Tornadoes · United States · Missouri
Tornadoes in Clinton County, Missouri
27 tornadoes have crossed Clinton County since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 47th of the 115 counties in Missouri with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.8 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 16. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
- 27
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 16
- F4 and above
- 0
- Worst on record
- F3, March 14, 1955
The strongest
- F3, Clinton and Caldwell counties, MissouriMarch 14, 1955
- F2, Leavenworth, Platte, Buchanan, Clinton and DeKalb counties, Kansas and MissouriMay 18, 1971
- F2, Clay and Clinton counties, MissouriApril 11, 1979
- EF2, Clay and Clinton counties, MissouriMarch 6, 2017
- F2, Clinton County, MissouriJanuary 24, 1967
- F2, Clinton County, MissouriApril 19, 1973
Every year with a tornado
The 21 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Clinton County. Each year links to every tornado in Missouri that year.
Every tornado that crossed Clinton County
27 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. 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.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 23, 2026 | 9:11 PM CDT | EF0 | Clay | 1.5 | 50 | |||
| June 11, 2022 | 10:07 PM CDT | EF0 | Clinton | 0.0 | 20 | |||
| October 24, 2021 | 3:27 PM CDT | EF1 | Clinton | 4.6 | 40 | $10,000 | ||
| March 6, 2017 | 7:24 PM CST | EF2 | Clay | 19.6 | 1,000 | |||
| August 26, 2016 | 7:25 PM CDT | EF0 | Clinton | 3.3 | 25 | $2,000 | ||
| May 12, 2010 | 11:52 PM CDT | EF0 | Clinton | 0.3 | 25 | $10,000 | ||
| April 25, 2009 | 9:17 PM CDT | EF0 | Clinton | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| May 1, 2008 | 7:26 PM CDT | EF0 | Clinton | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| May 29, 2004 | 8:40 PM CDT | F1 | Clinton | 20.0 | 150 | $30,000 | ||
| May 29, 2004 | 7:35 PM CDT | F0 | Clinton | 1.0 | 75 | |||
| May 8, 2002 | 7:20 PM CDT | F0 | Clinton | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| May 6, 1993 | 10:10 PM CDT | F1 | Clinton | 1.2 | 50 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| May 6, 1993 | 8:58 PM CDT | F0 | Clay | 10.0 | 50 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| June 21, 1985 | 7:09 PM CDT | F0 | Clinton | 0.2 | 10 | |||
| May 30, 1985 | 7:28 PM CDT | F0 | Clinton | 0.2 | 50 | |||
| April 11, 1979 | 7:00 PM CST | F2 | Clay | 20.1 | 100 | 9 | $50,000 to $500,000 | |
| April 19, 1973 | 6:00 PM CST | F2 | Clinton | 1.0 | 50 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| November 1, 1971 | 5:30 PM CST | F1 | Clinton | 1.0 | 27 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| May 18, 1971 | 2:45 PM CDT | F2 | Leavenworth to MO | 55.4 | 100 | 6 | $5,000 to $50,000 | |
| April 21, 1967 | 1:00 PM GMT-6 | F1 | Clinton | 0.1 | 50 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| April 21, 1967 | 12:30 PM GMT-6 | F1 | Clinton | 0.2 | 10 | under $50 | ||
| January 24, 1967 | 12:35 PM GMT-6 | F2 | Clinton | 2.5 | 50 | $5,000 to $50,000 | ||
| April 12, 1964 | 5:45 PM GMT-6 | F1 | Clinton | 6.2 | 50 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| May 15, 1963 | 1:01 AM GMT-5 | F1 | Clinton | 0.3 | 10 | $50 to $500 | ||
| May 18, 1959 | 12:00 AM GMT-5 | F1 | Clinton | 0.2 | 17 | $500 to $5,000 | ||
| June 7, 1957 | 9:00 PM GMT-5 | F0 | Clinton | 0.2 | 10 | under $50 | ||
| March 14, 1955 | 5:10 PM GMT-6 | F3 | Clinton | 9.8 | 250 | 1 | $50,000 to $500,000 |
Nearby
Warnings in force in Clinton CountyThe forecast for Clinton CountyThe live radar over Clinton 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.