NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Forsyth, 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 Forsyth, Missouri since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 86 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 86
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Forsyth
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Forsyth; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 43 mph winds when its centre passed 37 miles away. The record near Forsyth begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Forsyth has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 56% of the 334 Missouri cities on this site. The highest rating among the 86 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2 or EF2, reached 10 times; the most recent, on February 29, 2012, came within 4 miles. Of the 86, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 61 have come since 2000. April and May have had the most tornadoes, 21 each. The most recent tornado was on April 20, 2025. Of the 334 Missouri cities, 59% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Forsyth. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 150 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Forsyth has more hail reports within 10 miles than 69% of the 334 Missouri cities.
Compare Forsyth's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Forsyth
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1961 | CarlaSep 13 | overhead | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 11 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 Forsyth: 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 Forsyth
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s31
- 2000s17
- 1990s6
- 1980s6
- 1970s3
- 1960s8
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 29, 2012 | EF2 | 4 mi | 24.29 mi | 0 / 47 |
| May 22, 2011 | EF2 | 9 mi | 15.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2009 | EF2 | 21 mi | 2.48 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2009 | EF2 | 20 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 24, 1982 | F2 | 22 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 13, 1973 | F2 | 15 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Mar 12, 1961 | F2 | 1 mi | 16.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 12, 1961 | F2 | 15 mi | 19 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 6, 1960 | F2 | 24 mi | 5.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 1957 | F2 | 18 mi | 14.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF1 | 7 mi | 1.57 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF1 | 15 mi | 0.62 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 86, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Forsyth
The Storm Prediction Center has 150 hail reports within 10 miles of Forsyth since 1962, made on 88 separate days. Of these, 93 were 1 inch across or larger, and 11 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 29, 2019. The most recent report is from March 14, 2025. May has the most reports, 52.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Forsyth
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ozark Beach, MO, 2 miles south of Forsyth at 834 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 48°F and 24°F. May is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 45.7 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 53 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 103 nights a year. Snowfall averages 6.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 45.7 inches is more than at 91 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (68%). Branson West, 14 miles west, has its own station (Galena, MO): 46.6 inches a year, 0.9 more than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48 | 24 | 2.7 | 4 | 2.3 |
| Feb | 53 | 28 | 2.5 | 4 | 1.8 |
| Mar | 62 | 35 | 4.2 | 7 | 1.0 |
| Apr | 72 | 44 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 79 | 54 | 5.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 88 | 63 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 92 | 67 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 91 | 65 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 84 | 58 | 4.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 73 | 46 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 61 | 35 | 3.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 50 | 28 | 2.8 | 5 | 1.7 |
| Year | 71 | 45 | 45.7 | 67 | 6.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ozark Beach, MO (834 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 Forsyth
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 306 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Forsyth: 193 thunderstorm wind reports, 68 flash floods, 23 floods and 22 heavy rain events. They killed 3 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $23.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on January 8, 2008. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 291 have had fewer than Forsyth.
May 1, 2019: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Forsyth — 2 killed.
NWS: “During the late morning to the early afternoon three kayakers entered Bull Creek after heavy rainfall caused the river to rise nearly 14 feet. When the kayakers entered the river a river gauge on Bull Creek recorded a water level near 13 feet, or near 9 feet above normal stage.”
June 9, 2020: flood 6 miles from the centre of Forsyth — 1 killed.
NWS: “Bull Creek was receding but still in flood when a kayaker crossed a low water crossing and drowned after being caught in a downstream hydraulic. Time is estimated.”
August 11, 1999: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Forsyth — 2 injured, $50,000 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 Forsyth's ZIP code 65653 have filed 15 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2011, and were paid $171,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 172 Missouri cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 24 have fewer than Forsyth.
Taney County, which includes Forsyth, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1976, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 severe storms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on September 21, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Taney County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $41.2 million a year, the 17th highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $28.0 million (68%), 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.