Tornadoes · United States · Missouri · 2025

EF1 tornado, Leonard to Epworth, Missouri, August 9, 2025

From Leonard to Epworth, this EF1 tornado ran 3.1 miles across Shelby County on August 9, 2025, touching down at 6:23 PM CDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $105,000 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
August 9, 2025
Touchdown
6:23 PM CDT (23:23 UTC)
Lifted
6:26 PM CDT (23:26 UTC)
On the ground
3 minutes
Path length
3.1 miles (4.9 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$105,000
County
Shelby County
Touchdown point
39.888, -92.145
Lift-off point
39.914, -92.099
Record number
2508091723-01

The damage survey

44 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 110 mph.

  • . Pole in ground is a missle not a sign post
  • Damage from outbuikding debris
  • Lofted debris from outbuikding

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

Several thunderstorms developed in northeast Missouri during the late afternoon of August 9th. These thunderstorms congealed into a single, discrete cell just before moving into Knox and Shelby Counties. As the cell pushed east, it produced two tornadoes and minor wind damage.

A brief EF-1 tornado struck a farm just northeast of Leonard, MO on Shelby 129.

A brief EF-1 tornado touched down just east of Leonard and moved northeast. The tornado caused damage to farm structures, homes, and trees along its short track before dissipating just west of Highway BB.

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

The warnings

16 minutes of warning. NWS LSX issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:07 UTC, 16 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:35 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
22:35 UTC23:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
23:07 UTC23:35 UTCTornado WarningLSX
23:23 UTC23:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
23:42 UTC00:19 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 Slight Risk. 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.

Davenport, (KDVN), 00:00Z

0.6 hours after it, 235 km from the path. August 10, 2025.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2025-08-10Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2514 joules per kilogram, CIN -86, lifted condensation level 1171 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, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2025-08-10The 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 40 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 20 knots.1939Sfc1 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
2514 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-86 J/kg
Surface CAPE
5063 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1171 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
20 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
40 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
236 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
6.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Kirksville (IRK), 42 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
21:25 UTC 1014.2
21:30 UTC120° 10 kt1014.2
21:35 UTC130° 9 kt1014.6
21:40 UTC8277130° 9 kt1014.6VCTS
21:45 UTC130° 7 kt1014.6
21:50 UTC82.477140° 6 kt1014.6
21:50 UTC130° 5 kt1014.6
21:55 UTC8377130° 6 kt1014.6
21:55 UTC130° 5 kt1014.6
22:00 UTC120° 9 kt1014.2
22:02 UTC8578130° 10 kt1014.2TS
22:05 UTC 1014.2
22:10 UTC130° 14 kt1014.2
22:15 UTC130° 14 kt1014.2
22:20 UTC120° 10 kt1014.6
22:25 UTC8177120° 11 kt1014.2VCTS
22:30 UTC140° 11 kt1014.6
22:34 UTC8076140° 11 kt1014.6TS
22:35 UTC140° 11 kt171014.6
22:40 UTC140° 15 kt1014.9
22:45 UTC140° 13 kt1014.6
22:50 UTC 1014.2-RA
22:55 UTC7875170° 15 kt221013.2-TSRA
22:55 UTC 201013.2-RA
23:00 UTC130° 16 kt1013.2-RA
23:05 UTC 1012.9-RA
23:10 UTC 241012.5-RA
23:15 UTC 231012.9
23:17 UTC7367110° 15 kt261013.2TS
23:20 UTC120° 14 kt1013.5
23:25 UTC110° 10 kt161013.2
23:30 UTC110° 11 kt1013.2
23:35 UTC110° 10 kt171013.5
23:40 UTC 1013.5
23:44 UTC7167120° 16 kt271013.5VCTS
23:45 UTC 221013.5
23:50 UTC120° 14 kt1013.2
23:55 UTC7166140° 11 kt251013.5VCTS
23:55 UTC140° 10 kt1013.5
00:00 UTC130° 10 kt1013.5
00:05 UTC120° 10 kt1013.5
00:08 UTC7166120° 11 kt1013.5
00:10 UTC120° 10 kt1013.5
00:15 UTC120° 9 kt1013.5
00:20 UTC130° 7 kt1013.5
00:25 UTC130° 5 kt1013.2
00:30 UTC140° 5 kt1013.5
00:35 UTC140° 5 kt1013.5
00:40 UTC 1013.2
00:45 UTC 1013.5
00:50 UTC 1013.5
00:55 UTC7267140° 4 kt1013.9
00:55 UTC140° 4 kt1013.9
01:00 UTC140° 4 kt1013.9
01:05 UTC150° 5 kt1013.9
01:10 UTC150° 5 kt1013.9
01:20 UTC140° 7 kt1013.9

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 182 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:24 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
22:21 UTCTSTM WND GST 603 Sse EthelMacon, MODelayed social media video of winds to at least 60 mph with several limbs blown down at a residence. Time estimated from radar.
22:26 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Nnw New CambriaMacon, MODelayed social media report of downed tree limbs at a residence near Route TT. Time estimated from radar.
22:39 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Sse ElmerMacon, MOMultiple reports of power lines down and several power outages south and southeast of Elmer. Time based on dispatch reports and confirmed from radar.
22:48 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Wnw AtlantaMacon, MODelayed Report. Several large trees were blown down. Time estimated from radar. Report via social media.
23:00 UTCHAIL 15 E AtlantaMacon, MODelayed report from social media. Time estimated from radar.
23:20 UTCTSTM WND DMGLeonardShelby, MOE911 reported 4-inch branches down between Leonard and Hwy J just east of Hwy W.
23:22 UTCTORNADO1 Ene LeonardShelby, MOA brief EF-1 tornado struck a farm just northeast of Leonard, MO.
23:23 UTCTORNADO2 Ese LeonardShelby, MOA second EF-1 tornado struck to the east of Leonard, MO.
23:30 UTCTSTM WND GST 58BethelShelby, MObackyard anemometer recorded 58 mph. minor tree damage reported. time estimated.
00:20 UTCTSTM WND GST 701 Ssw MaywoodMarion, MOMarion County ambulance at Highway 6 / Highway V, Maywood in Marion County had to pull over due to estimated 70+ mph winds, zero visibility, and trees with a heavy lean.
00:34 UTCTSTM WND GST 604 E TaylorMarion, MO60 mph winds estimated on the west side of Quincy.

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 August 9, 2025

4 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 93:54 PM CDTEF0Door, WI0.332
August 96:22 PM CDTEF1Shelby, MO0.475$90,000
August 95:43 PM MDTUnratedYuma, CO0.150
August 95:52 PM MDTUnratedYuma, CO4.675

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.