EF2 tornado, Saline and Howard counties, Missouri, April 27, 2026

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.

Rating, as surveyed

EF2, preliminary

Date

April 27, 2026

Touchdown

6:52 AM CDT (11:52 UTC)

Lifted

7:28 AM CDT (12:28 UTC)

On the ground

36 minutes

Path length

36.5 miles (58.7 km)

Path width

350 yards (320 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Counties

Saline and Howard counties

Touchdown point

39.204, -93.162

Lift-off point

39.252, -92.490

Highest wind the damage implies

115 mph

Surveyed by

NWS EAX

The office's name for it

Slater-Gilliam-Glasgow

Survey last edited

April 29, 2026

Record number

None yet. SPC numbers 2026 in the spring of 2027.

A tornado developed near Bluebird Trail southwest of Slater at 652 am on April 27, producing sporadic tree damage as it moved northeastward to near Route O west of Slater. The tornado strengthened as it progressed through Slater, producing widespread tree damage, with several residential properties and vehicles damaged from fallen trees or limbs. A set of grain bins was heavily damaged north of Industrial Boulevard, and several houses to the north of the grain bins suffered minor roof and shingle damage. The tornado then progressed northeastward near Route 240 to the town of Gilliam. Severe tree and power pole damage was observed near and just to the east of Gilliam. One property in Gilliam was heavily damaged from a large, uprooted tree that fell onto vehicles and the home. Dozens of power poles were downed or snapped along Route 240 east of Gilliam, with the snapped poles confirming EF-2 damage. Just to the south of Route 240, hog barns and outbuildings near the damaged power poles were heavily damaged or destroyed. A newly constructed barn just to the north of Route 240 east of Gilliam was severely damaged, with walls caved in on multiple sides. Debris from the barn was lofted over 200 yards to the northeast. Irrigation pivots near the barn were overturned as well. As the tornado approached the Missouri River west of Glasgow, a long series of power poles was snapped or downed. The tornado then moved into the north side of Glasgow, producing significant tree, power line, and shingle damage. The tornado weakened as it moved northeast of Glasgow, producing primarily tree damage for the rest of its path as it moved east-northeast to south of Armstrong and eventually Route A south-southeast of Higbee. A couple of properties between Glasgow and Higbee were damaged from fallen trees. The last visible signs of damage were east of Route A and north of County Road 136 in far northeast Howard County, where several trees were snapped at their tops west of Moniteau Creek. Maximum winds of the tornado were approximately 115 mph (EF2) with a path length of nearly 36.5 miles and an approximate maximum width of 350 yards.

NWS Kansas City would like to thank Brad Hinz, emergency manager for Saline County, for his help surveying much of the damage path.

Written by NWS EAX in the NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit. A survey is revised as better evidence arrives.

183 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS EAX and NWS LSX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 115 mph.

• Shingle and other siding or wall damage. Not full wall collapses or removals though.
• Noted various minor facia and roof damage in addition to limb damage.
• One building had sheet metal damage. Another building with shingle damage.
• Multiple large branches or leaders broken up in tree.

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

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 06:00 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 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.

Booneville (VER), 34 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Pleasant Hill radar (KEAX), 133 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 11:49 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.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2026 tornado in MissouriEvery tornado in Missouri since 1950Warnings in force in Missouri nowThe forecast where you are

28 more have been surveyed in the United States that day, so far.

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. A survey can be revised, so the rating, the path and the casualties can all still change.

NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit, the record the survey teams file from the damage, and NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Neither is the official database for 2026, which SPC publishes in the spring of 2027.