Tornadoes · United States · Missouri

1984 tornadoes in Missouri

40 tornadoes touched down in Missouri in 1984, 14 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 5 people and injured 96. 1 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.

1983 1985 The whole country in 1984

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.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. 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.

  7. 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 1984

March 15 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 154:43 PM CSTF0Cole0.150under $50

April 3 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 33:15 PM CSTF1Boone0.327$50 to $500
April 34:50 PM CSTF0Moniteau0.527
April 35:18 PM CSTF0Dunklin1.027

April 26 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 2611:20 PM CSTF2Gentry7.0100$50,000 to $500,000

April 27 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 271:45 AM CSTF0Vernon0.350

April 29 8 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 295:40 PM CDTF0Cooper1.050
April 295:45 PM CDTF1Boone0.310$5,000 to $50,000
April 296:30 PM CDTF2Gasconade14.01010$5 million to $50 million
April 296:35 PM CDTF1Macon12.0300$50,000 to $500,000
April 297:10 PM CDTF1Carter15.010$500,000 to $5 million
April 297:12 PM CDTF1Oregon5.077$50,000 to $500,000
April 297:20 PM CDTF3Lincoln8.050$50,000 to $500,000
April 297:55 PM CDTF0Dunklin0.510$500 to $5,000

June 7 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 76:45 PM CDTF4Harrison to IA134.0250364$5 million to $50 million
June 710:30 PM CDTF2Daviess1.0100$50,000 to $500,000
June 711:00 PM CDTF2Daviess3.01001$500,000 to $5 million

June 8 4 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 85:50 PM CDTF1Nodaway0.550
June 86:02 PM CDTF1Nodaway1.050$5,000 to $50,000
June 87:15 PM CDTF0Audrain0.350
June 87:30 PM CDTF1Audrain1.077$50,000 to $500,000

October 16 6 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
October 165:30 AM CDTF1Boone4.050$5,000 to $50,000
October 1612:15 PM CDTF1Christian6.02002$500,000 to $5 million
October 162:00 PM CDTF1Ozark0.550$5,000 to $50,000
October 163:40 PM CDTF1Shannon1.0100$50,000 to $500,000
October 164:15 PM CDTF1Iron5.0200$5,000 to $50,000
October 165:08 PM CDTF1Bollinger1.0773$50,000 to $500,000

October 18 4 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
October 185:28 PM CDTF0Christian0.150$500 to $5,000
October 185:35 PM CDTF1Greene0.350$500 to $5,000
October 188:02 PM CDTF1Texas0.577$50,000 to $500,000
October 188:30 PM CDTF3Oregon26.044011$500,000 to $5 million

November 9 9 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 93:15 PM CSTF1Shannon0.5100$5,000 to $50,000
November 94:00 PM CSTF1Sainte Genevieve0.5100$500 to $5,000
November 94:05 PM CSTF1Wayne8.0100$500 to $5,000
November 94:30 PM CSTF1Wayne1.0100$5,000 to $50,000
November 95:10 PM CSTF0Jefferson0.377
November 95:32 PM CSTF1Cape Girardeau1.0100$5,000 to $50,000
November 95:40 PM CSTF0Ripley0.377
November 96:05 PM CSTF1Ripley1.0100$50,000 to $500,000
November 96:15 PM CSTF2Washington3.0340115$5 million to $50 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.