Tornadoes · United States · Missouri

Tornadoes in Dunklin County, Missouri

40 tornadoes have crossed Dunklin County since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 21st of the 115 counties in Missouri with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.9 years. They have killed 14 people and injured 240. 2 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
40
Deaths
14
Injuries
240
F4 and above
2
Worst on record
EF4, December 10, 2021

The deadliest in Dunklin County

  1. EF4 Monette–Braggadocio tornado, Arkansas, Missouri and TennesseeDecember 10, 20218 killed, 14 injured
  2. F3, Randolph, Greene, Dunklin and Pemiscot counties, Arkansas and MissouriApril 2, 20062 killed, 177 injured
  3. F2, New Madrid, Dunklin and Mississippi counties, MissouriNovember 24, 19732 killed, 6 injured
  4. F4, Dunklin, New Madrid and Mississippi counties, MissouriApril 22, 19811 killed, 32 injured
  5. EF2, Clay, Dunklin and New Madrid counties, Arkansas and MissouriFebruary 24, 20181 killed, 5 injured

The strongest

  1. EF4 Monette–Braggadocio tornado, Arkansas, Missouri and TennesseeDecember 10, 2021EF4, 81.2 mi (131 km)
  2. F4, Dunklin, New Madrid and Mississippi counties, MissouriApril 22, 1981F4, 63.0 mi (101 km)
  3. F3, Randolph, Greene, Dunklin and Pemiscot counties, Arkansas and MissouriApril 2, 2006F3, 77.0 mi (124 km)
  4. F2, Craighead, Mississippi, Dunklin, Pemiscot and New Madrid counties, Arkansas and MissouriMarch 20, 1955F2, 89.4 mi (144 km)
  5. F2, New Madrid, Dunklin and Mississippi counties, MissouriNovember 24, 1973F2, 57.3 mi (92 km)
  6. EF2, Clay, Dunklin and New Madrid counties, Arkansas and MissouriFebruary 24, 2018EF2, 41.9 mi (67 km)
  7. EF2, Dunklin and Pemiscot counties, MissouriMarch 14, 2025EF2, 19.4 mi (31 km)
  8. F2, Dunklin County, MissouriMarch 4, 1964F2, 11.5 mi (19 km)
  9. F2, Dunklin County, MissouriApril 26, 1973F2, 2.0 mi (3 km)
  10. F2, Dunklin County, MissouriApril 15, 1954F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 25 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Dunklin County. Each year links to every tornado in Missouri that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20261EF0
20252EF2
20221EF0
20211814EF4
2018215EF2
20172EF1
20121EF0
20101EF0
20081EF0
200612177F3
20031F0
19993F0
19941F0
19931F0
19891F1
19851F1
19842F0
19813132F4
1973328F2
19681F1
19671F1
196412F2
195741F1
195521F2
19542F2

Every tornado that crossed Dunklin County

40 tornadoes, newest first. 6 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
March 15, 20266:44 PM CDTEF0Dunklin2.975
April 2, 20256:36 PM CDTEF1Butler13.4125$2.0 million
March 14, 202512:56 AM CDTEF2Dunklin19.4550$550,000
April 13, 20222:50 PM CDTEF0Dunklin to MO7.8100$370,000
December 10, 20217:07 PM CSTEF4Monette–Braggadocio tornado81.21,800814$14 million
April 3, 20186:06 PM CDTEF1Dunklin6.7200$1.5 million
February 24, 20185:21 PM CSTEF2Clay to MO41.915015$2.5 million
April 30, 20172:08 AM CDTEF1Dunklin1.2100$250,000
April 30, 20171:56 AM CDTEF1Dunklin to MO2.050$20,000
September 1, 20126:03 PM CDTEF0Dunklin0.025$100,000
May 16, 20106:13 PM CDTEF0Dunklin0.825
May 2, 20081:39 PM CDTEF0Dunklin0.325$20,000
April 2, 20065:37 PM CDTF3Randolph to MO77.08802177$86 million
May 4, 20037:50 PM CDTF0Dunklin3.0200$10,000
June 3, 19996:45 PM CDTF0Dunklin11.050$10,000
January 21, 19999:15 PM CSTF0Dunklin0.110
January 21, 19996:05 PM CSTF0Dunklin0.110
April 15, 199410:40 AM CDTF0Dunklin0.320$50 to $500
July 22, 19931:30 PM CDTF0Dunklin0.220$50 to $500
June 2, 19893:15 PM CDTF1Dunklin0.523
April 23, 19853:23 PM CSTF1Dunklin1.850$50,000 to $500,000
April 29, 19847:55 PM CDTF0Dunklin0.510$500 to $5,000
April 3, 19845:18 PM CSTF0Dunklin1.027
August 27, 198111:30 AM CDTF1Dunklin1.050$5,000 to $50,000
June 4, 19815:30 PM CDTF0Dunklin0.150
April 22, 19814:50 PM CSTF4Dunklin63.0400132$5 million to $50 million
November 24, 197310:25 PM CSTF2New Madrid57.31026$50,000 to $500,000
May 27, 19733:00 AM CDTF1Dunklin0.530$50,000 to $500,000
April 26, 19736:16 AM CSTF2Dunklin2.01002$5,000 to $50,000
May 15, 196810:20 PM GMT-5F1Dunklin1.517$50 to $500
April 23, 196710:45 AM GMT-6F1Dunklin0.3200$5,000 to $50,000
March 4, 19649:00 AM GMT-6F2Dunklin11.51002$5,000 to $50,000
May 21, 195712:45 AM GMT-5F1Dunklin23.733$5,000 to $50,000
May 21, 195712:45 AM GMT-5F1Dunklin0.110$500 to $5,000
April 3, 195712:00 PM GMT-6F1Dunklin1.0100$500 to $5,000
January 22, 195711:40 AM GMT-6F1Dunklin1.01001$5,000 to $50,000
April 23, 19558:00 PM GMT-6F1Dunklin0.210$500 to $5,000
March 20, 19553:30 PM GMT-6F2Craighead to MO89.42501$50,000 to $500,000
September 6, 19541:30 PM GMT-5F1Dunklin0.510$500 to $5,000
April 15, 19543:30 PM GMT-6F2Dunklin1.050$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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