Tornadoes · United States · Missouri

2004 tornadoes in Missouri

71 tornadoes touched down in Missouri in 2004, 103 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 7 people and injured 27. 1 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.

2003 2005 The whole country in 2004

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 2004

April 24 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
April 24	5:12 PM CDT	F2	Carter	7.6	200	5	$600,000
April 24	5:52 PM CDT	F1	Wayne	4.0	100		$100,000
April 24	7:15 PM CDT	F0	Clay	0.1	20		$10,000
April 24	7:40 PM CDT	F0	Atchison	0.2	20
April 24	7:47 PM CDT	F2	Cape Girardeau	5.4	200		$10,000

May 1 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 1	4:24 AM CDT	F1	Wayne	0.2	50			$10,000

May 24 11 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
May 24	3:35 PM CDT	F1	Holt	2.0	300		$10,000
May 24	4:28 PM CDT	F0	Nodaway	0.5	50
May 24	4:55 PM CDT	F2	Gentry	17.0	250	1	$10 million
May 24	5:53 PM CDT	F0	Harrison	0.5	50
May 24	6:18 PM CDT	F1	Livingston	9.5	200		$1.7 million
May 24	6:24 PM CDT	F0	Harrison	0.5	50
May 24	6:47 PM CDT	F1	Linn	5.0	150		$200,000
May 24	7:12 PM CDT	F0	Worth	2.0	100
May 24	7:45 PM CDT	F1	Macon	1.0	100		$300,000
May 24	10:55 PM CDT	F0	Marion	2.0	50
May 24	10:55 PM CDT	F0	Ralls	0.2	40

May 25 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 25	5:55 PM CDT	F0	Bollinger	0.5	50

May 26 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 26	9:50 PM CDT	F0	Bates	1.0	25
May 26	10:20 PM CDT	F2	St. Clair	12.0	200		1	$500,000

May 27 7 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
May 27	2:44 PM CDT	F0	Daviess	2.0	50
May 27	2:54 PM CDT	F0	Grundy	0.5	50
May 27	6:40 PM CDT	F0	Montgomery	1.0	75
May 27	7:30 PM CDT	F0	Saint Charles	0.2	50
May 27	7:35 PM CDT	F0	Franklin	1.5	50
May 27	8:10 PM CDT	F0	Jefferson	0.2	50
May 27	8:40 PM CDT	F0	Saint Francois	0.2	40

May 29 10 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 29	6:30 PM CDT	F3	Buchanan	7.0	400			$30,000
May 29	7:35 PM CDT	F0	Clinton	1.0	75
May 29	8:05 PM CDT	F0	Buchanan	0.2	50
May 29	8:40 PM CDT	F1	Clinton	20.0	150			$30,000
May 29	9:40 PM CDT	F2	DeKalb	5.0	100
May 29	10:15 PM CDT	F0	DeKalb	1.0	50
May 29	10:30 PM CDT	F4	DeKalb	22.0	800	3	6	$300,000
May 29	10:40 PM CDT	F0	DeKalb	1.0	50
May 29	11:18 PM CDT	F0	Daviess	6.0	100
May 29	11:46 PM CDT	F0	Grundy	4.0	100

May 30 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Damage
May 30	3:23 PM CDT	F0	Shannon	0.1	50
May 30	3:53 PM CDT	F1	Laclede	1.0	200		$10,000
May 30	5:20 PM CDT	F1	Saint Louis	2.0	50	1	$100,000
May 30	5:45 PM CDT	F0	Reynolds	0.1	40

June 12 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 12	8:45 AM CDT	F0	Saint Francois	1.5	50
June 12	4:50 PM CDT	F0	Jasper	0.1	25

June 13 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 13	7:49 PM CDT	F0	Nodaway	0.5	50

June 18 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 18	2:05 PM CDT	F0	Saint Charles	2.0	40

July 4 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 4	7:05 AM CDT	F1	Newton	1.0	150			$150,000

July 5 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
July 5	7:34 AM CDT	F1	Miller	0.2	125	$50,000
July 5	7:37 AM CDT	F1	Miller	0.2	125	$10,000
July 5	7:40 AM CDT	F1	Miller	0.2	125	$10,000

July 16 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 16	3:04 AM CDT	F0	Clay	0.5	50

August 26 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 26	10:09 PM CDT	F0	Nodaway	0.1	50
August 26	11:20 PM CDT	F0	Worth	0.1	50

October 18 12 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 18	4:08 PM CDT	F1	Washington	0.2	80		7
October 18	4:10 PM CDT	F0	Washington	0.8	50
October 18	4:11 PM CDT	F0	Washington	0.8	40
October 18	4:12 PM CDT	F0	Washington	0.8	40
October 18	4:13 PM CDT	F0	Washington	0.8	40
October 18	4:26 PM CDT	F1	Iron	2.0	400
October 18	4:35 PM CDT	F0	Iron	0.5	100
October 18	4:37 PM CDT	F0	Reynolds	0.5	40			$100,000
October 18	4:59 PM CDT	F0	Madison	1.5	250
October 18	5:10 PM CDT	F1	Madison	5.5	100
October 18	5:51 PM CDT	F0	Bollinger	0.2	50
October 18	7:55 PM CDT	F2	Pemiscot	0.5	125	3	7	$300,000

October 26 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
October 26	5:09 PM CDT	F1	Scott	0.1	100	$100,000
October 26	5:16 PM CDT	F0	Scott	0.3	50
October 26	5:45 PM CDT	F0	Sainte Genevieve	0.5	50

October 29 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 29	6:53 PM CDT	F0	Johnson	1.0	50			$10,000
October 29	7:15 PM CDT	F1	Pettis	10.5	50			$320,000

November 1 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 1	5:15 AM CST	F1	Webster	6.0	500			$50,000
November 1	10:30 AM CST	F0	Howell	1.0	200

Nearby

Every tornado in Missouri since 1950 Warnings in force in Missouri The 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.