Tornadoes · United States · Missouri

Tornadoes in Clay County, Missouri

43 tornadoes have crossed Clay County since 1950, 5 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 15th of the 115 counties in Missouri with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.8 years. They have killed 2 people and injured 74. 4 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
43
Deaths
2
Injuries
74
F4 and above
4
Worst on record
F4, May 4, 2003

The deadliest in Clay County

  1. F4 Kansas City tornado, Kansas and MissouriMay 4, 20032 killed, 30 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Leavenworth, Wyandotte, Platte and Clay counties, Kansas and MissouriMay 7, 1961F4, 26.2 mi (42 km)
  2. F4 Kansas City tornado, Kansas and MissouriMay 4, 2003F4, 21.0 mi (34 km)
  3. F4, Clay, Jackson and Ray counties, MissouriMay 4, 1977F4, 12.0 mi (19 km)
  4. F4 Gladstone tornado, MissouriMay 4, 2003F4, 5.0 mi (8 km)
  5. F3, Clay and Platte counties, MissouriJune 26, 1969F3, 10.1 mi (16 km)
  6. EF3, Clay County, MissouriMay 2, 2008EF3, 0.9 mi (1 km)
  7. F2, Clay and Clinton counties, MissouriApril 11, 1979F2, 20.1 mi (32 km)
  8. EF2, Clay and Clinton counties, MissouriMarch 6, 2017EF2, 19.6 mi (31 km)
  9. F2, Clay County, MissouriMay 4, 2003F2, 8.5 mi (14 km)
  10. EF2, Clay County, MissouriMay 28, 2019EF2, 5.8 mi (9 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 29 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Clay County. Each year links to every tornado in Missouri that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20265EF0
20241EF1
20211EF0
20201EF0
20191EF2
20171EF2
20151EF0
20141EF1
20112EF0
20082EF3
20051F1
20042F0
20033243F4
20001F1
19931F0
19922F0
19851F0
19821F1
197919F2
197715F4
19731F2
196935F3
19672F1
19661F0
19631F1
19621F1
1961112F4
19561F1
19552F2

Every tornado that crossed Clay County

43 tornadoes, newest first. 2 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than Missouri. The 5 at the top are this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and their ratings are marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 23, 20268:57 PM CDTEF0Clay1.775
April 23, 20269:11 PM CDTEF0Clay1.550
April 23, 20269:11 PM CDTEF0Clay1.1100
June 13, 20268:34 PM CDTEF0Clay9.2200
June 13, 20268:47 PM CDTEF0Clay3.4100
April 16, 202410:13 AM CDTEF1Clay2.450
June 11, 20212:29 PM CDTEF0Clay0.015
July 29, 20201:45 PM CDTEF0Clay0.320
May 28, 20197:58 PM CDTEF2Clay5.8400
March 6, 20177:24 PM CSTEF2Clay19.61,000
July 6, 20155:04 PM CDTEF0Clay1.240
June 30, 20149:34 PM CDTEF1Clay0.8200
May 25, 201112:45 PM CDTEF0Clay0.140
May 25, 201112:33 PM CDTEF0Clay0.140
May 2, 20082:03 AM CDTEF2Clay1.475$10 million
May 2, 20081:56 AM CDTEF3Clay0.975$4.0 million
November 27, 20055:44 PM CSTF1Clay11.075$1.2 million
July 16, 20043:04 AM CDTF0Clay0.550
April 24, 20047:15 PM CDTF0Clay0.120$10,000
May 4, 20034:59 PM CDTF2Clay8.5300$60 million
May 4, 20034:45 PM CDTF4Gladstone tornado5.020013$31 million
May 4, 20034:18 PM CDTF4Kansas City tornado21.0500230$48 million
May 11, 200011:25 PM CDTF1Clay4.5350$5.0 million
May 6, 19938:58 PM CDTF0Clay10.050$500 to $5,000
September 5, 19928:10 PM CDTF0Clay0.120$50 to $500
July 9, 19928:30 PM CDTF0Clay0.220$500 to $5,000
May 26, 19857:15 PM CDTF0Clay0.250
October 8, 19824:05 PM CDTF1Clay0.550$5,000 to $50,000
April 11, 19797:00 PM CSTF2Clay20.11009$50,000 to $500,000
May 4, 19775:40 PM CDTF4Clay12.04005$500,000 to $5 million
May 7, 19731:20 PM CDTF2Clay0.520$5,000 to $50,000
July 7, 19695:30 PM GMT-5F1Clay0.117$50 to $500
June 26, 19698:00 PM GMT-5F1Clay6.2100$5,000 to $50,000
June 26, 19697:30 PM GMT-5F3Clay10.11005$5,000 to $50,000
June 12, 19671:15 AM GMT-5F1Clay1.050$5,000 to $50,000
June 7, 19678:00 PM GMT-5F1Clay3.850$5,000 to $50,000
June 12, 19665:45 PM GMT-5F0Clay0.110under $50
May 15, 19633:00 AM GMT-5F1Clay0.210$50 to $500
May 28, 19628:00 PM GMT-5F1Clay2.350$5,000 to $50,000
May 7, 19614:15 PM GMT-5F4Leavenworth to MO26.25012$500,000 to $5 million
July 2, 19563:30 PM GMT-5F1Clay0.210$50 to $500
March 14, 19556:00 PM GMT-6F1Clay0.3100under $50
March 14, 19555:40 PM GMT-6F2Clay3.3250$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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