NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ferguson, 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 Ferguson, Missouri since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 170 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 18 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 170
- EF3 or stronger
- 18
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
46 deaths in all
What the records show for Ferguson
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Ferguson; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 49 mph winds when its centre passed 33 miles away. The record near Ferguson begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Ferguson has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 56% of the 334 Missouri cities on this site. The highest rating among the 170 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 5 times; the most recent, on April 22, 2011, passed within a mile of the city centre. The deadliest, an F4 on February 10, 1959, killed 21 people. Of the 170, 16 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 86 have come since 2000. April and May have had the most tornadoes, 36 each. The most recent tornado was on June 4, 2025. Ferguson has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 97% of the 334 Missouri cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 335 times since 1959, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Ferguson has more hail reports within 10 miles than 92% of the 334 Missouri cities.
Compare Ferguson's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Ferguson
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 7 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 Ferguson: 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 Ferguson
By decade
- 2020s30(2 EF3+)
- 2010s33(4 EF3+)
- 2000s23
- 1990s11
- 1980s12(5 EF3+)
- 1970s12
- 1960s19(3 EF3+)
- 1950s30(4 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 10, 1959 | F4 | 8 mi | 23.9 mi | 21 / 345 |
| Feb 24, 1956 | F4 | 15 mi | 77.6 mi | 6 / 36 |
| Jan 24, 1967 | F4 | in town | 25 mi | 3 / 216 |
| Apr 22, 2011 | EF4 | in town | 21.3 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 3, 1981 | F4 | 10 mi | 11.9 mi | 0 / 32 |
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF3 | 13 mi | 4.22 mi | 6 / 1 |
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF3 | 10 mi | 27.3 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Dec 31, 2010 | EF3 | 14 mi | 6.65 mi | 1 / 6 |
| May 31, 2013 | EF3 | 9 mi | 10.64 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 2013 | EF3 | in town | 31.71 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Nov 15, 1988 | F3 | 19 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 15, 1988 | F3 | 22 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 10 |
The strongest 12 of 170, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ferguson
The Storm Prediction Center has 335 hail reports within 10 miles of Ferguson since 1959, made on 158 separate days. Of these, 238 were 1 inch across or larger, and 37 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 25, 2011. The most recent report is from May 19, 2025. May has the most reports, 97.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ferguson
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is St Louis Lambert International Airport, MO, 4 miles west of Ferguson at 531 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 24°F. May is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 41.7 inches over 71 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 85 nights a year. Snowfall averages 16.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 41.7 inches is more than at 39 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (29%). Clayton, 7 miles south, has its own station (St Louis Sci Ctr, MO): 43.9 inches a year, 2.2 more than here, and the same July average high, 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 24 | 2.6 | 5 | 5.7 |
| Feb | 46 | 28 | 2.2 | 5 | 4.3 |
| Mar | 57 | 37 | 3.5 | 7 | 2.3 |
| Apr | 68 | 47 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.2 |
| May | 77 | 58 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 86 | 67 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 71 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 69 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 61 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 69 | 49 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 56 | 37 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 45 | 29 | 2.5 | 5 | 3.2 |
| Year | 67 | 48 | 41.7 | 71 | 16.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at St Louis Lambert International Airport, MO (531 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 Ferguson
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 368 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ferguson: 303 thunderstorm wind reports, 44 flash floods, 11 floods, 7 lightning strikes and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 9 people and injured 48, and the NWS estimated $12.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on February 27, 2011. August has had the most flash floods, 13 of 44. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 255 have had fewer than Ferguson.
September 14, 2008: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Ferguson — 3 killed.
November 4, 2024: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Ferguson — 2 killed, $200,000 damage.
July 1, 2023: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Ferguson — 1 killed, $500,000 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 Ferguson's ZIP code 63135 have filed 363 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $4.4 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Ike in 2008: 66 claims (18% of all) and $1.4 million, then Late July Flooding in 2022 with 54 and Flooding in 1995 with 39. 53% 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, 151 have fewer than Ferguson.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Ike2008 | 66 | $1.4 million |
| Late July Flooding2022 | 54 | $1.7 million |
| Flooding1995 | 39 | $71,000 |
| Not a named storm1982 | 11 | $519,000 |
St. Louis County, which includes Ferguson, 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.