222
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$6.6M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri: 222 recorded events between 1959 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 87. That places the county #863 nationally and #24 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Cape Girardeau County is the 2010s, when 68 of the county's 222 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Cape Girardeau County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 35.6% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #863 for this hazard and #24 within Missouri, putting it in the 72.5 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Cape Girardeau County with 49 recorded events, while Dec is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 3, 2000 | DUTCHTOWN | 83 | 0 | 3 | $250K |
| Jun 8, 1995 | Countywide | 0 | 0 | 2 | $200K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 19, 2025 | EGYPT MILLS | 56 | $0 |
| Aug 19, 2025 | GORDONVILLE | 52 | $1K |
| Aug 19, 2025 | JACKSON | 56 | $10K |
| Aug 19, 2025 | OAK RIDGE | 61 | $5K |
| Aug 6, 2025 | DELTA | 56 | $2K |
| Jul 12, 2025 | CAPE GIRARDEAU | 52 | $1K |
| May 20, 2025 | CAPE GIRARDEAU | 70 | $2K |
| May 20, 2025 | JACKSON | 61 | $0 |
| May 17, 2025 | CAPE GIRARDEAU | 61 | $3K |
| Mar 15, 2025 | JACKSON | 87 | $10K |
Other hazards here
More from Cape Girardeau County
- Hail 145
- Flood 106
- Flash Flood 53
- Tornado 47
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Widespread damaging winds affected northern parts of the county. Over 1,000 trees were blown down, along with power lines. Many roads were blocked. The trees fell on homes, vehicles, and power lines. Power poles were snapped. Extended power outages lasting up to several days were reported. Barns and sheds were blown down. Just west of Oak Ridge, 259 trees were blown down on a single farm. The house and a garage on the farm received holes in their roofs. Windows were blown out of at least one house in Oak Ridge. Towns that experienced the worst damage were north of Jackson, including Daisy and Pocahontas. Several trees were blown down in Jackson, including one that landed on a car.
Thunderstorm winds estimated between 90 and 100 MPH affected a small area about one-half mile wide and two miles long. The hardest hit areas were along Highway 74 west of Interstate 55, and in the 1200 block of South Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. On Highway 74, two mobile homes were destroyed, and four others were badly damaged. A man was inside one of the mobile homes, but he escaped with only minor injuries. Two permanent homes were damaged. The roof of a trucking company at the Interstate 55 exit to Highway 74 was torn off, and a shop area of the business was destroyed. The roof was blown off the business office of a quarry on South Kingshighway. A woman in the quarry office received cuts and scratches. A section of Highway 74 west of I-55 was closed most of the day due to downed power lines. About 5,600 homes in Cape Girardeau County lost power due to the storm.
A microburst containing peak winds estimated near 85 mph tracked across the southern edge of the city of Cape Girardeau, roughly along and parallel to the Southern Expressway. Several fences were blown down. Shingles and siding were blown off at least a dozen homes. Dozens of trees or tree limbs were blown down. A large tree fell on a house, causing major damage. The microburst tracked across the Mississippi River into Illinois.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri?
222 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Cape Girardeau County between 1959 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Cape Girardeau County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Cape Girardeau County measured 87.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Cape Girardeau County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/cape-girardeau-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.