Tornadoes · United States · Missouri

Tornadoes in Cass County, Missouri

42 tornadoes have crossed Cass County since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 18th of the 115 counties in Missouri with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.8 years. They have killed 4 people and injured 42. 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
42
Deaths
4
Injuries
42
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, May 4, 1977

The deadliest in Cass County

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 26 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Cass County. Each year links to every tornado in Missouri that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20261EF1
20251EF0
20211EF0
20201EF0
20181EF0
20153EF1
20141EF0
20122EF0
20111EF0
20101EF0
20081EF0
20071EF1
20061113F2
20051F0
200341F2
20011F0
19814F0
19771215F3
196921F2
19681F3
19673F1
19653F1
19641110F3
19612F1
196012F3
19552F1

Every tornado that crossed Cass County

42 tornadoes, newest first. 4 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than Missouri. 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
April 17, 20265:19 PM CDTEF1Cass4.80
July 11, 20258:21 PM CDTEF0Cass0.9200
March 15, 20215:12 PM CDTEF0Cass0.010
June 4, 20202:56 AM CDTEF0Cass1.840
May 2, 20189:22 PM CDTEF0Cass0.010
September 18, 20158:32 PM CDTEF0Cass2.325
September 18, 20157:57 PM CDTEF1Cass5.2100
July 1, 20158:01 PM CDTEF0Cass1.4100
June 15, 20144:17 AM CDTEF0Cass2.925
May 6, 20125:17 PM CDTEF0Cass0.125
May 6, 20125:15 PM CDTEF0Cass0.225
May 25, 201111:35 AM CDTEF0Cass0.140
June 8, 20105:39 PM CDTEF0Cass2.120$10,000
May 1, 20089:08 PM CDTEF0Cass0.125
February 28, 200710:05 PM CSTEF1Cass6.250$50,000
March 12, 20067:52 PM CSTF2Bates26.0450113$580,000
June 4, 20056:35 AM CDTF0Cass0.550
May 9, 20039:44 PM CDTF0Cass0.225
May 9, 20039:25 PM CDTF1Cass3.0501$1.0 million
May 4, 20036:04 PM CDTF2Cass22.0100$200,000
May 4, 20035:06 PM CDTF1Miami to MO9.0150
May 30, 20015:25 PM CDTF0Cass0.220$1,000
June 21, 19819:05 PM CDTF0Cass1.050
June 21, 19817:14 PM CDTF0Cass1.050
June 19, 19819:10 PM CDTF0Cass1.050
June 19, 19818:43 PM CDTF0Cass7.150
May 4, 197712:40 PM CDTF3Bates29.8500215
April 4, 19694:15 PM GMT-6F0Cass0.210under $50
April 4, 19693:00 PM GMT-6F2Linn to MO18.72001$50,000 to $500,000
May 15, 19683:45 PM GMT-5F3Miami to MO2.750$5,000 to $50,000
August 18, 19676:30 PM GMT-5F1Cass6.550$50 to $500
April 16, 19677:45 PM GMT-6F0Cass0.110under $50
April 16, 19677:45 PM GMT-6F0Cass0.110under $50
June 4, 19654:20 PM GMT-5F0Cass0.110$50 to $500
May 26, 19653:10 AM GMT-5F1Cass10.450$5,000 to $50,000
April 10, 19657:30 PM GMT-6F1Cass0.250$5,000 to $50,000
April 12, 19646:00 PM GMT-6F3Cass19.5100110$500,000 to $5 million
April 23, 19612:00 PM GMT-6F1Cass0.210$500 to $5,000
April 22, 19612:00 AM GMT-6F1Cass0.250$5,000 to $50,000
April 15, 19606:00 PM GMT-6F3Miami to MO8.45002
September 24, 19555:30 AM GMT-5F1Cass0.210$5,000 to $50,000
May 27, 195510:00 PM GMT-5F1Cass0.210$500 to $5,000

Nearby

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