Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2025

EF1 tornado, Worchester, Missouri, April 20, 2025

This EF1 tornado ran 0.3 miles across Audrain County on April 20, 2025, touching down at 5:56 PM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $60,000 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 mphthis tornado

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

  3. 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.

  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
EF1
Date
April 20, 2025
Touchdown
5:56 PM CDT (22:56 UTC)
Lifted
5:57 PM CDT (22:57 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
0.3 miles (0.5 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$60,000
County
Audrain County
Touchdown point
39.290, -91.818
Lift-off point
39.294, -91.817
Record number
2504201656-01

The damage survey

3 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS LSX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 94 mph.

  • small grain bins rolled approximately 120 yards.

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

What the Weather Service recorded

During the early afternoon on Sunday, April 20, 2025 (Easter Sunday) a severe thunderstorm developed in Miller County, Missouri and moved northward through Cole County and into Callaway County. The thunderstorm produced one EF-2 tornado near New Bloomfield, MO. This occurred ahead of a line of severe thunderstorms that formed in southwest Missouri and extended northward as it moved east. The line moved into mid-Missouri during the late afternoon hours and marched into eastern Missouri. It produced 4 tornadoes in Missouri and damaging wind reports across the region.

A brief tornado tracked south to north just west of Highway MM in north-central Audrain County, destroying a couple of outbuildings and rolling two smaller grain bins. Debris was generally thrown northward and strewn widely, likely due to a downburst immediately following the tornado. The tornado was rated EF-1 with a path length of 0.32 miles and a maximum path width of 50 yards.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

The warnings

31 minutes of warning. NWS LSX issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:25 UTC, 31 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:04 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 18:47 UTC and running to 23:51 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
18:47 UTC23:51 UTCTornado WatchLSX
22:25 UTC23:04 UTCTornado WarningLSX
22:30 UTC23:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
22:34 UTC23:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX

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 Enhanced Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 19:53 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.

Davenport, (KDVN), 12:00Z

10.9 hours before the tornado, 282 km from the path. April 20, 2025.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Davenport, at 12:00Z on 2025-04-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -104167, lifted condensation level 1408 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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, Davenport, at 12:00Z on 2025-04-20The 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 134 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 33 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-104167 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1408 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
16 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
134 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
125 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
2.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Davenport, (KDVN), 00:00Z

1.1 hours after it, 282 km from the path. April 21, 2025.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2025-04-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -89205, lifted condensation level 716 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2025-04-21The 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 628 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 63 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-89205 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
716 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
63 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
628 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
711 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4
0-3 km lapse rate
4.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 118 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:55 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
22:09 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Nne ColumbiaBoone, MOMultiple tree trunks snapped.
22:14 UTCTSTM WND DMGHigbeeRandolph, MODelayed report from 4/20. Downed tree and wires near Jefferson Street. Time estimated from radar.
22:18 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Nnw ColumbiaBoone, MORoof damage to Parkade Baptist Church.
22:18 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Nnw ColumbiaBoone, MOTree damage varying from downed limbs to uprooted trees.
22:18 UTCTORNADO5 Wsw MurryBoone, MOCorrects previous tornado report from 5 WSW Murry. An NWS survey team found high-end EF1 tornado damage along a path extending from Highway 763 and northeast through Columbia, MO. This tornado was on the ground from 5:18
22:19 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Ne ColumbiaBoone, MOSmall outbuildings damaged.
22:20 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 Wsw MurryBoone, MOAn outbuilding and a warehouse were significantly damaged, per images.
22:26 UTCTSTM WND GST 667 Ese ColumbiaBoone, MOCorrects previous tstm wnd gst report from 7 ESE Columbia. At Columbia-Bradford MO Ag site.
22:31 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Wnw Kingdom CityCallaway, MOThe NWS surveyed straight line wind damage at a farm north-northwest of Kingdom City. Photos provided by county law enforcement show extensive damage to multiple farm outbuildings. Large, healthy tree branches were also
22:33 UTCTSTM WND GST 667 Ese ColumbiaBoone, MOAt Columbia-Bradford MO Ag site.
22:41 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 N ReformCallaway, MOTime estimated from radar. Metal panels on a farm outbuilding pulled up.
22:51 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Nw MineolaMontgomery, MODown tree on State Highway N near Graham Cave State Park.
22:56 UTCTORNADO5 S Santa FeAudrain, MOA brief EF-1 tornado tracked south to north just west of Highway MM in north-central Audrain County, destroying a couple of outbuildings and rolling two smaller grain bins at a farm. Debris was generally thrown northward
22:57 UTCTSTM WND DMGWellsvilleMontgomery, MOCorrects previous tstm wnd dmg report from Wellsville. 2ft diameter tree snapped at the base.
23:06 UTCTSTM WND GST 631 Wsw VandaliaAudrain, MOCorrects previous tstm wnd gst report from 1 WSW Vandalia. Vandalia MO Ag site.
23:10 UTCTSTM WND DMGWellsvilleMontgomery, MO2ft diameter tree snapped at the base.
23:10 UTCTSTM WND GST 60Monroe CityMonroe, MOEstimated with near-zero visibility.
23:10 UTCTSTM WND GST 631 Wsw VandaliaAudrain, MOVandalia MO Ag site.
23:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Wnw CurryvillePike, MODamage to sheds. Damage to a support column and the wall of a home.
23:19 UTCTORNADO2 Ne SpencerburgPike, MOA brief EF0 tornado was confirmed by damage survey crews. The most significant damage occurred to a barn, which was largely destroyed. The tornado had an approximate path length of 600 yards and lasted roughly one minute
23:35 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 W HannibalMarion, MOMultiple reports of damage including trailers destroyed near Hannibal Regional Hospital.
23:38 UTCTSTM WND GST 704 W HannibalMarion, MOFrom two sources west of Hannibal, MO.
00:00 UTCFLOOD2 S MoberlyRandolph, MOSeveral social media and mPING reports of flooding in the Moberly area.

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 20, 2025

39 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 201:24 AM CDTEF0Love, OK0.530
April 201:31 PM CDTEF2Callaway, MO2.61001$125,000
April 201:57 PM CDTEF1Cherokee, KS to MO24.1250$1.0 million
April 202:29 PM CDTEF0Barton, MO19.8300$3.4 million
April 202:41 PM CDTEF1Washington, AR3.0250$750,000
April 204:21 PM CDTEF0Christian, MO1.350$15,000
April 204:30 PM CDTEF0Morgan, MO0.775$20,000
April 204:35 PM CDTEF0Douglas, MO2.850$100,000
April 204:46 PM CDTEF0Webster, MO1.130$100,000
April 204:59 PM CDTEF0Wright, MO1.850$25,000
April 205:08 PM CDTEF1Wright, MO2.1400
April 205:18 PM CDTEF1Boone, MO3.3100
April 205:21 PM CDTEF1Perry, AR7.7350
April 205:33 PM CDTEF1Boone, MO2.3100$22,000
April 206:01 PM CDTEF0Shannon, MO1.5250
April 206:19 PM CDTEF0Pike, MO0.325$15,000
April 206:48 PM CDTEF0Adams, IL4.225$20,000
April 206:55 PM CDTEF1Faulkner, AR14.2500
April 207:04 PM CDTEF0Adams, IL8.2100$120,000
April 207:37 PM CDTEF1McDonough, IL7.0150$6,000
April 207:45 PM CDTEF0Mercer, IL0.925
April 207:47 PM CDTEF1McDonough, IL3.0100$16,000
April 207:57 PM CDTEF0Warren, IL4.025
April 208:00 PM CDTEF1Monroe, IL7.3100$75,000
April 208:13 PM CDTEF1Monroe, IL0.3100$15,000
April 208:14 PM CDTEF0Saint Clair, IL0.8100$10,000
April 208:25 PM CDTEF1Randolph, IL1.375$10,000
April 208:35 PM CDTEF0Henry, IL2.275$1,000
April 208:39 PM CDTEF1Knox, IL16.5150
April 208:41 PM CDTEF1Knox, IL4.4120
April 208:49 PM CDTEF1Tazewell, IL14.5100
April 208:54 PM CDTUnratedHenry, IL0.310
April 208:57 PM CDTEF0Henry, IL0.250
April 208:58 PM CDTEF0Henry, IL1.150
April 208:58 PM CDTEF1Henry, IL7.325$1,000
April 208:58 PM CDTEF1Henry, IL7.2100
April 209:12 PM CDTEF0Rock Island, IL0.750$1,000
April 209:26 PM CDTEF1Bureau, IL1.050$8,000
April 209:42 PM CDTEF1Jackson, IL1.725$125,000

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.