NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Doniphan, 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
5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Doniphan, Missouri since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 80 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 80
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
11 deaths in all
What the records show for Doniphan
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Doniphan; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1923, a tropical storm with 46 mph winds when its centre passed 38 miles away. The record near Doniphan begins with an unnamed storm in 1906; the most recent system was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm 54 miles away. Of the 5 systems, one has come since 2000. Doniphan has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 87% of the 334 Missouri cities on this site. The highest rating among the 80 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on March 14, 2025, came within 4 miles. The deadliest, an EF3 on March 14, 2025, killed 3 people. Of the 80, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 54 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 18. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Of the 334 Missouri cities, 65% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Doniphan. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 68 times since 1976, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 334 Missouri cities, 74% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Doniphan.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Doniphan
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 17 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 20 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 29 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Doniphan: 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 Doniphan
By decade
- 2020s17(5 EF3+)
- 2010s24(1 EF3+)
- 2000s13(1 EF3+)
- 1990s11
- 1980s7(2 EF3+)
- 1970s5(2 EF3+)
- 1960s2
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 22, 1981 | F4 | 25 mi | 63 mi | 1 / 32 |
| Mar 14, 2025 | EF4 | 4 mi | 115.95 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 24, 2002 | F4 | 21 mi | 40.5 mi | 0 / 16 |
| Dec 24, 1982 | F4 | 21 mi | 63 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Mar 14, 2025 | EF3 | 17 mi | 80.97 mi | 3 / 0 |
| Mar 14, 2025 | EF3 | 22 mi | 30.6 mi | 2 / 0 |
| Mar 14, 2025 | EF3 | 17 mi | 17.92 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Feb 21, 1976 | F3 | 22 mi | 23.7 mi | 1 / 16 |
| Mar 14, 2025 | EF3 | 25 mi | 23.54 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 25, 2011 | EF3 | 13 mi | 47.41 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 30, 1970 | F3 | 15 mi | 8.2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 27, 2005 | F2 | 9 mi | 12 mi | 1 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 80, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Doniphan
The Storm Prediction Center has 68 hail reports within 10 miles of Doniphan since 1976, made on 62 separate days. Of these, 35 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on March 27, 1998. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. April has the most reports, 18.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Doniphan
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Doniphan, MO, 3 miles east of Doniphan at 289 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 46°F and 24°F. May is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 3.4 inches; the year adds up to 51.8 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 51 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 109 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.7 inches a year, most of it in February. That 51.8 inches is more than at 130 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (97%). Corning, AR, 22 miles southeast, has its own station (Corning, AR): 49.4 inches a year, 2.4 less than here, and the same July average high, 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46 | 24 | 3.4 | 5 | 1.7 |
| Feb | 51 | 27 | 3.8 | 5 | 2.4 |
| Mar | 60 | 35 | 4.7 | 7 | 2.0 |
| Apr | 70 | 44 | 5.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 78 | 55 | 5.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 86 | 64 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 68 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 66 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 58 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 72 | 45 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 59 | 35 | 4.9 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 48 | 28 | 4.2 | 6 | 1.4 |
| Year | 69 | 46 | 51.8 | 71 | 7.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Doniphan, MO (289 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 Doniphan
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 102 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Doniphan: 61 thunderstorm wind reports, 26 floods, 11 flash floods and 4 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $4.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on April 10, 2013. May has had the most flash floods, 3 of 11. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 88 have had fewer than Doniphan.
April 28, 2026: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Doniphan — 1 injured, $400,000 damage.
NWS: “5mi. The damage swath began just southeast of Doniphan where a home suffered roof, siding, and fascia damage.”
May 1, 2017: flood 10 miles from the centre of Doniphan — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “The Current River experienced a record flood upstream at Doniphan, MO in early May. The water moved downstream and caused the evacuation of Success, AR on May 1st.”
March 19, 2008: flood in Doniphan — $600,000 damage.
NWS: “Major flooding of the Current River occurred. M.”
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 Doniphan's ZIP code 63935 have filed 244 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1982, and were paid $12.9 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Late spring severe storms in 2017: 74 claims (30% of all) and $9.7 million, then March storm in 2008 with 42 and Mid-spring storms in 2011 with 37. 71% 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, 138 have fewer than Doniphan.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Late spring severe storms2017 | 74 | $9.7 million |
| March storm2008 | 42 | $1.3 million |
| Mid-spring storms2011 | 37 | $824,000 |
Ripley County, which includes Doniphan, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 15 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Ripley County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.4 million a year, the 61st highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.6 million (46%), 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 Doniphan
- Corning, AR22 mi
- Ellsinore, MO22 mi
- Pocahontas, AR24 mi
- Van Buren, MO26 mi
- Poplar Bluff, MO26 mi
- Alton, MO28 mi
- Imboden, AR33 mi
- Winona, MO36 mi
- Thayer, MO37 mi
- Piedmont, MO38 mi
- Walnut Ridge, AR39 mi
- Wappapello, MO39 mi
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