NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Imperial, 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 Imperial, Missouri since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 157 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 157
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
37 deaths in all
What the records show for Imperial
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Imperial; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 48 mph winds when its centre passed 19 miles away. The record near Imperial begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Imperial has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 56% of the 334 Missouri cities on this site. The highest rating among the 157 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on April 22, 2011, came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on February 10, 1959, killed 21 people. Of the 157, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 88 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 45. The most recent tornado was on June 7, 2025. Imperial has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 94% of the 334 Missouri cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 261 times since 1957, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Imperial has more hail reports within 10 miles than 88% of the 334 Missouri cities.
Compare Imperial's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Imperial
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 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 Imperial: 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 Imperial
By decade
- 2020s36(1 EF3+)
- 2010s34(3 EF3+)
- 2000s18(1 EF3+)
- 1990s21
- 1980s7(2 EF3+)
- 1970s9(1 EF3+)
- 1960s15(2 EF3+)
- 1950s17(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 10, 1959 | F4 | 13 mi | 23.9 mi | 21 / 345 |
| Feb 24, 1956 | F4 | 9 mi | 77.6 mi | 6 / 36 |
| Jan 24, 1967 | F4 | 22 mi | 25 mi | 3 / 216 |
| Apr 22, 2011 | EF4 | 24 mi | 21.3 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF3 | 24 mi | 27.3 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Dec 31, 2010 | EF3 | 8 mi | 6.65 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Apr 22, 1981 | F3 | 11 mi | 7.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 31, 2013 | EF3 | 24 mi | 31.71 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Mar 11, 2006 | F3 | 16 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 1, 1983 | F3 | 22 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 18, 1975 | F3 | 24 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 24, 1967 | F3 | 24 mi | 21.8 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 157, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Imperial
The Storm Prediction Center has 261 hail reports within 10 miles of Imperial since 1957, made on 120 separate days. Of these, 178 were 1 inch across or larger, and 19 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on April 26, 1994. The most recent report is from April 2, 2025. April has the most reports, 89.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Imperial
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Festus, MO, 11 miles south of Imperial at 600 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 22°F. April is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 43.5 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 38 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 105 nights a year. Snowfall averages 9.2 inches a year, most of it in February. That 43.5 inches is more than at 61 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (46%). Fenton, 9 miles north, has its own station (St Charles 7 SSW, MO): 42.4 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 22 | 2.7 | 5 | 2.1 |
| Feb | 46 | 25 | 2.5 | 5 | 2.7 |
| Mar | 56 | 34 | 4.0 | 8 | 1.1 |
| Apr | 68 | 44 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.2 |
| May | 76 | 54 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 63 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 67 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 65 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 57 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 46 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 56 | 35 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.6 |
| Dec | 45 | 27 | 2.8 | 5 | 2.5 |
| Year | 67 | 45 | 43.5 | 74 | 9.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Festus, MO (600 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 Imperial
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 150 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Imperial: 123 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 flash floods, 7 floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 3 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $7.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on March 14, 2025. April has had the most flash floods, 6 of 17. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 146 have had fewer than Imperial.
July 1, 2015: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Imperial — 2 killed, $4.0 million damage.
NWS: “Up to 7 inches of rain fell in a short amount of time onto already saturated soils causing flash flooding. The main band of heavy rain extended from northwest of Cedar Hill southeastward to southeastern Jefferson County, south of Festus.”
August 10, 2020: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Imperial — 1 killed.
July 19, 2006: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Imperial — 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Imperial's ZIP code 63052 have filed 132 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $1.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Midwest Flooding in 1993: 14 claims (11% of all) and $253,000, then Early winter storms in 2015 with 10. 39% 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, 114 have fewer than Imperial.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 14 | $253,000 |
| Early winter storms2015 | 10 | $208,000 |
Jefferson County, which includes Imperial, has been named in 30 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 16 severe storms, 7 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Wildfires, on May 21, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Jefferson County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively High for tornadoes and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $114.5 million a year, the 5th highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $58.6 million (51%), 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.