Tornadoes · United States · Missouri
1957 tornadoes in Missouri
41 tornadoes touched down in Missouri in 1957, 17 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 19 people and injured 134. 1 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F040 to 72 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2113 to 157 mph
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.
F3158 to 206 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5261 to 318 mph
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.
Every tornado in Missouri in 1957
January 22 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 22 | 11:40 AM GMT-6 | F1 | Dunklin | 1.0 | 100 | 1 | $5,000 to $50,000 |
April 3 2 tornadoes
April 25 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 25 | 1:30 AM GMT-6 | F1 | Madison | 0.5 | 500 | $5,000 to $50,000 |
April 26 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 26 | 5:30 PM GMT-6 | F0 | Barton | 0.2 | 10 | under $50 |
May 9 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9 | 4:30 PM GMT-5 | F2 | Saint Louis | 9.3 | 150 | $5,000 to $50,000 |
May 13 4 tornadoes
May 20 2 tornadoes
May 21 10 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21 | 4:00 PM GMT-5 | F3 | Dent | 10.2 | 440 | 2 | $5,000 to $50,000 | |
| May 21 | 4:15 PM GMT-5 | F2 | Taney | 14.5 | 500 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| May 21 | 4:30 PM GMT-5 | F1 | Wayne | 13.0 | 33 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| May 21 | 4:45 PM GMT-5 | F1 | Reynolds | 0.2 | 17 | under $50 | ||
| May 21 | 4:45 PM GMT-5 | F3 | Washington | 22.2 | 400 | 8 | 50 | $5 million to $50 million |
| May 21 | 4:53 PM GMT-5 | F4 | Carter | 9.1 | 500 | 7 | 75 | $50,000 to $500,000 |
| May 21 | 6:00 PM GMT-5 | F2 | Cape Girardeau | 5.1 | 500 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| May 21 | 6:30 PM GMT-5 | F2 | Lewis | 7.4 | 400 | 2 | $50,000 to $500,000 | |
| May 21 | 12:45 AM GMT-5 | F1 | Dunklin | 23.7 | 33 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| May 21 | 12:45 AM GMT-5 | F1 | Dunklin | 0.1 | 10 | $500 to $5,000 |
May 22 3 tornadoes
June 7 2 tornadoes
June 12 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 12 | 2:15 PM GMT-5 | F0 | Douglas | 0.2 | 10 | $50 to $500 |
June 14 2 tornadoes
June 15 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 15 | 7:00 PM GMT-5 | F1 | Shelby | 0.2 | 20 | $500 to $5,000 |
June 22 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 22 | 1:00 AM GMT-5 | F2 | Jackson | 19.8 | 10 | $50 to $500 |
July 21 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 21 | 4:30 PM GMT-5 | F0 | Mercer | 0.8 | 10 | $500 to $5,000 |
July 29 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 29 | 7:15 PM GMT-5 | F1 | Maries | 0.2 | 10 | $50 to $500 |
December 18 6 tornadoes
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 18 | 12:30 PM GMT-6 | F1 | Lincoln | 0.3 | 100 | 1 | $5,000 to $50,000 | |
| December 18 | 1:50 PM GMT-6 | F2 | Saint Francois | 2.7 | 33 | 1 | 1 | $5,000 to $50,000 |
| December 18 | 3:00 PM GMT-6 | F2 | Perry | 0.5 | 50 | $50,000 to $500,000 | ||
| December 18 | 4:45 PM GMT-6 | F2 | Cape Girardeau | 15.8 | 700 | 1 | $50,000 to $500,000 | |
| December 18 | 5:00 PM GMT-6 | F2 | Perry | 1.0 | 10 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| December 18 | 5:22 PM GMT-6 | F2 | Scott | 0.5 | 33 | 3 | 1 | $500,000 to $5 million |
December 19 1 tornado
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 19 | 4:10 PM GMT-6 | F2 | Dade | 6.6 | 100 | $5,000 to $50,000 |
Crossed into Missouri
Tornadoes that touched down in a neighboring state and ran into Missouri. They are counted under the state they began in.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20 | 7:15 PM GMT-5 | F5 | Ruskin Heights tornado, Missouri | 69.4 | 440 | 44 | 207 | $500,000 to $5 million |
Nearby
Every tornado in Missouri since 1950Warnings in force in MissouriThe 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.