NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Belton, MO
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Belton, Missouri since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 130 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 130
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
49 deaths in all
What the records show for Belton
The strongest of the 130 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 20, 1957; its path came within 6 miles, and it killed 44 people. Of the 130, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 58 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 46. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Belton has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 79% of the 334 Missouri cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 242 times since 1960, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Belton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 87% of the 334 Missouri cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Belton
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s29(1 EF3+)
- 2000s14(1 EF3+)
- 1990s3
- 1980s15
- 1970s12(2 EF3+)
- 1960s28(4 EF3+)
- 1950s14(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 1957 | F5 | 6 mi | 69.4 mi | 44 / 207 |
| May 4, 2003 | F4 | 24 mi | 21 mi | 2 / 30 |
| May 22, 1952 | F4 | 21 mi | 26.9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 4, 1977 | F3 | 24 mi | 29.8 mi | 2 / 15 |
| Apr 12, 1964 | F3 | 10 mi | 19.5 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Mar 6, 2017 | EF3 | 19 mi | 17.74 mi | 0 / 12 |
| May 4, 1977 | F3 | 17 mi | 31.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 15, 1968 | F3 | 10 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1966 | F3 | 13 mi | 7.7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 15, 1960 | F3 | 8 mi | 8.4 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 8, 2022 | EF2 | 25 mi | 9.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 2003 | F2 | 23 mi | 22 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 130, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Belton
The Storm Prediction Center has 242 hail reports within 10 miles of Belton since 1960, made on 139 separate days. Of these, 137 were 1 inch across or larger, and 14 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 17, 2023. The most recent report is from June 7, 2024. May has the most reports, 64.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Belton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Olathe Johnson Co Exec Airport, KS, 12 miles west of Belton at 1,070 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 39°F and 21°F. May is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 37.8 inches over 59 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 33 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 101 nights a year. That 37.8 inches is more than at 4 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (3%). Raymore, 4 miles east, has its own station (Pleasant Hill WFO, MO): 42.7 inches a year, 4.9 more than here, and the same July average high, 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39 | 21 | 1.1 | 2 |
| Feb | 44 | 25 | 1.4 | 3 |
| Mar | 55 | 35 | 2.3 | 5 |
| Apr | 65 | 45 | 3.9 | 7 |
| May | 74 | 55 | 5.4 | 8 |
| Jun | 83 | 65 | 5.2 | 7 |
| Jul | 88 | 69 | 4.2 | 5 |
| Aug | 87 | 67 | 4.4 | 5 |
| Sep | 78 | 59 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Oct | 67 | 47 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Nov | 53 | 35 | 2.0 | 3 |
| Dec | 42 | 25 | 1.4 | 2 |
| Year | 64 | 46 | 37.8 | 59 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Olathe Johnson Co Exec Airport, KS (1,070 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Belton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 208 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Belton: 159 thunderstorm wind reports, 42 flash floods, 4 heavy rain events, 2 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $661,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on June 29, 1998. June has had the most flash floods, 18 of 42. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 250 have had fewer than Belton.
August 6, 1996: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Belton — 3 injured, $150,000 damage.
June 18, 2011: thunderstorm wind in Belton — 1 injured, $40,000 damage.
NWS: “A large number of trees were blown down. Several landed on mobile homes, with significant damage reported to one.”
March 12, 2006: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Belton — $150,000 damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Belton's ZIP code 64012 have filed 50 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $764,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 22% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 172 Missouri cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 78 have fewer than Belton.
Cass County, which includes Belton, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 3 floods, 3 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Cass County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $44.3 million a year, the 15th highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $17.5 million (39%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Belton
- Raymore, MO4 mi
- Grandview, MO5 mi
- Leawood, KS6 mi
- Peculiar, MO8 mi
- Cleveland, MO10 mi
- Bucyrus, KS10 mi
- Greenwood, MO10 mi
- Overland Park, KS11 mi
- Lees Summit, MO11 mi
- Prairie Village, KS13 mi
- Raytown, MO13 mi
- Pleasant Hill, MO15 mi
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