NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Independence, 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 Independence, Missouri since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 137 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 137
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
49 deaths in all
What the records show for Independence
The strongest of the 137 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 20, 1957; its path came within 7 miles, and it killed 44 people. Of the 137, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 60 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 55. The most recent tornado was on June 3, 2025. Independence has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 84% of the 334 Missouri cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 408 times since 1955, with stones up to 5.5 inches. Independence has more hail reports within 10 miles than 95% of the 334 Missouri cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Independence
By decade
- 2020s14
- 2010s30(1 EF3+)
- 2000s16(3 EF3+)
- 1990s7
- 1980s13
- 1970s11(1 EF3+)
- 1960s29(5 EF3+)
- 1950s17(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 1957 | F5 | 7 mi | 69.4 mi | 44 / 207 |
| May 4, 2003 | F4 | 12 mi | 21 mi | 2 / 30 |
| May 4, 2003 | F4 | 11 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 13 |
| May 4, 1977 | F4 | 11 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 7, 1961 | F4 | 13 mi | 26.2 mi | 0 / 12 |
| May 22, 1952 | F4 | 17 mi | 26.9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jan 24, 1967 | F3 | 8 mi | 14.5 mi | 2 / 18 |
| Apr 12, 1964 | F3 | 20 mi | 19.5 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Mar 6, 2017 | EF3 | 12 mi | 17.74 mi | 0 / 12 |
| May 2, 2008 | EF3 | 15 mi | 0.92 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 26, 1969 | F3 | 13 mi | 10.1 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 19, 1966 | F3 | 16 mi | 7.7 mi | 0 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 137, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Independence
The Storm Prediction Center has 408 hail reports within 10 miles of Independence since 1955, made on 194 separate days. Of these, 246 were 1 inch across or larger, and 20 reached 2 inches. The largest, 5.5 inches, fell on September 18, 2010. The most recent report is from September 16, 2025. April has the most reports, 103.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Independence
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Independence, MO, 2 miles southeast of Independence at 985 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 19°F. May is the wettest at 6.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.5 inches; the year adds up to 44.7 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 31 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 113 nights a year. Snowfall averages 13.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 44.7 inches is more than at 76 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (57%). Raytown, 7 miles southwest, has its own station (Lees Summit Municipal Airport, MO): 38.5 inches a year, 6.2 less than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 19 | 1.5 | 4 | 3.6 |
| Feb | 43 | 23 | 1.9 | 4 | 2.6 |
| Mar | 55 | 33 | 2.9 | 6 | 1.7 |
| Apr | 65 | 43 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.2 |
| May | 74 | 54 | 6.0 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 64 | 5.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 68 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 66 | 5.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 57 | 4.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 67 | 45 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 53 | 34 | 2.4 | 4 | 1.2 |
| Dec | 42 | 24 | 1.8 | 4 | 3.5 |
| Year | 64 | 44 | 44.7 | 69 | 13.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Independence, MO (985 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 Independence
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 356 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Independence: 289 thunderstorm wind reports, 53 flash floods, 9 floods, 3 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $2.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on June 23, 1998. August has had the most flash floods, 14 of 53. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 272 have had fewer than Independence.
July 5, 2018: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Independence — 1 killed, 1 injured.
NWS: “From the KC Star article: A man who was struck by lightning while working on a roof Thursday afternoon in eastern Kansas City has died. Leonel Sanchez, 23, and another man fell from a roof at a residence near 49th Street and Raymond Avenue.”
March 14, 2025: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Independence — 1 injured.
May 2, 2008: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Independence — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “Extensive damage to a business near Highway 291 and 23rd Street. Also power poles and lines were downed.”
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 Independence's 7 ZIP codes have filed 368 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Not a named storm in 1982: 151 claims (41% of all) and $1.5 million, then Flooding in 1990 with 26. 49% 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, 152 have fewer than Independence.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Not a named storm1982 | 151 | $1.5 million |
| Flooding1990 | 26 | $42,000 |
Jackson County, which includes Independence, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 7 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 Jackson County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes and hail; Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $250.6 million a year, the 3rd highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $109.1 million (44%), 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 Independence
- Sugar Creek, MO3 mi
- Raytown, MO7 mi
- Blue Springs, MO8 mi
- Kansas City, MO9 mi
- North Kansas City, MO10 mi
- Buckner, MO11 mi
- Liberty, MO11 mi
- Grain Valley, MO11 mi
- Lees Summit, MO12 mi
- Westwood, KS13 mi
- Riverside, MO13 mi
- Prairie Village, KS14 mi
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