NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Holden, 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 Holden, Missouri since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 78 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 78
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Holden
The highest rating among the 78 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 6, 2017, came within 19 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on March 12, 2006, killed 1 person. Of the 78, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 41 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 27. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site, 67% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Holden. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 106 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 334 Missouri cities, 50% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Holden.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Holden
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s16(1 EF3+)
- 2000s19
- 1990s4
- 1980s6
- 1970s4(1 EF3+)
- 1960s18(1 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 1977 | F3 | 20 mi | 26.2 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Apr 12, 1964 | F3 | 14 mi | 19.5 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Mar 6, 2017 | EF3 | 19 mi | 17.74 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Mar 12, 2006 | F2 | 12 mi | 26 mi | 1 / 13 |
| Apr 12, 1964 | F2 | 15 mi | 10.7 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Mar 12, 2006 | F2 | 19 mi | 12.8 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 4, 2003 | F2 | 3 mi | 22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 20, 1982 | F2 | 24 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 4, 1969 | F2 | in town | 0.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 15, 1968 | F2 | 17 mi | 12.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 1968 | F2 | 9 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 20, 1965 | F2 | 25 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 78, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Holden
The Storm Prediction Center has 106 hail reports within 10 miles of Holden since 1955, made on 67 separate days. Of these, 72 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on March 12, 2003. The most recent report is from September 18, 2025. May has the most reports, 29.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Holden
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Elm, MO, 11 miles north of Holden at 850 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 18°F. July is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.4 inches; the year adds up to 42.9 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 33 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 116 nights a year. Snowfall averages 11.9 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.9 inches is more than at 54 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (40%). Garden City, 14 miles southwest, has its own station (Pleasant Hill WFO, MO): 42.7 inches a year, 0.2 less than here, and the same July average high, 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 18 | 1.4 | 3 | 3.8 |
| Feb | 43 | 22 | 1.8 | 4 | 2.9 |
| Mar | 54 | 32 | 2.9 | 6 | 1.1 |
| Apr | 65 | 42 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.1 |
| May | 74 | 53 | 5.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 63 | 5.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 67 | 5.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 65 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 56 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 68 | 44 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 54 | 33 | 2.7 | 4 | 0.7 |
| Dec | 42 | 23 | 1.9 | 4 | 3.3 |
| Year | 65 | 43 | 42.9 | 67 | 11.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Elm, MO (850 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 Holden
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 92 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Holden: 68 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 flash floods, 9 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $500.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 29, 1998. June has had the most flash floods, 4 of 13. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 115 have had fewer than Holden.
June 28, 2024: lightning strike in Holden — 1 killed, 1 injured.
NWS: “A 53 year old man was struck by lightning in the parking lot at the conclusion of the Holden, MO Rodeo. The lightning strike was fatal.”
June 28, 2024: lightning strike in Holden — 1 killed.
NWS: “A 53 year old man was killed when struck by lightning in the parking lot outside of the Holden Chamber of Commerce Rodeo around 11 pm CDT on Friday, June 28th, 2024.”
July 1, 2007: flood 8 miles from the centre of Holden — $500.0 million damage.
NWS: “29 feet above flood stage. Damage was to agricultural interests.”
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
Johnson County, which includes Holden, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 4 floods, 3 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Johnson County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $24.3 million a year, the 34th highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.9 million (49%), 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 Holden
- Kingsville, MO7 mi
- Centerview, MO7 mi
- Garden City, MO14 mi
- Warrensburg, MO14 mi
- Pleasant Hill, MO15 mi
- Lone Jack, MO15 mi
- Bates City, MO19 mi
- Odessa, MO19 mi
- Harrisonville, MO20 mi
- Greenwood, MO21 mi
- Oak Grove, MO21 mi
- Knob Noster, MO23 mi
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