NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Butler, 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 Butler, Missouri since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 62 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 62
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Butler
The strongest of the 62 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF4 on February 28, 2007; its path came within 18 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 4, 1977, killed 2 people. Of the 62, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 31 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site, 89% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Butler. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 94 times since 1967, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 334 Missouri cities, 55% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Butler.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Butler
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s7
- 2000s15(1 EF3+)
- 1990s3
- 1980s5
- 1970s5(1 EF3+)
- 1960s10
- 1950s8(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 28, 2007 | EF4 | 18 mi | 24.49 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 1977 | F3 | 17 mi | 29.8 mi | 2 / 15 |
| Nov 17, 1958 | F3 | 19 mi | 30.2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 12, 2006 | F2 | in town | 26 mi | 1 / 13 |
| Apr 27, 2014 | EF2 | 19 mi | 16.13 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 2003 | F2 | 23 mi | 22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 20, 1982 | F2 | 11 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 1970 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 4, 1969 | F2 | 20 mi | 18.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 31, 1958 | F2 | 20 mi | 6.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 4, 1956 | F2 | 7 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Dec 4, 1956 | F2 | 21 mi | 9.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 62, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Butler
The Storm Prediction Center has 94 hail reports within 10 miles of Butler since 1967, made on 66 separate days. Of these, 57 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 8, 2003. The most recent report is from September 3, 2025. May has the most reports, 29.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Butler
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Butler 4W, MO, 4 miles west of Butler at 790 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 20°F. May is the wettest at 6.3 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 43.9 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 47 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 111 nights a year. Snowfall averages 9.5 inches a year, most of it in February. That 43.9 inches is more than at 68 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (51%). Pleasanton, KS, 21 miles west, has its own station (Mound City, KS): 41.4 inches a year, 2.5 less 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 | 40 | 20 | 1.6 | 4 | 2.6 |
| Feb | 46 | 24 | 2.0 | 4 | 3.0 |
| Mar | 56 | 33 | 2.8 | 6 | 1.2 |
| Apr | 66 | 43 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 76 | 55 | 6.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 65 | 5.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 69 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 66 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 57 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 45 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 56 | 34 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Dec | 45 | 25 | 2.1 | 4 | 2.4 |
| Year | 66 | 45 | 43.9 | 67 | 9.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Butler 4W, MO (790 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 Butler
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 66 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Butler: 56 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 flash floods, 1 flood and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $2,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on May 17, 1997. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 8. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 46 have had fewer than Butler.
May 4, 2020: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Butler — 1 killed.
NWS: “A gradually decaying supercell produced a significant downburst as it crossed into western Missouri. The worst of the damage occurred in the Amsterdam and Passaic area, where a single fatality occurred due to a large tree falling into a home.”
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 Butler's ZIP code 64730 have filed 14 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1998, and were paid $226,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 7% 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, 22 have fewer than Butler.
Bates County, which includes Butler, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 severe storms, 3 floods, 3 ice storms, 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 Bates County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.8 million a year, the 85th highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.2 million (48%), 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 Butler
- Adrian, MO10 mi
- Rich Hill, MO12 mi
- Pleasanton, KS21 mi
- Drexel, MO21 mi
- Garden City, MO23 mi
- La Cygne, KS23 mi
- Harrisonville, MO26 mi
- Nevada, MO29 mi
- Louisburg, KS31 mi
- Clinton, MO31 mi
- Cleveland, MO32 mi
- Peculiar, MO32 mi
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