NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Canton, 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 Canton, Missouri since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 71 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 71
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Canton
The highest rating among the 71 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 8, 1999, came within 14 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 1, 1973, killed 2 people. Of the 71, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 29 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on August 10, 2025. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site, 79% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Canton. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 48 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 334 Missouri cities, 91% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Canton.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Canton
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s5
- 2000s18
- 1990s20(1 EF3+)
- 1980s2
- 1970s12(2 EF3+)
- 1960s3
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 1973 | F3 | 19 mi | 3.6 mi | 2 / 20 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F3 | 14 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 13, 1974 | F3 | 8 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 4, 2017 | EF2 | 14 mi | 7.97 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 10, 2003 | F2 | 5 mi | 69.2 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 10, 2003 | F2 | 24 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 2003 | F2 | 4 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 6 |
| May 10, 2003 | F2 | 20 mi | 22.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F2 | 9 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 23, 1977 | F2 | 25 mi | 19.5 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 30, 1974 | F2 | 13 mi | 15.8 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Apr 13, 1974 | F2 | 8 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 71, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Canton
The Storm Prediction Center has 48 hail reports within 10 miles of Canton since 1955, made on 36 separate days. Of these, 39 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on March 15, 2016. The most recent report is from April 20, 2023. June has the most reports, 13.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Canton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Canton L&D 20, MO, 4 miles southeast of Canton at 490 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 17°F. May is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 39.6 inches over 65 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 22 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 122 nights a year. That 39.6 inches is more than at 16 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (12%). Mendon, IL, 17 miles east, has its own station (Quincy Regional Airport, IL): 36.6 inches a year, 3.0 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 17 | 1.6 | 3 |
| Feb | 38 | 21 | 1.9 | 4 |
| Mar | 50 | 31 | 2.4 | 5 |
| Apr | 63 | 42 | 4.1 | 8 |
| May | 72 | 53 | 5.2 | 8 |
| Jun | 81 | 63 | 4.6 | 7 |
| Jul | 85 | 66 | 4.2 | 6 |
| Aug | 83 | 64 | 4.1 | 5 |
| Sep | 77 | 56 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Oct | 65 | 44 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Nov | 51 | 32 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Dec | 39 | 23 | 2.0 | 4 |
| Year | 62 | 42 | 39.6 | 65 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Canton L&D 20, MO (490 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 Canton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 71 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Canton: 34 thunderstorm wind reports, 21 floods and 16 flash floods. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $10.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on February 11, 1999. June has had the most flash floods, 7 of 16. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 140 have had fewer than Canton.
May 15, 2010: flood 8 miles from the centre of Canton — 1 killed.
NWS: “At 245 am, a young woman was travelling west of County Road 195th, when the car she was driving in went into water covering the road due to the North Fabius River, which was in flood. The car became completely submerged and she perished.”
July 11, 2015: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Canton — 1 killed.
NWS: “Up to five inches of rain fell onto already saturated soils causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded including Highways C and B at LaGrange.”
June 4, 2008: flood 6 miles from the centre of Canton — $9.8 million damage.
NWS: “73 feet on 6/18. This is the second highest crest ever recorded.”
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 Canton's ZIP code 63435 have filed 74 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $6.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Late spring storms in 2011: 20 claims (27% of all) and $189,000. The year with the most claims was 2019, with 24. 34% 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, 94 have fewer than Canton.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Late spring storms2011 | 20 | $189,000 |
Lewis County, which includes Canton, has been named in 27 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 16 severe storms, 5 floods, 3 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on August 3, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lewis County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.1 million a year, the 89th highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.9 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 Canton
- Mendon, IL17 mi
- Kahoka, MO18 mi
- Keokuk, IA18 mi
- Hamilton, IL20 mi
- Quincy, IL20 mi
- Palmyra, MO27 mi
- Camp Point, IL29 mi
- Carthage, IL29 mi
- Edina, MO31 mi
- Liberty, IL32 mi
- Fort Madison, IA34 mi
- Donnellson, IA34 mi
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