40
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
19
Direct injuries
$48.9M
Property damage
Tornado in Barton County, Missouri: 40 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #620 nationally and #19 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Barton County, Missouri: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Barton County is the 2000s, when 10 of the county's 40 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 Barton County archive, tornado makes up 6.6% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #620 for this hazard and #19 within Missouri, putting it in the 78.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Barton County with 13 recorded events, while Jan 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.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-05-04 | EF4 | 33.0 mi | 880 yd | Crossed in |
| 2003-05-04 | EF3 | 86.0 mi | 880 yd | Touched down here |
| 2019-05-22 | EF3 | 11.3 mi | 880 yd | Crossed in |
| 1982-03-15 | EF3 | 70.0 mi | 600 yd | Crossed in |
| 1958-11-17 | EF3 | 30.2 mi | 400 yd | Touched down here |
| 1966-05-11 | EF2 | 2.3 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 2002-12-18 | EF1 | 9.5 mi | 100 yd | Crossed in |
| 2019-05-20 | EF1 | 10.7 mi | 1,200 yd | Crossed in |
| 2013-05-20 | EF1 | 6.8 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2012-02-28 | EF1 | 16.0 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 2019 | KENOMA | EF3 | 3 | 1 | $740K |
| May 4, 2003 | LIBERAL | F4 | 1 | 10 | $13.0M |
| Dec 18, 2002 | LAMAR MUNI ARPT | F1 | 1 | 7 | $138K |
| Dec 2, 1982 | F1 | 0 | 1 | $250K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 6, 2026 | IANTHA | EF0 | $100K |
| Apr 20, 2025 | BOSTON | EF0 | $3.4M |
| Oct 11, 2021 | GOLDEN CITY | EF0 | $0 |
| May 23, 2019 | KENOMA | EF3 | $740K |
| May 20, 2019 | MINDENMINES | EF1 | $50K |
| Aug 19, 2018 | MILFORD | EF0 | $0 |
| Aug 19, 2018 | IRWIN | EF0 | $0 |
| Aug 19, 2018 | VERDELLA | EF0 | $10K |
| Apr 3, 2015 | GOLDEN CITY | EF0 | $5K |
| May 20, 2013 | IANTHA | EF1 | $50K |
Other hazards here
More from Barton County
- Hail 222
- Thunderstorm Wind 182
- Flash Flood 82
- Flood 66
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A National Weather Service storm survey confirmed an EF-3 tornado with maximum winds of 142 mph. This tornado was the last in a series of at least four tornadoes produced by a supercell that had tracked out of northeast Oklahoma into southwest Missouri. The tornado touched down near the intersection of Redbud and CR 100 in Jasper County and then continued northeast into Barton County just west of SE 70th Lane. Wind speeds increased to 140 mph as the tornado caused significant damage to three homes as it tracked across SE 80th Lane, causing one injury and two fatalities. A third fatality occurred as the tornado destroyed a single wide manufactured home on Highway 126. The roof of another home suffered damage on 126 as well as others on SE 90th Lane before the tornado weakened as it tracked across SE 100th Lane and County Road U before lifting near Highway 160 and 45th Road.
An EF-0 tornado touched down in south-central Barton County in Missouri at 2:29 PM on April 20, 2025, tracking northeast through the city of Lamar before finally lifting northeast of Milford at 2:50 PM. The majority of damage from this tornado was in the city of Lamar, where it caused light to moderate damage to around 200 homes and businesses. Eyewitness accounts report a rain-wrapped tornado, and much of the debris field left behind consisted of light debris like leaf litter pressed to multiple sides of impacted structures by the rain. Straight line wind damage was also found to the east of the path in Lamar.
An EF-1 rated tornado with a maximum wind speed of 85 to 90 mph tracked 16 miles from 5 miles south southeast of Mindenmines to one mile northwest of Lamar crossing Highway 71. The tornado damaged five barns along with uprooting trees and damaging the roof of a farm house and garage. The path width was 200 yards.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Barton County, Missouri?
40 tornado events are recorded in Barton County between 1954 and 2026, causing 5 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Barton County?
The strongest tornado on record in Barton County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Barton 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
“Tornado in Barton County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/barton-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.