977 | 17 | 3 | 59 | 2 |
| 1976 | 12 | 2 | 28 | |
| 1975 | 18 | 5 | 45 | 3 |
| 1974 | 20 | 8 | ||
| 1973 | 79 | 8 | 91 | 3 |
| 1972 | 11 | 15 | ||
| 1971 | 29 | 3 | 138 | |
| 1970 | 37 | 20 | 1 | |
| 1969 | 22 | 6 | 48 | 2 |
| 1968 | 28 | 8 | ||
| 1967 | 70 | 8 | 325 | 4 |
| 1966 | 37 | 36 | ||
| 1965 | 27 | 13 | ||
| 1964 | 20 | 2 | 42 | |
| 1963 | 15 | 1 | 5 | |
| 1962 | 20 | 3 | ||
| 1961 | 31 | 1 | 24 | |
| 1960 | 33 | 9 | ||
| 1959 | 30 | 21 | 351 | 2 |
| 1958 | 31 | 2 | 10 | |
| 1957 | 41 | 19 | 134 | 1 |
| 1956 | 22 | 6 | 41 | 1 |
| 1955 | 29 | 25 | ||
| 1954 | 33 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| 1953 | 6 | 1 | ||
| 1952 | 9 | 18 | 117 | 1 |
| 1951 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 1950 | 6 | 8 |
Every county in Missouri
A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 2,656. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.
Nearby
Warnings in force in MissouriForecast for your townThe live radar over Missouri
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.