44
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$9.6M
Property damage
Tornado in Jefferson County, Missouri: 44 recorded events between 1961 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #513 nationally and #13 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Jefferson County, Missouri: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Jefferson County is the 2010s, when 9 of the county's 44 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 Jefferson County archive, tornado makes up 6.7% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #513 for this hazard and #13 within Missouri, putting it in the 82.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Apr is the peak month for tornado in Jefferson County with 11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956-02-24 | EF4 | 77.6 mi | 500 yd | Crossed in |
| 2010-12-31 | EF3 | 6.7 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 1981-04-22 | EF3 | 7.1 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2006-03-11 | EF3 | 5.1 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 2025-03-14 | EF2 | 25.3 mi | 850 yd | Touched down here |
| 2010-12-31 | EF2 | 12.2 mi | 370 yd | Crossed in |
| 1995-05-18 | EF2 | 7.2 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1967-06-10 | EF2 | 0.2 mi | 17 yd | Touched down here |
| 1967-05-28 | EF2 | 2.5 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 1954-03-25 | EF2 | 3.0 mi | 60 yd | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 22, 1981 | F3 | 1 | 0 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 15, 2023 | SILICA | EF1 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 8, 2025 | VINELAND | EF1 | $0 |
| May 20, 2025 | DE SOTO ARPT | EFU | $0 |
| Mar 15, 2025 | MORSE MILL | EF2 | $825K |
| May 26, 2024 | PAULINA HILLS | EF0 | $10K |
| Apr 18, 2024 | HOENE SPG | EF1 | $100K |
| Apr 15, 2023 | PEVELY | EF1 | $0 |
| Apr 15, 2023 | SILICA | EF1 | $0 |
| Apr 15, 2023 | HILLSBORO | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 7, 2017 | HILLSBORO | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 7, 2017 | OERMANN | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Jefferson County
- Hail 312
- Thunderstorm Wind 236
- Flash Flood 41
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado touched down in Barnhart and nearly destroyed two mobile homes and heavily damaged five homes in a subdivision. Power poles were snapped off near the track with nearby trees uprooted or snapped off at the base. As the tornado moved north-northeast, it crossed County Road M and traveled along Highways 61-67 damaging the roof of a modern one story brick building. Several other homes had roof damage and a car dealership reported broken automobile windows from debris. Before lifting, the tornado damaged five other homes near Kimmswick and one mobile home, but no injuries were reported.
At approximately 9:18 PM a tornado began just south of Morse Mill, MO causing damage to trees and homes as it moved northeast. The worst damage in Jefferson County occurred in the southwest corner of Arnold where the roof of a residence was torn off on Shelley Lynn Drive. The tornado then passed into south St. Louis County. In Jefferson County the tornado had a path length of 20.9 miles and a maximum path width of 850 yards. It was rated an EF2.
Numerous large trees were uprooted or snapped at the base when a small tornado touched down initially west of Cedar Hill. The tornado moved rapidly east and uplifted the roof of a small business complex located near the intersection of Highway 30 and County Road BB. A florist shop also experienced minor roof damage. Two nearby buildings also sustained minor roof damage and numerous large trees were knocked down.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Jefferson County, Missouri?
44 tornado events are recorded in Jefferson County between 1961 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Jefferson County?
The strongest tornado on record in Jefferson County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Jefferson 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 Jefferson County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/jefferson-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.