NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bethany, 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 Bethany, Missouri since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 78 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 78
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Bethany
The highest rating among the 78 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 29, 2004, came within 3 miles. Of the 78, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 36 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on April 27, 2024. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site, 67% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Bethany. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 81 times since 1958, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 334 Missouri cities, 65% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Bethany.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Bethany
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s10
- 2000s22(2 EF3+)
- 1990s8(1 EF3+)
- 1980s7(1 EF3+)
- 1970s6
- 1960s12(1 EF3+)
- 1950s9(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 29, 2004 | F4 | 3 mi | 22 mi | 3 / 6 |
| Jun 7, 1984 | F4 | 11 mi | 134 mi | 3 / 64 |
| Oct 8, 1958 | F3 | 16 mi | 23.1 mi | 2 / 7 |
| Apr 11, 2001 | F3 | 20 mi | 76.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 1995 | F3 | 21 mi | 30.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 16, 1960 | F3 | 9 mi | 27 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Mar 27, 2014 | EF2 | 16 mi | 2.98 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 2004 | F2 | 12 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 24, 1989 | F2 | 18 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1984 | F2 | 23 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F2 | 20 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1973 | F2 | 15 mi | 5.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 78, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Bethany
The Storm Prediction Center has 81 hail reports within 10 miles of Bethany since 1958, made on 48 separate days. Of these, 65 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 4 days, most recently May 6, 2023. The most recent report is from May 20, 2025. May has the most reports, 28.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Bethany
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Bethany, MO, in Bethany at 949 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 16°F. May is the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 39.3 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 24 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 132 nights a year. Snowfall averages 21.2 inches a year, most of it in December. That 39.3 inches is more than at 13 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (10%). Albany, 16 miles west, has its own station (Albany, MO): 37.6 inches a year, 1.7 less than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 16 | 1.0 | 3 | 5.4 |
| Feb | 39 | 19 | 1.6 | 4 | 5.2 |
| Mar | 52 | 30 | 2.1 | 5 | 3.3 |
| Apr | 63 | 41 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.3 |
| May | 73 | 51 | 5.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 62 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 66 | 5.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 64 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 55 | 3.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 65 | 43 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 51 | 31 | 2.0 | 4 | 1.3 |
| Dec | 38 | 21 | 1.7 | 4 | 5.6 |
| Year | 62 | 41 | 39.3 | 68 | 21.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Bethany, MO (949 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 Bethany
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 65 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bethany: 51 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 flash floods and 3 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $51,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on March 6, 2017. June has had the most flash floods, 6 of 11. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 88 have had fewer than Bethany.
June 15, 2017: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Bethany — 2 injured.
NWS: “A tree fell on a mobile home on the 200 block of 2nd Street, temporarily trapping two people, both of whom sustained minor to moderate injuries.”
March 6, 2017: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Bethany — 1 injured.
NWS: “Tractor trailer rig was blown over on I-35 near mile marker 93. 1 injury was reported with this incident.”
June 15, 2017: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Bethany — 1 injured.
NWS: “Semi was blown off of I-35 near mile marker 99, with driver sustaining minor injuries.”
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
Harrison County, which includes Bethany, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 3 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on August 3, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Harrison County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $7.2 million a year, the 96th highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.5 million (34%), 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 Bethany
- Albany, MO16 mi
- Jamesport, MO23 mi
- Gallatin, MO25 mi
- Princeton, MO25 mi
- Lamoni, IA26 mi
- Trenton, MO26 mi
- Stanberry, MO27 mi
- Maysville, MO30 mi
- Mount Ayr, IA32 mi
- Leon, IA36 mi
- Hamilton, MO37 mi
- Cameron, MO38 mi
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