NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Kirksville, 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
1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Kirksville, Missouri since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 40 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 40
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Kirksville
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Kirksville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 43 mph winds when its centre passed 72 miles away. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site, 62% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Kirksville. The highest rating among the 40 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 20, 1973, came within 16 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on May 13, 2009, killed 2 people. Of the 40, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 18 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 10. The most recent tornado was on August 11, 2023. Of the 334 Missouri cities, 100% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Kirksville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 80 times since 1957, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 334 Missouri cities, 65% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Kirksville.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Kirksville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Kirksville: 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 Kirksville
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s6
- 2000s9
- 1990s6
- 1980s2
- 1970s6(1 EF3+)
- 1960s7(2 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 20, 1973 | F4 | 16 mi | 3.8 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 21 mi | 59 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jan 24, 1967 | F4 | 15 mi | 25.7 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 13, 2009 | EF2 | 3 mi | 5.8 mi | 2 / 6 |
| Aug 4, 2023 | EF2 | 20 mi | 1.64 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Oct 24, 2021 | EF2 | 18 mi | 31.37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 2003 | F2 | 20 mi | 22.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F2 | 21 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F2 | 20 mi | 53.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 16, 1960 | F2 | 1 mi | 8.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 1955 | F2 | 18 mi | 11.7 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 27, 2016 | EF1 | 20 mi | 0.23 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 40, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Kirksville
The Storm Prediction Center has 80 hail reports within 10 miles of Kirksville since 1957, made on 65 separate days. Of these, 43 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on July 18, 1971. The most recent report is from March 31, 2023. May has the most reports, 19.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Kirksville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Kirksville, MO, 2 miles north of Kirksville at 970 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 15°F. June is the wettest at 5.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.4 inches; the year adds up to 42.6 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 22 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 126 nights a year. Snowfall averages 19.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.6 inches is more than at 48 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (36%). La Plata, 12 miles south, has its own station (Kirksville Regional Airport, MO): 39.3 inches a year, 3.3 less than here, and the same July average high, 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 15 | 1.4 | 3 | 6.0 |
| Feb | 38 | 19 | 2.0 | 4 | 4.6 |
| Mar | 51 | 29 | 2.7 | 6 | 2.2 |
| Apr | 62 | 40 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.8 |
| May | 72 | 51 | 5.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 61 | 5.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 66 | 4.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 63 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 54 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 65 | 43 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 51 | 31 | 2.3 | 5 | 1.3 |
| Dec | 39 | 21 | 1.8 | 3 | 4.0 |
| Year | 62 | 41 | 42.6 | 69 | 19.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Kirksville, MO (970 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 Kirksville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 98 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Kirksville: 68 thunderstorm wind reports, 21 flash floods, 5 floods and 4 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $744,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on June 18, 1998. July has had the most flash floods, 13 of 21. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 175 have had fewer than Kirksville.
July 25, 2008: flood 7 miles from the centre of Kirksville — $550,000 damage.
NWS: “44 feet. Several hundred acres of low lying farm land was inundated.”
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 Kirksville's ZIP code 63501 have filed 18 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1981, and were paid $399,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 22% 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, 29 have fewer than Kirksville.
Adair County, which includes Kirksville, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 15 severe storms, 4 ice storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on August 3, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Adair County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes; Relatively Low for hail, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.4 million a year, the 73rd highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.4 million (39%), 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 Kirksville
- La Plata, MO12 mi
- Edina, MO22 mi
- Milan, MO28 mi
- Unionville, MO29 mi
- Memphis, MO29 mi
- Macon, MO31 mi
- Brookfield, MO37 mi
- Bloomfield, IA39 mi
- Marceline, MO40 mi
- Centerville, IA41 mi
- Shelbina, MO46 mi
- Kahoka, MO48 mi
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