Missouri severe thunderstorm wind
Every recorded severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955 · 115 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 20,293 severe thunderstorm wind events in Missouri from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 550 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the July 19, 2018 thunderstorm wind in Stone County: 17 deaths. Missouri ranks 11th of 52 states and territories by count and 25th of 51 per square mile.
Severe thunderstorm wind in Missouri, 1955 to 2026
Thunderstorm wind records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1996: all 48 event types recorded from 1996
- Records
- 20,2931955 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 550average
- Deaths
- 46509 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $456Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2025886 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are severe thunderstorm wind events common in Missouri?
Missouri averages about 550 severe thunderstorm wind events a year since 2000, 11th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2025 (886). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Missouri records 2952 severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955, 25th of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1955, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in Missouri have the most severe thunderstorm wind events?
Per square mile, St. Louis County leads Missouri: 343 days with a severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955, 675.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Greene County has the most thunderstorm wind records (871 since 1955); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1955 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the severe thunderstorm season in Missouri?
Missouri's severe thunderstorm wind events by month. The busiest month is June (4,251 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 222 · Feb 361 · Mar 1,049 · Apr 2,333 · May 3,482 · Jun 4,251 · Jul 3,473 · Aug 2,561 · Sep 1,100 · Oct 669 · Nov 423 · Dec 369 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1955.
What were the deadliest severe thunderstorm wind events in Missouri?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-07-19 | Thunderstorm WindNotch, Stone County A line of severe thunderstorms producing 50 to 70 mph winds caused wind damage across Stone County. On Table Rock Lake, winds of over 60 mph led to high waves. An amphibious tourist vehicle sank with seventeen fatalities and numerous injuries reported. | 52 kt wind | 17 | 0 | – |
| 1996-08-04 | Thunderstorm WindWashington, Franklin County A rapidly strengthening thunderstorm produced wind gusts of at least 60 mph across the Washington area, downing some trees and power lines. A pontoon boat on Missouri River was caught by the storm and overturned by the wind gusts. A women and two children on the boat took shelter in a small storage closet to escape ... | 3 | 6 | – | |
| 2009-05-08 | Thunderstorm WindPoplar Bluff, Butler County One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. A mature, very intense derecho moved rapidly east along a stationary front across the Mid Mississippi Valley into the Lower Ohio Valley. With a very moist and unstable atmosphere, along with strongly veering winds aloft, embedded tornadic supercells were associated with the derecho. Widespread damaging winds were the ... | 61 kt wind | 2 | 0 | $85M |
| 2023-07-01 | Thunderstorm WindTower Grove, St. Louis (city) One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. Even though an old outflow boundary was across southeast Missouri and the far southern portions of Illinois during the morning hours, the boundary dissipated, allowing 75+ dew points to surge north along the Mississippi River. As skies cleared the atmosphere was able to quickly destabilize. Surface based CAPEs were in ... | 65 kt wind | 2 | 0 | $484K |
| 2012-04-28 | Thunderstorm WindSt Louis, St. Louis (city) About 100 people were injured and one person was killed when a tent collapsed on a crowd that was gathered after a Cardinals game at Kilroy's Sports Bar (720 South Seventh Street). Seventeen people were taken to area hospitals and treated for their injuries. According to radar data and eye witness reports, outflow ... | 52 kt wind | 1 | 100 | – |
| 2004-07-05 | Thunderstorm WindCountywide, Benton County A derecho swept across much of west central and central Missouri during the early morning hours of July 5th. Severe winds from this line of thunderstorms affected a campground near Truman Lake where 48 people were injured. One fatality occurred as a 47 year old man drove his boat over the lake while the storm swept ... | 70 kt wind | 1 | 48 | $547K |
| 2025-06-29 | Thunderstorm WindBattlefield, Greene County One storm episode: 77 records in 9 places; the totals are the episode's. Thunderstorms occurred during the early morning hours across central Missouri, producing localized flash flooding. A larger complex of thunderstorms with severe winds moved through southwest Missouri during the afternoon and evening hours of June 29th, producing widespread damaging winds from Dade County, southeast ... | 55 kt wind | 1 | 5 | $1.5M |
| 2003-08-21 | Thunderstorm WindGarden City, Cass County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Two mobile homes destroyed with two injuries. One of these injured died as a result of their injuries on September 3, 2003. One house had major damage with one injury. Numerous trees down or damaged along with outbuildings. | 61 kt wind | 1 | 5 | $249K |
| 2012-07-07 | Thunderstorm WindCuba, Crawford County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Storms developed ahead of a cold front. Some of the storms became severe producing damaging winds and large hail. | 65 kt wind | 1 | 2 | – |
| 2019-06-21 | Thunderstorm WindVan Buren, Carter County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A severe weather outbreak occurred during the afternoon and early evening hours. An organized line of severe thunderstorms formed over the central Plains states during the night of the 20th. This bowing line of storms progressed southeast across the St. Louis area during the midday hours, then down across the lower ... | 61 kt wind | 1 | 2 | $139K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest severe thunderstorm wind events in Missouri
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-05-08 | Thunderstorm WindPlano, Greene County One storm episode: 24 records in 24 places; the totals are the episode's. | 78 kt wind | 0 | 5 | $111M |
| 2009-05-08 | Thunderstorm WindPoplar Bluff, Butler County One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. | 61 kt wind | 2 | 0 | $85M |
| 1996-05-26 | Thunderstorm WindLee's Summit, Jackson County | 0 | 9 | $19M | |
| 2025-04-29 | Thunderstorm WindSgf Downtown Airport, Greene County One storm episode: 89 records in 13 places; the totals are the episode's. | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $12M |
| 1994-04-15 | Thunderstorm WindCaledonia, Washington County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (12, in 9 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 0 | 1 | $10M | |
| 2003-06-25 | Thunderstorm WindAlexandria, Clark County | 60 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $7.7M |
| 2020-05-04 | Thunderstorm WindGideon, New Madrid County One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 96 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $7.4M |
| 2001-04-03 | Thunderstorm WindHartville, Wright County | 0 | 0 | $5.0M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are severe thunderstorm wind events becoming more frequent in Missouri?
Missouri's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | Missouri | United States | Missouri's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-59 | 253 | 3,482 | 7.3% |
| 1960s | 558 | 10,124 | 5.5% |
| 1970s | 1,030 | 18,714 | 5.5% |
| 1980s | 1,360 | 39,604 | 3.4% |
| 1990s | 2,453 | 85,554 | 2.9% |
| 2000s | 5,271 | 129,990 | 4.1% |
| 2010s | 5,538 | 161,286 | 3.4% |
| 2020-26 | 3,830 | 126,815 | 3.0% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent severe thunderstorm wind events in Missouri
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-25 | Thunderstorm WindKampville, St. Charles County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $10K |
| 2026-06-25 | Thunderstorm WindFerguson, St. Louis County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $20K |
| 2026-06-25 | Thunderstorm WindPleasant Hope, Polk County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $10K |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindCaverna, McDonald County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindCyclone, McDonald County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindAnderson, McDonald County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindPineville, McDonald County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindElk Spgs, McDonald County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-06-21 | Thunderstorm WindHarold, Greene County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $2K |
| 2026-06-14 | Thunderstorm WindAva, Douglas County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-06-14 | Thunderstorm WindAva, Douglas County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-06-14 | Thunderstorm WindLinden, Christian County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for severe thunderstorm wind events in Missouri
FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 48 declarations in Missouri, 46 of them major disasters; the latest on September 1, 2026.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-01 | DR-4939 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 9 |
| 2026-08-03 | DR-4929 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 34 |
| 2026-06-30 | DR-4924 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 10 |
| 2025-07-22 | DR-4885 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 5 |
| 2025-06-09 | DR-4877 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 3 |
| 2025-06-09 | DR-4876 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 6 |
| 2025-05-21 | DR-4872 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 27 |
| 2025-05-21 | DR-4867 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Wildfires | 25 |
| 2025-01-01 | DR-4855 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 14 |
| 2024-07-23 | DR-4803 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 15 |
| 2023-09-21 | DR-4741 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 33 |
| 2022-01-10 | DR-4636 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes | 7 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- St. Louis County: the county's whole recordThe Missouri county with the most severe thunderstorm wind events per square mile
- Severe thunderstorm wind across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in MissouriTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Hail in Missouri20,443 records
- Floods in Missouri10,821 records
- Winter storms in Missouri6,559 records