NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Harrisburg, 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
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Harrisburg, Missouri since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 62 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 62
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Harrisburg
The highest rating among the 62 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 6 times; the most recent, on March 12, 2006, came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on March 12, 2006, killed 4 people. Of the 62, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 22 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on April 20, 2025. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site, 89% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Harrisburg. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 69 times since 1958, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 334 Missouri cities, 72% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Harrisburg.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Harrisburg
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s6
- 2000s12(2 EF3+)
- 1990s12(4 EF3+)
- 1980s8
- 1970s6
- 1960s5
- 1950s9
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 12, 2006 | F3 | 13 mi | 19.7 mi | 4 / 26 |
| Mar 12, 2006 | F3 | 15 mi | 35 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 10, 1998 | F3 | 15 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 16 |
| Jul 4, 1995 | F3 | 18 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 27, 1990 | F3 | 13 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Nov 27, 1990 | F3 | 18 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F2 | 8 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F2 | 8 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 12, 1980 | F2 | 24 mi | 42.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 27, 1959 | F2 | 5 mi | 6.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 4, 1956 | F2 | 16 mi | 11.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1954 | F2 | 8 mi | 89.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 62, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Harrisburg
The Storm Prediction Center has 69 hail reports within 10 miles of Harrisburg since 1958, made on 45 separate days. Of these, 41 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 11, 2005. The most recent report is from April 4, 2023. May has the most reports, 20.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Harrisburg
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Columbia U Of M, MO, 15 miles southeast of Harrisburg at 770 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 39°F and 23°F. May is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and December the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 44.7 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 41 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 93 nights a year. Snowfall averages 17.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 44.7 inches is more than at 77 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (57%). Sturgeon, 10 miles northeast, has its own station (Moberly, MO): 42.9 inches a year, 1.8 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39 | 23 | 2.4 | 4 | 5.9 |
| Feb | 45 | 27 | 2.3 | 5 | 4.8 |
| Mar | 56 | 36 | 3.2 | 7 | 2.0 |
| Apr | 67 | 46 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.3 |
| May | 76 | 56 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 65 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 69 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 67 | 4.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 59 | 4.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 68 | 47 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 55 | 37 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.8 |
| Dec | 44 | 27 | 2.2 | 5 | 3.5 |
| Year | 66 | 46 | 44.7 | 71 | 17.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Columbia U Of M, MO (770 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 Harrisburg
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 46 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Harrisburg: 18 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 flash floods, 11 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 2 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $86,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 1, 2001. June has had the most flash floods, 4 of 16. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 140 have had fewer than Harrisburg.
September 13, 2008: flood 7 miles from the centre of Harrisburg — 1 killed.
June 17, 2009: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Harrisburg — 1 killed.
November 17, 2015: flood 10 miles from the centre of Harrisburg — 2 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
Boone County, which includes Harrisburg, has been named in 27 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 severe storms, 6 floods, 5 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on September 1, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Boone County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding 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 $75.1 million a year, the 8th highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $41.3 million (55%), 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 Harrisburg
- Sturgeon, MO10 mi
- Fayette, MO11 mi
- Hallsville, MO12 mi
- Columbia, MO15 mi
- Centralia, MO18 mi
- Moberly, MO20 mi
- Boonville, MO21 mi
- Huntsville, MO22 mi
- Ashland, MO27 mi
- Salisbury, MO29 mi
- Mexico, MO31 mi
- Auxvasse, MO31 mi
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