Tornadoes · United States · Missouri

Tornadoes in Bollinger County, Missouri

33 tornadoes have crossed Bollinger County since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 34th of the 115 counties in Missouri with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.3 years. They have killed 7 people and injured 30. None was rated F4 or above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

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

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

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

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    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. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

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

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    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.

Now

Tornadoes
33
Deaths
7
Injuries
30
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
EF3, March 14, 2025

The deadliest in Bollinger County

  1. EF2, Bollinger and Cape Girardeau counties, MissouriApril 5, 20235 killed, 4 injured
  2. F3, Bollinger County, MissouriApril 27, 20021 killed, 16 injured
  3. EF3, Wayne and Bollinger counties, MissouriMarch 14, 20251 killed, 1 injured

The strongest

  1. EF3, Wayne and Bollinger counties, MissouriMarch 14, 2025EF3, 28.6 mi (46 km)
  2. F3, Bollinger County, MissouriApril 27, 2002F3, 4.0 mi (6 km)
  3. EF2, Bollinger, Perry and Randolph counties, Missouri and IllinoisMarch 14, 2025EF2, 33.1 mi (53 km)
  4. EF2, Madison and Bollinger counties, MissouriFebruary 29, 2012EF2, 31.9 mi (51 km)
  5. EF2, Bollinger and Cape Girardeau counties, MissouriApril 5, 2023EF2, 20.7 mi (33 km)
  6. EF2, Bollinger County, MissouriMarch 24, 2019EF2, 10.3 mi (17 km)
  7. EF2, Wayne and Bollinger counties, MissouriApril 2, 2025EF2, 8.3 mi (13 km)
  8. EF2, Bollinger and Cape Girardeau counties, MissouriFebruary 29, 2012EF2, 7.7 mi (12 km)
  9. F2, Bollinger County, MissouriApril 3, 1968F2, 2.5 mi (4 km)
  10. F2, Bollinger County, MissouriJune 30, 1977F2, 2.0 mi (3 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 21 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Bollinger County. Each year links to every tornado in Missouri that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20261EF1
2025311EF3
20241EF1
2023154EF2
20212EF1
20201EF1
201911EF2
20143EF1
20131EF1
201221EF2
20113EF1
20091EF1
20042F0
20032F2
20021116F3
20002F1
19932F1
198413F1
197714F2
19681F2
19551F1

Every tornado that crossed Bollinger County

33 tornadoes, newest first. The 1 at the top is this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and its rating is marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 15, 20266:19 PM CDTEF1Bollinger7.8100
April 2, 20256:13 PM CDTEF2Wayne8.3175$630,000
March 14, 202511:25 PM CDTEF2Bollinger to IL33.1800$5.2 million
March 14, 202511:15 PM CDTEF3Wayne28.650011$4.5 million
May 26, 20247:25 PM CDTEF1Bollinger5.3250$70,000
April 5, 20233:30 AM CDTEF2Bollinger20.715054$2.0 million
October 24, 202111:04 PM CDTEF1Wayne24.5400$420,000
April 28, 20212:50 PM CDTEF1Bollinger3.4225
January 11, 202012:52 AM CSTEF1Bollinger0.245$30,000
March 24, 20198:47 PM CDTEF2Bollinger10.32501$60,000
October 13, 20142:02 PM CDTEF1Bollinger2.050$20,000
October 13, 20141:45 PM CDTEF1Bollinger7.2100$250,000
October 13, 20141:30 PM CDTEF1Stoddard9.375$53,000
October 31, 20136:54 PM CDTEF1Bollinger1.5200$70,000
February 29, 20123:34 AM CSTEF2Bollinger7.7120$170,000
February 29, 20122:55 AM CSTEF2Madison31.98001$100,000
May 25, 20115:26 PM CDTEF1Bollinger13.0250$30,000
April 25, 20116:30 PM CDTEF1Bollinger2.870$200,000
April 19, 20117:55 PM CDTEF0Bollinger0.5100$15,000
March 8, 200912:15 PM CDTEF1Bollinger6.570$130,000
October 18, 20045:51 PM CDTF0Bollinger0.250
May 25, 20045:55 PM CDTF0Bollinger0.550
May 6, 20038:18 PM CDTF0Bollinger0.350
May 6, 20038:04 PM CDTF2Bollinger0.8100$40,000
April 27, 200212:40 AM CDTF3Bollinger4.0200116$4.0 million
May 26, 20003:04 PM CDTF1Bollinger1.5150$70,000
May 23, 20007:48 PM CDTF0Bollinger0.320
November 14, 199310:15 AM CSTF0Bollinger0.423$5,000 to $50,000
June 4, 19939:35 AM CDTF1Stoddard7.030$50,000 to $500,000
October 16, 19845:08 PM CDTF1Bollinger1.0773$50,000 to $500,000
June 30, 19775:00 PM CDTF2Bollinger2.0504$50,000 to $500,000
April 3, 19687:30 PM GMT-6F2Bollinger2.550$5,000 to $50,000
April 22, 19552:45 PM GMT-6F1Bollinger0.350$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Bollinger CountyThe forecast for Bollinger CountyThe live radar over Bollinger CountyEvery county in 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.