NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Kirkwood, 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 Kirkwood, Missouri since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 187 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 19 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 187
- EF3 or stronger
- 19
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
45 deaths in all
What the records show for Kirkwood
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Kirkwood; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 48 mph winds when its centre passed 29 miles away. The record near Kirkwood begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Kirkwood has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 56% of the 334 Missouri cities on this site. The highest rating among the 187 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 5 times; the most recent, on April 22, 2011, came within 11 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on February 10, 1959, killed 21 people. Of the 187, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 94 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 51. The most recent tornado was on June 4, 2025. Kirkwood has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 98% of the 334 Missouri cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 489 times since 1957, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Kirkwood has more hail reports within 10 miles than 97% of the 334 Missouri cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Kirkwood
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | overhead | 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 Kirkwood: 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 Kirkwood
By decade
- 2020s34(2 EF3+)
- 2010s43(4 EF3+)
- 2000s17
- 1990s21
- 1980s14(6 EF3+)
- 1970s13
- 1960s15(3 EF3+)
- 1950s30(4 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 10, 1959 | F4 | in town | 23.9 mi | 21 / 345 |
| Feb 24, 1956 | F4 | 5 mi | 77.6 mi | 6 / 36 |
| Jan 24, 1967 | F4 | 9 mi | 25 mi | 3 / 216 |
| Apr 22, 2011 | EF4 | 11 mi | 21.3 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 3, 1981 | F4 | 18 mi | 11.9 mi | 0 / 32 |
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF3 | 23 mi | 4.22 mi | 6 / 1 |
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF3 | 12 mi | 27.3 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Dec 31, 2010 | EF3 | 2 mi | 6.65 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Apr 22, 1981 | F3 | 24 mi | 7.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 31, 2013 | EF3 | 21 mi | 10.64 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 2013 | EF3 | 11 mi | 31.71 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Nov 15, 1988 | F3 | 22 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 187, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Kirkwood
The Storm Prediction Center has 489 hail reports within 10 miles of Kirkwood since 1957, made on 184 separate days. Of these, 346 were 1 inch across or larger, and 38 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 25, 2011. The most recent report is from May 19, 2025. May has the most reports, 135.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Kirkwood
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is St Louis Sci Ctr, MO, 8 miles northeast of Kirkwood at 515 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 25°F. May is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 43.9 inches. Highs reach 90°F on about 47 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 79 nights a year. That 43.9 inches is more than at 69 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (51%). Valley Park, 5 miles southwest, has its own station (St Charles 7 SSW, MO): 42.4 inches a year, 1.5 less than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 25 | 2.7 |
| Feb | 46 | 28 | 2.3 |
| Mar | 56 | 38 | 3.6 |
| Apr | 68 | 48 | 4.8 |
| May | 77 | 59 | 4.9 |
| Jun | 86 | 67 | 4.7 |
| Jul | 90 | 72 | 4.2 |
| Aug | 89 | 70 | 3.8 |
| Sep | 82 | 62 | 3.4 |
| Oct | 70 | 50 | 3.2 |
| Nov | 56 | 39 | 3.7 |
| Dec | 45 | 30 | 2.6 |
| Year | 67 | 49 | 43.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at St Louis Sci Ctr, MO (515 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 Kirkwood
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 404 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Kirkwood: 341 thunderstorm wind reports, 50 flash floods, 7 lightning strikes, 4 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 13 people and injured 54, and the NWS estimated $99.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on February 27, 2011. June has had the most flash floods, 11 of 50. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 269 have had fewer than Kirkwood.
September 14, 2008: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Kirkwood — 3 killed.
November 4, 2024: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Kirkwood — 2 killed, $200,000 damage.
July 19, 2020: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Kirkwood — 1 killed, 3 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 Kirkwood's ZIP code 63122 have filed 285 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $10.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1985: 48 claims (17% of all) and $306,000, then Not a named storm in 1982 with 19 and Late spring severe storms in 2017 with 15. The year with the most claims was 1993, with 35. 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, 143 have fewer than Kirkwood.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1985 | 48 | $306,000 |
| Not a named storm1982 | 19 | $381,000 |
| Late spring severe storms2017 | 15 | $3.6 million |
| Early winter storms2015 | 13 | $4.0 million |
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 10 | $352,000 |
St. Louis County, which includes Kirkwood, has been named in 34 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 25 of them major disasters (by incident: 16 severe storms, 10 floods, 3 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 9, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives St. Louis County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hail, lightning and heat waves; Relatively High for tornadoes, inland flooding and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $752.7 million a year, the highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $253.2 million (34%), is from heat waves.
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 Kirkwood
- Valley Park, MO5 mi
- Maplewood, MO5 mi
- Clayton, MO6 mi
- Fenton, MO6 mi
- Saint Louis, MO6 mi
- Ballwin, MO7 mi
- Chesterfield, MO10 mi
- High Ridge, MO10 mi
- Maryland Heights, MO10 mi
- Saint Ann, MO10 mi
- Arnold, MO11 mi
- Bridgeton, MO12 mi
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