Tornadoes · United States · Missouri

2008 tornadoes in Missouri

94 tornadoes touched down in Missouri in 2008, 169 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 4 people and injured 42.

2007 2009 The whole country in 2008

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 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.
EF3136 to 165 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
EF5over 200 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 2008

January 7 22 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
January 7	2:22 PM CST	EF0	St. Clair	0.1	20
January 7	2:54 PM CST	EF0	Benton	0.2	25			$20,000
January 7	3:55 PM CST	EF0	Audrain	0.3	40
January 7	5:06 PM CST	EF2	Barry	12.4	200			$500,000
January 7	5:50 PM CST	EF0	McDonald	0.3	20
January 7	5:57 PM CST	EF2	Greene	6.4	200			$2.0 million
January 7	6:29 PM CST	EF3	Greene	50.4	300	3	18	$19 million
January 7	7:28 PM CST	EF0	Lawrence	6.4	50			$75,000
January 7	7:32 PM CST	EF2	Greene	6.7	300			$1.0 million
January 7	7:42 PM CST	EF2	Webster	8.6	200			$1.0 million
January 7	7:50 PM CST	EF0	Gasconade	0.3	50
January 7	8:06 PM CST	EF3	Pulaski	1.8	400		3	$1.0 million
January 7	8:09 PM CST	EF3	Phelps	4.7	400			$110,000
January 7	8:15 PM CST	EF1	McDonald	7.4	100			$300,000
January 7	8:30 PM CST	EF0	Pike	5.0	40
January 7	8:42 PM CST	EF1	Webster	5.2	150			$50,000
January 7	9:00 PM CST	EF2	Laclede	5.4	300			$100,000
January 7	9:12 PM CST	EF0	Barry	0.1	20
January 7	9:36 PM CST	EF1	Christian	0.4	100		1	$200,000
January 7	9:40 PM CST	EF1	Phelps	3.8	100			$5,000
January 7	9:57 PM CST	EF0	Webster	10.6	50			$8,000
January 7	10:43 PM CST	EF0	Maries	11.3	100		1	$5.0 million

January 8 15 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
January 8	2:22 AM CST	EF1	Barry	4.8	100	$300,000
January 8	2:31 AM CST	EF1	Barry	12.1	200	$2.0 million
January 8	2:37 AM CST	EF1	Greene	1.1	50	$50,000
January 8	2:50 AM CST	EF1	Christian	5.0	100	$250,000
January 8	3:01 AM CST	EF0	Taney	2.9	20	$75,000
January 8	3:16 AM CST	EF0	Webster	7.2	50	$15,000
January 8	3:17 AM CST	EF0	Douglas	9.7	50	$75,000
January 8	3:18 AM CST	EF0	Webster	4.7	150	$750,000
January 8	3:43 AM CST	EF1	Douglas	2.2	75	$125,000
January 8	3:45 AM CST	EF1	Wright	11.9	150	$200,000
January 8	4:20 AM CST	EF0	Howell	0.4	20	$1,000
January 8	4:27 AM CST	EF1	Shannon	2.3	200
January 8	4:38 AM CST	EF1	Shannon	9.8	200	$75,000
January 8	4:59 AM CST	EF0	Oregon	1.1	50	$1,000
January 8	12:40 PM CST	EF1	Stoddard	4.8	120	$250,000

January 29 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
January 29	4:09 PM CST	EF1	Cape Girardeau to IL	4.3	200			$85,000

February 5 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
February 5	8:03 PM CST	EF1	Butler	3.4	300			$100,000
February 5	8:18 PM CST	EF2	Butler	13.9	200			$300,000

March 27 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 27	8:00 PM CDT	EF0	Texas	0.1	50

March 31 10 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
March 31	9:48 AM CDT	EF0	Hickory	3.4	100		$25,000
March 31	10:09 AM CDT	EF0	Lawrence	0.5	40		$20,000
March 31	10:33 AM CDT	EF0	Vernon	0.2	10
March 31	11:59 AM CDT	EF0	Cedar	0.6	75		$5,000
March 31	1:59 PM CDT	EF0	Newton	3.8	80	3	$100,000
March 31	2:17 PM CDT	EF2	Dallas	4.7	300	3	$1.0 million
March 31	2:46 PM CDT	EF2	Laclede	1.8	75		$500,000
March 31	5:06 PM CDT	EF0	Polk	0.8	50		$25,000
March 31	5:12 PM CDT	EF0	Ozark	0.2	20		$1,000
March 31	5:47 PM CDT	EF0	Howell	0.0	20		$10,000

April 10 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
April 10	7:55 AM CDT	EF0	Douglas	0.3	75	$40,000
April 10	8:15 AM CDT	EF0	Howell	3.3	150
April 10	8:30 PM CDT	EF0	Buchanan	0.3	30	$70,000

May 1 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 1	7:26 PM CDT	EF0	Clinton	0.1	25
May 1	9:08 PM CDT	EF0	Cass	0.1	25

May 2 5 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
May 2	1:56 AM CDT	EF3	Clay	0.9	75	$4.0 million
May 2	2:03 AM CDT	EF2	Clay	1.4	75	$10 million
May 2	5:52 AM CDT	EF0	Douglas	7.4	250
May 2	6:02 AM CDT	EF0	Douglas	0.3	100	$100,000
May 2	1:39 PM CDT	EF0	Dunklin	0.3	25	$20,000

May 10 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 10	6:08 PM CDT	EF1	Jasper	3.0	440	1	10	$1.0 million
May 10	6:58 PM CDT	EF0	Barry	3.8	800

May 13 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 13	8:27 PM CDT	EF0	Barton	0.0	20

May 30 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 30	5:10 PM CDT	EF1	Lewis	3.4	70			$10,000
May 30	5:14 PM CDT	EF0	Ralls	3.3	50			$30,000

June 2 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 2	1:55 PM CDT	EF0	Vernon	10.6	300		1	$175,000

June 3 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 3	12:25 AM CDT	EF1	Camden	6.0	100			$10,000

June 5 6 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
June 5	6:55 PM CDT	EF0	Atchison	0.1	25
June 5	7:23 PM CDT	EF0	Atchison	0.1	25
June 5	7:55 PM CDT	EF0	Holt	4.4	25	$2,000
June 5	7:59 PM CDT	EF0	Atchison	10.5	100	$210,000
June 5	11:15 PM CDT	EF0	Bates	0.3	50	$25,000
June 5	12:23 AM CDT	EF0	Lafayette	0.3	25	$500

June 12 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 12	4:12 PM CDT	EF0	Sullivan	0.2	25
June 12	4:13 PM CDT	EF0	Putnam	0.2	25

June 13 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 13	3:55 PM CDT	EF1	Carter	0.6	125			$50,000

June 19 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 19	3:30 PM CDT	EF1	Greene	1.3	100			$150,000

June 28 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 28	11:19 AM CDT	EF0	McDonald	1.4	250		2	$25,000

July 21 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)
July 21	8:00 PM CDT	EF0	Grundy	7.9	25
July 21	8:23 PM CDT	EF0	Sullivan	4.4	25
July 21	8:30 PM CDT	EF0	Linn	5.6	25

July 27 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 27	11:05 PM CDT	EF0	Callaway	1.4	80

September 2 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 2	5:15 PM CDT	EF0	Barry	0.3	75			$5,000

September 11 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 11	6:30 PM CDT	EF0	Texas	0.3	50

September 12 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 12	5:44 PM CDT	EF0	Pettis	0.1	25			$5,000
September 12	6:36 PM CDT	EF0	Jackson	0.0	25			$6,000

November 6 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 6	1:44 AM CST	EF1	Barry	5.8	100			$40,000

December 27 6 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
December 27	9:16 AM CST	EF0	McDonald	0.3	25
December 27	9:26 AM CST	EF0	Barry	0.3	25	$5,000
December 27	10:03 AM CST	EF1	Audrain	3.5	30
December 27	10:03 AM CST	EF0	Ralls	5.0	40
December 27	10:07 AM CST	EF0	Ralls	0.9	30
December 27	11:10 AM CST	EF1	Lincoln	1.1	40

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
February 5	7:20 PM CST	EF1	Randolph, AR to MO	31.9	200		4	$280,000
March 31	1:44 PM CDT	EF1	Ottawa, OK to MO	5.4	200			$125,000
May 10	5:20 PM CDT	EF4	Picher–Neosho tornado, Oklahoma and Missouri	75.5	1,760	21	350	$61 million
June 5	7:39 PM CDT	EF2	Richardson, NE to MO	18.4	880			$250,000

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.