NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Billings, 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
3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Billings, Missouri since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 131 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 131
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
37 deaths in all
What the records show for Billings
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Billings; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 43 mph winds when its centre passed 70 miles away. The record near Billings begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Billings has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 56% of the 334 Missouri cities on this site. The highest rating among the 131 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 10, 2008, came within 21 miles. Of the 131, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 86 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 31. The most recent tornado was on April 29, 2025. Billings has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 79% of the 334 Missouri cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 217 times since 1956, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Billings has more hail reports within 10 miles than 84% of the 334 Missouri cities.
Compare Billings's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Billings
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Billings: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Billings
By decade
- 2020s16
- 2010s39
- 2000s31(3 EF3+)
- 1990s7(1 EF3+)
- 1980s11(1 EF3+)
- 1970s12(1 EF3+)
- 1960s6
- 1950s9(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 2008 | EF4 | 21 mi | 75.51 mi | 21 / 350 |
| Nov 29, 1991 | F4 | 13 mi | 10 mi | 2 / 64 |
| May 4, 2003 | F3 | 3 mi | 49 mi | 7 / 48 |
| Mar 12, 2006 | F3 | in town | 42 mi | 1 / 8 |
| Apr 29, 1983 | F3 | 12 mi | 5.5 mi | 1 / 19 |
| Mar 26, 1976 | F3 | 17 mi | 29.1 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Mar 24, 1954 | F3 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Dec 17, 2002 | F2 | 11 mi | 4 mi | 2 / 17 |
| Dec 14, 1971 | F2 | 2 mi | 48.3 mi | 1 / 22 |
| Apr 30, 2019 | EF2 | 18 mi | 10.28 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 22, 2011 | EF2 | 14 mi | 15.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 2011 | EF2 | 23 mi | 14.13 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 131, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Billings
The Storm Prediction Center has 217 hail reports within 10 miles of Billings since 1956, made on 129 separate days. Of these, 127 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently January 7, 2008. The most recent report is from September 16, 2025. May has the most reports, 69.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Billings
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Billings 1SW, MO, 3 miles west of Billings at 1,310 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 45°F and 22°F. May is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 45.7 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 36 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 112 nights a year. Snowfall averages 11.9 inches a year, most of it in January. That 45.7 inches is more than at 89 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (66%). Crane, 10 miles south, has its own station (Galena, MO): 46.6 inches a year, 0.9 more than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45 | 22 | 2.6 | 5 | 4.7 |
| Feb | 50 | 25 | 2.4 | 5 | 2.5 |
| Mar | 59 | 33 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.9 |
| Apr | 69 | 43 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.2 |
| May | 76 | 54 | 5.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 63 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 67 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 65 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 57 | 4.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 45 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 58 | 34 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.5 |
| Dec | 48 | 26 | 2.9 | 4 | 3.0 |
| Year | 68 | 44 | 45.7 | 71 | 11.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Billings 1SW, MO (1,310 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 Billings
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 325 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Billings: 209 thunderstorm wind reports, 69 flash floods, 23 floods, 22 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $20.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on July 11, 2003. May has had the most flash floods, 13 of 69. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 294 have had fewer than Billings.
April 29, 2017: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Billings — 1 killed.
May 17, 2021: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Billings — 3 injured, $200,000 damage.
April 28, 1996: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Billings — 2 injured, $2.5 million 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
Christian County, which includes Billings, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1976, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 4 ice storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on September 21, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Christian County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail and inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $36.1 million a year, the 19th highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $18.4 million (51%), 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.