Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2025

EF2 tornado, Stoddard and Cape Girardeau counties, Missouri, April 2, 2025

This EF2 tornado ran 14.7 miles across Stoddard and Cape Girardeau counties on April 2, 2025, touching down at 6:32 PM CDT and reaching 600 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $20 million of property damage.

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.

  1. EF065 to 85 mph

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

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

  3. EF2111 to 135 mphthis tornado

    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. 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.

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

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

  6. 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.

  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.

The record

Rating
EF2
Date
April 2, 2025
Touchdown
6:32 PM CDT (23:32 UTC)
Lifted
6:52 PM CDT (23:52 UTC)
On the ground
20 minutes
Path length
14.7 miles (23.6 km)
Path width
600 yards (549 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$20 million
Counties
Stoddard and Cape Girardeau counties
Touchdown point
37.117, -89.885
Lift-off point
37.230, -89.659
Record number
2504021732-01

The damage survey

75 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS PAH, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 128 mph.

  • Church with most of its roof removed. People sheltering inside unharmed other than very minor scratches.
  • A-frame house shifted off foundation. Family and pets sheltered safely in basement.
  • Numerous large trunks snapped off
  • Numerous trees snapped or uprooted.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

The warnings

17 minutes of warning. NWS PAH issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:15 UTC, 17 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 00:00 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 19:57 UTC and running to 02:18 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
12:00 UTC05:00 UTCWind AdvisoryPAH
18:00 UTC12:00 UTCFlood WatchPAH
19:57 UTC02:18 UTCTornado WatchPAH
23:15 UTC00:00 UTCTornado WarningPAH
23:24 UTC00:15 UTCTornado WarningPAH
23:28 UTC00:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAH
23:56 UTC00:26 UTCTornado WarningPAH
00:10 UTC00:38 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAH
00:24 UTC00:32 UTCTornado WarningPAH

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a High Risk, with a 0.30 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 19:57 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Little Rock, AR (KLZK), 12:00Z

11.5 hours before the tornado, 261 km from the path. April 2, 2025.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 2025-04-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 847 joules per kilogram, CIN -284, lifted condensation level 800 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Little Rock, AR at 12:00Z on 2025-04-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 421 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 42 knots.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
847 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-284 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1354 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
800 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
49 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
421 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
660 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.9
0-3 km lapse rate
4.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Paducah radar (KPAH), 89 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:29 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
22:50 UTCTSTM WND GST 551 Wnw CharlestonMississippi, MO
22:50 UTCTSTM WND GST 552 Nw AnnistonMississippi, MOMesonet station MOA27 Charleston, MO South.
23:09 UTCTORNADO2 Wnw SturdivantBollinger, MOAn EF-2 (125 mph) tornado began on TT Highway near the McGee community in far eastern Wayne County. Moving east-northeast, the tornado did extensive tree damage as it across P Highway northeast of McGee. After crossing i
23:20 UTCHAIL 0.751 S PerryvillePerry, MOReport from mPING: Dime (0.75 in.).
23:32 UTCTORNADO2 Ne AdvanceStoddard, MO*** 1 FATAL *** EF2, 125 mph, The tornado began just northeast of Advance, running northeast along Highway 25. The tornado damaged approximately 200 structures as it moved northeast causing severe roof damage to many str
23:47 UTCTORNADODeltaCape Girardeau, MOsignificant damage tornado confirmed.
23:51 UTCTORNADO2 Sse DutchtownCape Girardeau, MO
23:56 UTCTORNADO3 E DutchtownCape Girardeau, MOThe tornado began near the Dalhousie Golf Club and moved northeast into the southwest side of the city of Cape Girardeau north of Shawnee Parkway. The tornado caused tree damage and minor structural damage to apartments,
00:00 UTCTORNADO1 Ne AdvanceStoddard, MO*** 1 INJ *** home destroyed , one injury from tornado.
00:02 UTCTORNADOCape GirardeauCape Girardeau, MOTornado reported near Cape Girardeau Fire Station 1.
00:17 UTCTSTM WND GST 59Cape GirardeauCape Girardeau, MO
00:30 UTCTORNADO4 Ne TannerScott, MOA brief EF-1 tornado with peak winds of 110 mph touched down just west of McMullin, MO, then moved eastward into the town before lifting as it crossed US Highway 61. The Heartland Application and Equipment building was c
00:45 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Ssw Hay-Wood CityScott, MOMetal building destroyed.
00:53 UTCTSTM WND GST 593 Wnw Scott CityScott, MOASOS station KCGI Cape Girardeau MO.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2025 tornado in MissouriEvery tornado in Missouri since 1950Warnings in force in Missouri nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 2, 2025

87 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 25:13 AM CDTEF1Osage, OK3.7250$10,000
April 26:37 AM CDTEF1Tulsa, OK10.7600$575,000
April 27:29 AM CDTEF2Vernon, MO6.5200$500,000
April 27:30 AM CDTEF1Vernon, MO16.6200$1.2 million
April 28:34 AM CDTEF2Cooper, MO6.1200$100,000
April 211:00 AM MSTUnratedMaricopa, AZ0.55
April 23:13 PM CDTEF3Crawford, MO21.9200$685,000
April 23:16 PM CDTEF1Howell, MO1.1350$10,000
April 23:40 PM CDTEF0Logan, IL12.730
April 24:21 PM CDTEF0Madison, TN1.9150$50,000
April 25:00 PM CDTEF1Iroquois, IL2.3400
April 25:05 PM CDTEF2Bond, IL22.82001$385,000
April 25:09 PM CDTEF0Iroquois, IL2.2300
April 25:32 PM CDTEF1Ripley, MO1.1125$185,000
April 25:56 PM CDTEF2Randolph, AR24.6500$250,000
April 25:56 PM CDTEF2Arkansas, AR8.3100
April 25:59 PM CDTEF1Poinsett, AR7.5400$50,000
April 26:08 PM CDTEF1Effingham, IL2.5125
April 26:13 PM CDTEF2Wayne, MO8.3175$630,000
April 26:21 PM CDTEF1Arkansas, AR0.950
April 26:23 PM CDTEF1Effingham, IL8.3100
April 26:26 PM CDTEF3Poinsett, AR24.21,5008$4.0 million
April 26:28 PM CDTEF2Craighead, AR14.4700$750,000
April 26:29 PM CDTEF0Cumberland, IL4.0150
April 26:33 PM CDTEF2Cumberland, IL to IN48.91,200$200,000
April 26:36 PM CDTEF1Butler, MO13.4125$2.0 million
April 26:40 PM CDTEF0Poinsett, AR6.575$20,000
April 26:48 PM CDTEF1Lafayette, AR7.6250$135,000
April 27:52 PM EDTEF1Marshall, IN17.8175$610,000
April 26:56 PM CDTEF1Cape Girardeau, MO to IL8.0150$765,000
April 27:02 PM CDTEF1Clark, IL8.1200
April 27:08 PM CDTEF1Union, IL10.050$35,000
April 27:17 PM CDTEF1Lafayette, AR0.375$50,000
April 28:24 PM EDTEF1Parke, IN10.8120$200,000
April 27:25 PM CDTEF0Union, IL1.125$5,000
April 27:30 PM CDTEF1Scott, MO1.0250$600,000
April 27:35 PM CDTEF0Crittenden, AR3.175$30,000
April 27:35 PM CDTEF2Johnson, IL6.2250$525,000
April 27:46 PM CDTEF1Steuben, IN to MI10.8600$200,000
April 28:49 PM EDTEF1Branch, MI3.7125$50,000
April 27:51 PM CDTEF1Williamson, IL3.375$175,000
April 28:00 PM CDTEF2Carlisle, KY9.7200$180,000
April 29:05 PM EDTEF2Hendricks, IN13.02001$1.2 million
April 28:14 PM CDTEF1Saline, IL5.0300$85,000
April 29:15 PM EDTEF1Hendricks, IN1.5300$200,000
April 28:15 PM CDTEF1Dyer, TN4.7100$1.9 million
April 28:18 PM CDTEF2Ballard, KY18.21,0004$3.2 million
April 28:23 PM CDTEF1Gallatin, IL9.2100$170,000
April 29:28 PM EDTEF1Hamilton, IN6.6150$600,000
April 28:35 PM CDTEF1Obion, TN9.3350$325,000
April 29:43 PM EDTEF2Madison, IN to IL, KY2.1250$200,000
April 28:43 PM CDTEF2Livingston, IL to KY12.0150$235,000
April 29:46 PM EDTEF1Madison, IN11.6150$400,000
April 28:51 PM CDTEF2Vanderburgh, IN10.6150$3.4 million
April 28:52 PM CDTEF1Posey, IN1.175$1.2 million
April 29:52 PM EDTEF0Madison, IN4.9100$300,000
April 28:55 PM CDTEF1Vanderburgh, IN17.0230$1.2 million
April 29:57 PM EDTEF2Madison, IN15.2200$3.2 million
April 29:00 PM CDTEF2Weakley, TN6.4350$250,000
April 29:01 PM CDTEF1Vanderburgh, IN4.075$275,000

All 88 of them

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.