Tornadoes · United States · Missouri

Tornadoes in Carter County, Missouri

22 tornadoes have crossed Carter County since 1950, 71st of the 115 counties in Missouri with a tornado on record, an average of one every 3.5 years. They have killed 10 people and injured 139. 3 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
22
Deaths
10
Injuries
139
F4 and above
3
Worst on record
F4, May 21, 1957

The deadliest in Carter County

  1. F4, Carter County, MissouriMay 21, 19577 killed, 75 injured
  2. EF3, Carter and Wayne counties, MissouriMarch 14, 20252 killed
  3. F2, Oregon, Ripley and Carter counties, MissouriDecember 24, 19821 killed, 2 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Sharp, Fulton, Oregon and Carter counties, Arkansas and MissouriDecember 24, 1982F4, 63.0 mi (101 km)
  2. F4, Carter and Butler counties, MissouriApril 24, 2002F4, 40.5 mi (65 km)
  3. F4, Carter County, MissouriMay 21, 1957F4, 9.1 mi (15 km)
  4. EF3, Oregon, Sharp, Shannon, Izard, Randolph, Carter, Ripley, Reynolds, Stone and Butler counties, Missouri and ArkansasMarch 14, 2025EF3, 57.2 mi (92 km)
  5. EF3, Carter, Wayne and Madison counties, MissouriMay 25, 2011EF3, 47.4 mi (76 km)
  6. F3, Carter, Reynolds and Wayne counties, MissouriMarch 25, 1964F3, 46.0 mi (74 km)
  7. EF3, Carter and Wayne counties, MissouriMarch 14, 2025EF3, 30.6 mi (49 km)
  8. F2, Oregon, Ripley and Carter counties, MissouriDecember 24, 1982F2, 33.0 mi (53 km)
  9. F2, Carter and Ripley counties, MissouriDecember 2, 1982F2, 13.5 mi (22 km)
  10. F2, Carter County, MissouriApril 24, 2004F2, 7.6 mi (12 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 16 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Carter County. Each year links to every tornado in Missouri that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
202522EF3
20241EF0
20231EF1
20202EF0
20151EF1
201122EF3
20101EF2
20081EF1
200415F2
2002116F4
19951F0
19841F1
19824115F4
19731F0
1964126F3
19571775F4

Every tornado that crossed Carter County

22 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
March 14, 202510:28 PM CDTEF3Carter30.63252$3.5 million
March 14, 20259:11 PM CDTEF3Oregon to AR57.2800$2.5 million
May 26, 20246:54 PM CDTEF0Carter0.250$1,000
April 5, 20232:48 AM CDTEF1Carter6.4300$210,000
May 4, 20204:23 PM CDTEF0Carter4.050$75,000
March 12, 20205:17 PM CDTEF0Carter0.475$5,000
December 23, 20159:43 AM CSTEF1Carter6.0100$90,000
May 25, 20114:44 PM CDTEF0Carter0.550$2,000
May 25, 20113:49 PM CDTEF3Carter47.41,2002$800,000
December 31, 20101:24 PM CSTEF2Carter2.6200$200,000
June 13, 20083:55 PM CDTEF1Carter0.6125$50,000
April 24, 20045:12 PM CDTF2Carter7.62005$600,000
April 24, 20024:13 PM CDTF4Carter40.565016$45 million
June 7, 19955:27 PM CDTF0Carter1.5300$5,000 to $50,000
April 29, 19847:10 PM CDTF1Carter15.010$500,000 to $5 million
December 24, 19826:05 PM CSTF2Oregon33.030012$500,000 to $5 million
December 24, 19825:00 PM CSTF4Sharp to MO63.044011$500,000 to $5 million
December 2, 19828:00 PM CSTF1Carter0.5502$5,000 to $50,000
December 2, 19827:15 PM CSTF2Carter13.5200$50,000 to $500,000
June 4, 19731:00 PM CDTF0Carter0.110
March 25, 19641:00 PM GMT-6F3Carter46.030026$5,000 to $50,000
May 21, 19574:53 PM GMT-5F4Carter9.1500775$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

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