NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Caruthersville, 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
6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Caruthersville, Missouri since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Olga in 2019. Since 1950, 117 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 117
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
66 deaths in all
What the records show for Caruthersville
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Caruthersville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 61 mph winds when its centre passed 54 miles away. The record near Caruthersville begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Olga in 2019, a tropical storm 21 miles away. Of the 6 systems, one has come since 2000. Caruthersville has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 95% of the 334 Missouri cities on this site. The highest rating among the 117 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 5 times; the most recent, on December 10, 2021, came within 3 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on March 21, 1952, killed 17 people. Of the 117, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 46 have come since 2000. April and May have had the most tornadoes, 30 each. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Caruthersville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 69% of the 334 Missouri cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 34 times since 1959, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 334 Missouri cities, 97% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Caruthersville.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Caruthersville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 18 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 20 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 28 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Caruthersville: 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 Caruthersville
By decade
- 2020s9(2 EF3+)
- 2010s14
- 2000s23(2 EF3+)
- 1990s21(3 EF3+)
- 1980s13(2 EF3+)
- 1970s11
- 1960s9
- 1950s17(4 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 21, 1952 | F4 | 7 mi | 6.5 mi | 17 / 100 |
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF4 | 3 mi | 81.17 mi | 8 / 14 |
| Mar 21, 1952 | F4 | 23 mi | 2 mi | 4 / 5 |
| Mar 1, 1997 | F4 | 14 mi | 15 mi | 1 / 15 |
| Mar 1, 1997 | F4 | 16 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2006 | F3 | 9 mi | 18 mi | 16 / 70 |
| Mar 21, 1952 | F3 | 21 mi | 18.1 mi | 10 / 30 |
| Apr 2, 2006 | F3 | in town | 77 mi | 2 / 177 |
| Apr 16, 1998 | F3 | 22 mi | 4 mi | 2 / 3 |
| Mar 21, 1952 | F3 | 20 mi | 39.7 mi | 1 / 57 |
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF3 | 23 mi | 122.62 mi | 0 / 38 |
| Apr 3, 1984 | F3 | 24 mi | 49 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 117, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Caruthersville
The Storm Prediction Center has 34 hail reports within 10 miles of Caruthersville since 1959, made on 30 separate days. Of these, 21 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on May 13, 1967. The most recent report is from May 4, 2020. April has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Caruthersville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Caruthersville, MO, 1 mile northeast of Caruthersville at 270 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 46°F and 30°F. April is the wettest at 6.1 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 55.3 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 54 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 71 nights a year. That 55.3 inches is more than at 133 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (99%). Steele, 12 miles southwest, has its own station (Blytheville Municipal Airport, AR): 43.1 inches a year, 12.2 less than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46 | 30 | 4.0 | 7 |
| Feb | 51 | 33 | 4.9 | 6 |
| Mar | 60 | 40 | 5.3 | 7 |
| Apr | 71 | 50 | 6.1 | 8 |
| May | 79 | 60 | 5.9 | 7 |
| Jun | 88 | 68 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Jul | 90 | 72 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Aug | 89 | 70 | 3.1 | 4 |
| Sep | 83 | 63 | 3.6 | 5 |
| Oct | 72 | 51 | 4.6 | 5 |
| Nov | 59 | 40 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Dec | 49 | 33 | 5.2 | 7 |
| Year | 70 | 51 | 55.3 | 74 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Caruthersville, MO (270 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 Caruthersville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 67 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Caruthersville: 58 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 flash floods, 4 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on October 2, 2014.
May 15, 2015: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Caruthersville — 1 killed.
January 18, 1996: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Caruthersville — 1 injured, $20,000 damage.
May 1, 2011: flood 8 miles from the centre of Caruthersville — $750,000 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 Caruthersville's ZIP code 63830 have filed 85 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $382,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1983, with 16. 12% 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, 101 have fewer than Caruthersville.
Pemiscot County, which includes Caruthersville, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 15 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 21, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Pemiscot County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes, hail and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $24.4 million a year, the 33rd highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.1 million (13%), is from tornadoes.
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 Caruthersville
- Hayti, MO6 mi
- Ridgely, TN11 mi
- Steele, MO12 mi
- Portageville, MO18 mi
- Dyersburg, TN19 mi
- Kennett, MO21 mi
- Blytheville, AR22 mi
- Newbern, TN24 mi
- Halls, TN25 mi
- Tiptonville, TN25 mi
- Senath, MO28 mi
- New Madrid, MO30 mi
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