Tornadoes · United States · Missouri

Tornadoes in Greene County, Missouri

59 tornadoes have crossed Greene County since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 2nd of the 115 counties in Missouri with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.3 years. They have killed 15 people and injured 207. 1 was 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
59
Deaths
15
Injuries
207
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, November 29, 1991

The deadliest in Greene County

  1. F3, Newton, Lawrence, Greene and Christian counties, MissouriMay 4, 20037 killed, 48 injured
  2. EF3, Greene, Webster and Laclede counties, MissouriJanuary 7, 20083 killed, 18 injured
  3. F4 Springfield tornado, MissouriNovember 29, 19912 killed, 64 injured
  4. F2, Greene, Christian, Polk and Dallas counties, MissouriDecember 14, 19711 killed, 22 injured
  5. F3, Greene County, MissouriApril 29, 19831 killed, 19 injured
  6. F3, Lawrence, Greene and Christian counties, MissouriMarch 12, 20061 killed, 8 injured

The strongest

  1. F4 Springfield tornado, MissouriNovember 29, 1991F4, 10.0 mi (16 km)
  2. EF3, Greene, Webster and Laclede counties, MissouriJanuary 7, 2008EF3, 50.4 mi (81 km)
  3. F3, Newton, Lawrence, Greene and Christian counties, MissouriMay 4, 2003F3, 49.0 mi (79 km)
  4. F3, Lawrence, Greene and Christian counties, MissouriMarch 12, 2006F3, 42.0 mi (68 km)
  5. F3, Greene County, MissouriApril 29, 1983F3, 5.5 mi (9 km)
  6. F2, Greene, Christian, Polk and Dallas counties, MissouriDecember 14, 1971F2, 48.3 mi (78 km)
  7. F2, Christian, Greene and Webster counties, MissouriDecember 24, 1982F2, 16.0 mi (26 km)
  8. F2, Greene and Webster counties, MissouriMay 20, 1990F2, 12.0 mi (19 km)
  9. EF2, Christian and Greene counties, MissouriApril 30, 2019EF2, 10.3 mi (17 km)
  10. EF2, Greene County, MissouriJanuary 7, 2008EF2, 6.7 mi (11 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 36 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Greene County. Each year links to every tornado in Missouri that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20261EF0
20253EF1
202421EF1
20231EF0
20201EF0
201963EF2
20182EF1
20171EF0
20161EF0
20141EF0
20131EF0
20121EF0
20112EF1
20094EF1
20085318EF3
20071EF1
2006218F3
20031748F3
200125F1
19951F1
19941F1
19911264F4
199019F2
19891F2
19882F1
19841F1
19833122F3
198211F2
197515F2
19711122F2
19672F1
19661F1
196111F1
19561F0
19551F1
19501F1

Every tornado that crossed Greene County

59 tornadoes, newest first. 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
June 7, 20266:38 PM CDTEF0Greene1.750
April 29, 20259:40 AM CDTEF0Greene8.4100$100,000
April 29, 20259:24 AM CDTEF1Greene1.650$120,000
April 18, 202510:15 PM CDTEF0Greene0.250$40,000
May 6, 202412:33 AM CDTEF0Greene18.71501$73,000
April 1, 202410:37 PM CDTEF1Greene2.1100$90,000
May 15, 20233:41 PM CDTEF0Greene1.575$100,000
January 10, 20205:42 PM CSTEF0Greene7.075$400,000
October 21, 20191:11 AM CDTEF0Greene1.420$15,000
October 20, 201912:57 AM CDTEF0Greene4.7100$48,000
May 21, 20191:06 PM CDTEF0Greene1.2100$41,000
April 30, 20198:28 PM CDTEF2Christian10.34003$11 million
April 30, 20198:21 PM CDTEF1Greene1.7200$300,000
April 30, 20198:15 PM CDTEF1Greene1.8200$25,000
December 1, 201812:47 AM CSTEF1Greene2.560$175,000
May 3, 20182:17 AM CDTEF0Greene0.350$30,000
May 19, 20171:54 AM CDTEF0Greene2.5200$100,000
April 27, 20161:49 AM CDTEF0Greene0.240$100,000
October 13, 20147:20 AM CDTEF0Greene0.4100
July 21, 20137:18 PM CDTEF0Greene0.650$100,000
October 13, 20128:53 PM CDTEF0Greene0.5100$25,000
June 18, 201112:03 AM CDTEF0Greene2.8100$30,000
June 18, 201111:35 PM CDTEF1Dade10.9200
May 8, 20098:21 AM CDTEF0Greene3.5100$100,000
May 8, 20098:14 AM CDTEF1Greene1.875$200,000
May 8, 20098:05 AM CDTEF1Greene3.9100$1.0 million
February 10, 200910:43 PM CSTEF1Greene5.475$350,000
June 19, 20083:30 PM CDTEF1Greene1.3100$150,000
January 8, 20082:37 AM CSTEF1Greene1.150$50,000
January 7, 20087:32 PM CSTEF2Greene6.7300$1.0 million
January 7, 20086:29 PM CSTEF3Greene50.4300318$19 million
January 7, 20085:57 PM CSTEF2Greene6.4200$2.0 million
October 17, 20077:35 PM CDTEF1Greene2.8100$150,000
May 3, 20067:56 PM CDTF0Dade8.025
March 12, 200610:15 PM CSTF3Lawrence42.025018$56 million
May 4, 20036:50 PM CDTF3Newton49.0880748$48 million
October 10, 200111:35 AM CDTF1Greene0.51005$250,000
June 26, 20015:45 PM CDTF0Greene0.150
May 27, 19958:30 PM CDTF1Greene4.0400$50,000 to $500,000
April 26, 19946:50 PM CDTF1Greene0.533$5,000 to $50,000
November 29, 19916:05 PM CSTF4Springfield tornado10.0400264$5 million to $50 million
May 20, 199010:20 PM CDTF2Greene12.01009
May 22, 19891:00 AM CDTF2Greene1.030$50,000 to $500,000
November 15, 19885:28 PM CSTF1Greene0.530
November 15, 19885:10 PM CSTF1Greene21.030
October 18, 19845:35 PM CDTF1Greene0.350$500 to $5,000
April 30, 19838:00 PM CDTF1Greene2.550under $50
April 29, 19839:23 PM CDTF3Greene5.5100119$5 million to $50 million
April 29, 19838:55 PM CDTF2Greene1.01003$500,000 to $5 million
December 24, 198212:10 PM CSTF2Christian16.01001$500,000 to $5 million
September 10, 19751:55 PM CDTF2Greene0.3505$500,000 to $5 million
December 14, 197111:10 PM CSTF2Greene48.3200122$500,000 to $5 million
July 28, 19676:00 AM GMT-5F1Greene0.233$500 to $5,000
April 23, 19676:30 AM GMT-6F1Greene1.050$5,000 to $50,000
March 22, 19667:00 PM GMT-6F1Greene2.020$500 to $5,000
March 12, 19617:47 PM GMT-6F1Greene5.6501$500 to $5,000
February 24, 195610:45 PM GMT-6F0Greene0.210$50 to $500
July 23, 19558:30 PM GMT-5F1Greene0.210$50 to $500
August 8, 19502:00 AM GMT-5F1Greene2.010$50 to $500

Nearby

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