Tornadoes · United States · Missouri

Tornadoes in Ripley County, Missouri

26 tornadoes have crossed Ripley County since 1950, 59th of the 115 counties in Missouri with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.9 years. They have killed 2 people and injured 15. 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
26
Deaths
2
Injuries
15
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
EF4, March 14, 2025

The deadliest in Ripley County

  1. F2, Oregon, Ripley and Carter counties, MissouriDecember 24, 19821 killed, 2 injured
  2. F2, Ripley County, MissouriNovember 27, 20051 killed

The strongest

  1. EF4 Larkin tornado, Arkansas and MissouriMarch 14, 2025EF4, 116.0 mi (187 km)
  2. EF3, Oregon, Sharp, Shannon, Izard, Randolph, Carter, Ripley, Reynolds, Stone and Butler counties, Missouri and ArkansasMarch 14, 2025EF3, 57.2 mi (92 km)
  3. F3, Butler and Ripley counties, MissouriApril 30, 1970F3, 8.2 mi (13 km)
  4. EF2, Oregon, Ripley and Butler counties, MissouriMay 26, 2024EF2, 45.5 mi (73 km)
  5. F2, Oregon, Ripley and Carter counties, MissouriDecember 24, 1982F2, 33.0 mi (53 km)
  6. F2, Carter and Ripley counties, MissouriDecember 2, 1982F2, 13.5 mi (22 km)
  7. F2, Ripley County, MissouriNovember 27, 2005F2, 12.0 mi (19 km)
  8. F2, Ripley County, MissouriApril 19, 1996F2, 10.0 mi (16 km)
  9. EF2, Ripley County, MissouriMarch 9, 2017EF2, 9.6 mi (16 km)
  10. F2, Ripley County, MissouriNovember 5, 2005F2, 7.4 mi (12 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 19 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Ripley County. Each year links to every tornado in Missouri that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
202545EF4
202411EF2
20171EF2
20141EF2
20132EF1
20121EF1
20111EF0
201011EF1
200814EF1
200521F2
19991F1
19961F2
19951F0
19901F0
19842F1
1982212F2
197311F2
197011F3
19671F2

Every tornado that crossed Ripley County

26 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.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 2, 20255:32 PM CDTEF1Ripley1.1125$185,000
March 30, 20255:02 PM CDTEF1Ripley8.650$55,000
March 14, 20259:11 PM CDTEF4Larkin tornado116.01,4005$2.8 million
March 14, 20259:11 PM CDTEF3Oregon to AR57.2800$2.5 million
May 26, 20246:04 AM CDTEF2Oregon45.54001$1.1 million
March 9, 20176:25 PM CSTEF2Ripley9.6600$30,000
April 3, 20149:40 PM CDTEF2Ripley3.5220$50,000
October 31, 20136:11 PM CDTEF1Ripley4.2150$100,000
January 29, 20138:14 PM CSTEF1Ripley0.3100$100,000
December 9, 20123:12 PM CSTEF1Ripley0.4150$100,000
May 25, 20114:58 PM CDTEF0Ripley0.750
March 10, 201011:30 PM CSTEF1Ripley1.51801$200,000
February 5, 20087:20 PM CSTEF1Randolph to MO31.92004$280,000
November 27, 200510:30 PM CSTF2Ripley12.02501$250,000
November 5, 200510:39 PM CSTF2Ripley7.4250$70,000
April 5, 19997:38 PM CDTF1Ripley1.0250$30,000
April 19, 199610:00 PM CDTF2Ripley10.0100$100,000
June 7, 19955:52 PM CDTF0Ripley0.5250
May 9, 19906:55 PM CDTF0Ripley0.250
November 9, 19846:05 PM CSTF1Ripley1.0100$50,000 to $500,000
November 9, 19845:40 PM CSTF0Ripley0.377
December 24, 19826:05 PM CSTF2Oregon33.030012$500,000 to $5 million
December 2, 19827:15 PM CSTF2Carter13.5200$50,000 to $500,000
January 18, 19731:55 PM CSTF2Ripley4.31001$50,000 to $500,000
April 30, 197010:00 PM CDTF3Butler8.21001$50,000 to $500,000
December 21, 19676:20 AM GMT-6F2Ripley1.950$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

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