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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Buckner, 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 Buckner, Missouri since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 121 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
0

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
121

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
12

50 deaths in all

What the records show for Buckner

The strongest of the 121 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 20, 1957; its path came within 14 miles, and it killed 44 people. Of the 121, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 53 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 47. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Buckner has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 71% of the 334 Missouri cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 195 times since 1960, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Buckner has more hail reports within 10 miles than 81% of the 334 Missouri cities.

Compare Buckner's storm record with another city →

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Buckner

By decade

  • 2020s11
  • 2010s25(1 EF3+)
  • 2000s17(3 EF3+)
  • 1990s8
  • 1980s8
  • 1970s12(3 EF3+)
  • 1960s29(4 EF3+)
  • 1950s11(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Buckner, Missouri
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
May 20, 1957F514 mi69.4 mi44 / 207
May 4, 2003F418 mi21 mi2 / 30
May 4, 2003F416 mi5 mi0 / 13
May 4, 1977F418 mi48.6 mi0 / 1
May 4, 1977F49 mi12 mi0 / 5
May 7, 1961F416 mi26.2 mi0 / 12
Jan 24, 1967F3in town14.5 mi2 / 18
May 4, 1977F317 mi26.2 mi1 / 5
Apr 12, 1964F316 mi19.5 mi1 / 10
Mar 6, 2017EF311 mi17.74 mi0 / 12
May 2, 2008EF319 mi0.92 mi0 / 0
Jun 26, 1969F319 mi10.1 mi0 / 5

The strongest 12 of 121, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Buckner

The Storm Prediction Center has 195 hail reports within 10 miles of Buckner since 1960, made on 95 separate days. Of these, 119 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 26, 2016. The most recent report is from September 16, 2025. May has the most reports, 51.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Buckner

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Independence, MO, 10 miles west of Buckner at 985 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 19°F. May is the wettest at 6.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.5 inches; the year adds up to 44.7 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 31 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 113 nights a year. Snowfall averages 13.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 44.7 inches is more than at 76 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (57%). Grain Valley, 7 miles south, has its own station (Lees Summit Municipal Airport, MO): 38.5 inches a year, 6.2 less than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 87°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Independence, MO
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow in
Jan38191.543.6
Feb43231.942.6
Mar55332.961.7
Apr65434.470.2
May74546.090.0
Jun83645.370.0
Jul87685.170.0
Aug86665.160.0
Sep78574.860.0
Oct67453.550.4
Nov53342.441.2
Dec42241.843.5
Year644444.76913.2

Averages for 1991–2020 at Independence, MO (985 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.

Missouri weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Buckner

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 185 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Buckner: 142 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 floods, 18 flash floods and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on April 2, 2010. June has had the most flash floods, 9 of 18. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 155 have had fewer than Buckner.

  • March 14, 2025: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Buckner — 1 injured.

  • May 7, 2007: flood 8 miles from the centre of Buckner — $1.0 million damage.

  • May 2, 2008: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Buckner — $1.0 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

Flood insurance policyholders in Buckner's ZIP code 64016 have filed 16 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1990, and were paid $137,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 172 Missouri cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 25 have fewer than Buckner.

Jackson County, which includes Buckner, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 7 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 Jackson County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes and hail; Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $250.6 million a year, the 3rd highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $109.1 million (44%), 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 Buckner