Tornadoes · United States · Missouri

Tornadoes in Douglas County, Missouri

43 tornadoes have crossed Douglas County since 1950, 2 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 16th of the 115 counties in Missouri with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.8 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 22. 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
43
Deaths
0
Injuries
22
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, April 11, 1979

The strongest

  1. F3, Douglas and Texas counties, MissouriApril 11, 1979F3, 35.4 mi (57 km)
  2. F2, Douglas, Wright and Texas counties, MissouriDecember 2, 1982F2, 23.0 mi (37 km)
  3. F2, Douglas and Wright counties, MissouriMay 12, 1990F2, 18.0 mi (29 km)
  4. F2, Douglas and Ozark counties, MissouriDecember 24, 1982F2, 17.0 mi (27 km)
  5. F2, Taney and Douglas counties, MissouriMay 21, 1957F2, 14.5 mi (23 km)
  6. F2, Douglas County, MissouriMay 6, 1960F2, 5.7 mi (9 km)
  7. EF2, Douglas County, MissouriMay 8, 2009EF2, 2.5 mi (4 km)
  8. EF2, Douglas County, MissouriMay 8, 2009EF2, 2.3 mi (4 km)
  9. F2, Douglas County, MissouriApril 13, 1974F2, 2.0 mi (3 km)
  10. F2, Douglas County, MissouriMarch 13, 1973F2, 2.0 mi (3 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 22 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Douglas County. Each year links to every tornado in Missouri that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20262EF1
20251EF0
20244EF0
20211EF0
20196EF1
20181EF1
20153EF1
20142EF1
20111EF1
20094EF2
20085EF1
20061F0
20051F1
20021F0
19901F2
1982213F2
197919F3
19741F2
19731F2
19691F1
19601F2
19572F2

Every tornado that crossed Douglas County

43 tornadoes, newest first. The 2 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
June 7, 20268:47 PM CDTEF1Douglas8.9400
June 26, 20266:03 PM CDTEF1Douglas0.575
April 20, 20254:35 PM CDTEF0Douglas2.850$100,000
November 4, 20246:55 PM CSTEF0Douglas0.050
November 4, 20246:47 PM CSTEF0Douglas0.050
November 4, 20246:26 PM CSTEF0Douglas0.050
May 26, 20243:32 AM CDTEF0Taney4.0150$50,000
April 28, 202111:13 AM CDTEF0Douglas1.9100$250,000
October 21, 20192:13 AM CDTEF1Ozark12.9450$100,000
October 21, 20192:06 AM CDTEF1Douglas16.3450$25,000
April 30, 20199:40 PM CDTEF0Douglas2.9100
April 30, 20197:06 PM CDTEF1Douglas3.0200
April 30, 20196:44 PM CDTEF1Douglas8.6200$75,000
April 30, 20196:15 PM CDTEF0Christian1.950
May 3, 20182:45 AM CDTEF1Douglas0.875$10,000
July 9, 20153:05 PM CDTEF0Douglas2.4100
July 9, 20153:00 PM CDTEF0Douglas1.4100
April 2, 201512:26 AM CDTEF1Douglas0.9100$15,000
May 8, 20145:10 PM CDTEF1Douglas2.5100$15,000
April 27, 201411:45 PM CDTEF0Douglas0.9100$10,000
May 25, 20111:30 AM CDTEF1Webster9.3100$20,000
May 8, 20098:48 AM CDTEF1Douglas1.1200$50,000
May 8, 20098:39 AM CDTEF2Douglas2.31,320$200,000
May 8, 20098:39 AM CDTEF2Douglas2.5880$20,000
May 8, 20098:25 AM CDTEF1Taney12.3880$2.6 million
May 2, 20086:02 AM CDTEF0Douglas0.3100$100,000
May 2, 20085:52 AM CDTEF0Douglas7.4250
April 10, 20087:55 AM CDTEF0Douglas0.375$40,000
January 8, 20083:43 AM CSTEF1Douglas2.275$125,000
January 8, 20083:17 AM CSTEF0Douglas9.750$75,000
March 11, 20065:50 PM CSTF0Douglas0.120$10,000
November 5, 20057:50 PM CSTF1Christian17.0530$500,000
August 12, 200210:20 PM CDTF0Douglas0.1100
May 12, 19904:20 PM CDTF2Douglas18.0100$500,000 to $5 million
December 24, 19822:55 PM CSTF2Douglas17.02004$50,000 to $500,000
December 2, 19823:30 AM CSTF2Douglas23.01509$500,000 to $5 million
April 11, 19793:00 PM CSTF3Douglas35.44009$50 to $500
April 13, 19749:00 PM CDTF2Douglas2.0100$5,000 to $50,000
March 13, 19739:05 PM CSTF2Douglas2.050$5,000 to $50,000
October 10, 19699:40 PM GMT-5F1Douglas3.620$5,000 to $50,000
May 6, 19601:45 AM GMT-5F2Douglas5.750$50,000 to $500,000
June 12, 19572:15 PM GMT-5F0Douglas0.210$50 to $500
May 21, 19574:15 PM GMT-5F2Taney14.5500$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

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