Tornadoes · United States · Missouri

Tornadoes in Butler County, Missouri

50 tornadoes have crossed Butler County since 1950, 9th of the 115 counties in Missouri with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.5 years. They have killed 2 people and injured 56. 2 were rated F4 or EF4 and 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
50
Deaths
2
Injuries
56
F4 and above
2
Worst on record
EF4, March 14, 2025

The deadliest in Butler County

  1. F3, Butler and Stoddard counties, MissouriFebruary 21, 19761 killed, 16 injured
  2. EF3, Butler County, MissouriMarch 14, 20251 killed

The strongest

  1. EF4 Larkin tornado, Arkansas and MissouriMarch 14, 2025EF4, 116.0 mi (187 km)
  2. F4 Van Buren–Poplar Bluff tornado, MissouriApril 24, 2002F4, 40.5 mi (65 km)
  3. EF3, Oregon, Sharp, Shannon, Izard, Randolph, Carter, Ripley, Reynolds, Stone and Butler counties, Missouri and ArkansasMarch 14, 2025EF3, 57.2 mi (92 km)
  4. F3, Butler and Stoddard counties, MissouriMay 7, 1973F3, 36.0 mi (58 km)
  5. F3, Butler and Stoddard counties, MissouriFebruary 21, 1976F3, 23.7 mi (38 km)
  6. EF3, Butler County, MissouriMarch 14, 2025EF3, 17.9 mi (29 km)
  7. F3, Butler and Ripley counties, MissouriApril 30, 1970F3, 8.2 mi (13 km)
  8. EF2, Oregon, Ripley and Butler counties, MissouriMay 26, 2024EF2, 45.5 mi (73 km)
  9. EF2, Butler and Stoddard counties, MissouriFebruary 5, 2008EF2, 13.9 mi (22 km)
  10. EF2, Butler County, MissouriJanuary 29, 2013EF2, 3.4 mi (5 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 28 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Butler County. Each year links to every tornado in Missouri that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
2025515EF4
202421EF2
20221EF0
20211EF0
20201EF0
20181EF0
20173EF1
20142EF1
20134EF2
20122EF0
20113EF1
20102EF2
20082EF2
20061F1
2002216F4
19991F0
19971F0
19962F2
19951F0
19941F0
199314F2
19901F2
19811F0
19762116F3
197514F2
197338F3
197021F3
196811F2

Every tornado that crossed Butler County

50 tornadoes, newest first. 1 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files it under that state rather than Missouri.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 2, 20256:36 PM CDTEF1Butler13.4125$2.0 million
March 30, 20255:02 PM CDTEF1Ripley8.650$55,000
March 14, 202511:27 PM CDTEF3Butler17.93501$15 million
March 14, 20259:11 PM CDTEF4Larkin tornado116.01,4005$2.8 million
March 14, 20259:11 PM CDTEF3Oregon to AR57.2800$2.5 million
August 31, 20242:44 PM CDTUnratedButler0.120
May 26, 20246:04 AM CDTEF2Oregon45.54001$1.1 million
March 6, 20225:35 PM CSTEF0Butler0.150
August 8, 20217:14 PM CDTEF0Butler0.150$15,000
March 12, 20205:20 PM CDTEF0Butler0.6100$5,000
May 16, 20187:00 PM CDTEF0Butler5.950$3,000
May 27, 20178:18 PM CDTEF0Butler1.985$40,000
March 9, 20177:14 PM CSTEF1Butler2.7200$500,000
March 9, 20176:32 PM CSTEF1Butler6.3100$25,000
April 3, 20149:00 PM CDTEF1Butler0.675$2,000
April 3, 20147:56 PM CDTEF0Butler0.250$17,000
October 31, 20136:48 PM CDTEF1Butler5.775$100,000
October 31, 20136:30 PM CDTEF1Butler0.250$80,000
April 10, 20138:58 PM CDTEF0Butler1.775$20,000
January 29, 20138:45 PM CSTEF2Butler3.4100$60,000
September 1, 20124:43 PM CDTEF0Butler4.320
September 1, 20124:32 PM CDTEF0Butler3.020
May 25, 20115:14 PM CDTEF0Butler0.740
April 27, 20113:15 PM CDTEF0Butler2.240
April 23, 201112:02 AM CDTEF1Butler3.0100$175,000
December 31, 20102:25 PM CSTEF2Butler0.2100$250,000
May 1, 201010:00 PM CDTEF0Butler0.5175$1,000
February 5, 20088:18 PM CSTEF2Butler13.9200$300,000
February 5, 20088:03 PM CSTEF1Butler3.4300$100,000
September 22, 20068:01 PM CDTF1Butler0.350$4,000
April 24, 20025:21 PM CDTF1Butler1.040$2,000
April 24, 20024:13 PM CDTF4Van Buren–Poplar Bluff tornado40.565016$45 million
January 21, 19995:32 PM CSTF0Butler0.330
June 17, 19977:30 PM CDTF0Butler0.530
April 19, 199610:05 PM CDTF2Butler2.575$300,000
March 5, 19965:05 PM CSTF1Butler12.075$40,000
June 20, 19958:15 PM CDTF0Butler0.250$5,000 to $50,000
April 27, 19944:31 PM CDTF0Butler0.530$500 to $5,000
April 19, 19939:00 PM CDTF2Butler2.01504$500,000 to $5 million
May 17, 19908:20 PM CDTF2Butler3.050$50,000 to $500,000
May 18, 19819:15 PM CDTF0Butler0.550$500 to $5,000
March 20, 19763:00 PM CSTF1Butler0.117$5,000 to $50,000
February 21, 19762:15 AM CSTF3Butler23.7300116$500,000 to $5 million
June 5, 19758:30 AM CDTF2Butler1.01004$500,000 to $5 million
December 4, 19732:45 AM CSTF0Butler0.110$5,000 to $50,000
June 19, 19735:15 PM CDTF1Butler1.03001$50,000 to $500,000
May 7, 19735:50 PM CDTF3Butler36.01007$50,000 to $500,000
April 30, 197010:00 PM CDTF3Butler8.21001$50,000 to $500,000
March 25, 19705:00 PM CSTF1Butler0.117$5,000 to $50,000
May 15, 19689:50 PM GMT-5F2Butler0.2201$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Butler CountyThe forecast for Butler CountyThe live radar over Butler 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.