NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Eureka, 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
3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Eureka, Missouri since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 156 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 156
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
38 deaths in all
What the records show for Eureka
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Eureka; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 48 mph winds when its centre passed 32 miles away. The record near Eureka begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Eureka has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 56% of the 334 Missouri cities on this site. The highest rating among the 156 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on April 22, 2011, came within 18 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on February 10, 1959, killed 21 people. Of the 156, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 88 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 39. The most recent tornado was on June 4, 2025. Eureka has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 94% of the 334 Missouri cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 187 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Eureka has more hail reports within 10 miles than 79% of the 334 Missouri cities.
Compare Eureka's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Eureka
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Eureka: 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 Eureka
By decade
- 2020s28(1 EF3+)
- 2010s41(3 EF3+)
- 2000s19
- 1990s16
- 1980s8(3 EF3+)
- 1970s9
- 1960s16(3 EF3+)
- 1950s19(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 10, 1959 | F4 | 3 mi | 23.9 mi | 21 / 345 |
| Feb 24, 1956 | F4 | in town | 77.6 mi | 6 / 36 |
| Jan 24, 1967 | F4 | 13 mi | 25 mi | 3 / 216 |
| Apr 22, 2011 | EF4 | 18 mi | 21.3 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF3 | 13 mi | 27.3 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Dec 31, 2010 | EF3 | 8 mi | 6.65 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Apr 22, 1981 | F3 | 22 mi | 7.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 31, 2013 | EF3 | 14 mi | 31.71 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Nov 15, 1988 | F3 | 22 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Apr 7, 1980 | F3 | 25 mi | 7.3 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Oct 24, 1967 | F3 | 17 mi | 21.8 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Oct 14, 1966 | F3 | 20 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 26 |
The strongest 12 of 156, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Eureka
The Storm Prediction Center has 187 hail reports within 10 miles of Eureka since 1962, made on 108 separate days. Of these, 130 were 1 inch across or larger, and 10 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 4, 1982. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. April has the most reports, 60.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Eureka
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is St Louis Sprt Of S L Airport, MO, 12 miles north of Eureka at 462 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 22°F. April and May are the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 39.8 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 44 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 105 nights a year. That 39.8 inches is more than at 18 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (13%). House Springs, 7 miles south, has its own station (Festus, MO): 43.5 inches a year, 3.7 more than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 22 | 2.4 | 4 |
| Feb | 47 | 26 | 2.0 | 4 |
| Mar | 57 | 34 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Apr | 68 | 44 | 4.6 | 8 |
| May | 77 | 55 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Jun | 86 | 64 | 4.3 | 7 |
| Jul | 90 | 68 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Aug | 88 | 66 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Sep | 81 | 57 | 3.0 | 4 |
| Oct | 70 | 45 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Nov | 56 | 34 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Dec | 45 | 26 | 2.3 | 5 |
| Year | 67 | 45 | 39.8 | 69 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at St Louis Sprt Of S L Airport, MO (462 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 Eureka
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 162 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Eureka: 131 thunderstorm wind reports, 21 flash floods, 8 floods, 1 heavy rain event and 1 lightning strike. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $235.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on April 15, 2023. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 175 have had fewer than Eureka.
April 2, 2006: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Eureka — 1 killed.
NWS: “A man was killed while hiking in Castlewood State park when he was hit by a large tree branch broken by thunderstorm winds.”
April 30, 2017: flood 7 miles from the centre of Eureka — 1 killed.
July 19, 2006: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Eureka — 1 injured.
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 Eureka's ZIP code 63025 have filed 1,208 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $17.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1994: 282 claims (23% of all) and $1.7 million, then Not a named storm in 1982 with 85 and Late spring severe storms in 2017 with 84. The year with the most claims was 1993, with 288. 50% 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, 165 have fewer than Eureka.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1994 | 282 | $1.7 million |
| Not a named storm1982 | 85 | $1.1 million |
| Late spring severe storms2017 | 84 | $3.3 million |
| Early winter storms2015 | 67 | $4.5 million |
| March storm2008 | 50 | $1.6 million |
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 30 | $68,000 |
St. Louis County, which includes Eureka, has been named in 34 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 25 of them major disasters (by incident: 16 severe storms, 10 floods, 3 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 9, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives St. Louis County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hail, lightning and heat waves; Relatively High for tornadoes, inland flooding and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $752.7 million a year, the highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $253.2 million (34%), is from heat waves.
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.