NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lamar, 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 Lamar, Missouri since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1902. Since 1950, 101 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 101
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
17 deaths in all
What the records show for Lamar
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Lamar; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1902, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 73 miles away. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site, 62% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Lamar. The strongest of the 101 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 4, 2003; its path came within 15 miles, and it killed 4 people. The deadliest, an F3 on May 4, 2003, killed 5 people. Of the 101, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 49 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 32. The most recent tornado was on April 20, 2025. Lamar has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 54% of the 334 Missouri cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 116 times since 1956, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Lamar has more hail reports within 10 miles than 54% of the 334 Missouri cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Lamar
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 73 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 Lamar: 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 Lamar
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s20(2 EF3+)
- 2000s21(2 EF3+)
- 1990s11(1 EF3+)
- 1980s8(3 EF3+)
- 1970s8(1 EF3+)
- 1960s15
- 1950s10(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 2003 | F4 | 15 mi | 33 mi | 4 / 30 |
| May 4, 2003 | F3 | 7 mi | 86 mi | 5 / 47 |
| May 22, 2019 | EF3 | 11 mi | 11.29 mi | 3 / 1 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F3 | 16 mi | 70 mi | 2 / 8 |
| May 22, 2019 | EF3 | 25 mi | 9.22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1995 | F3 | 24 mi | 14 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Mar 26, 1983 | F3 | 21 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F3 | 16 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 20, 1973 | F3 | 19 mi | 7.8 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Nov 17, 1958 | F3 | 18 mi | 30.2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 20, 1956 | F3 | 23 mi | 69.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 12, 2006 | F2 | 11 mi | 38 mi | 1 / 7 |
The strongest 12 of 101, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lamar
The Storm Prediction Center has 116 hail reports within 10 miles of Lamar since 1956, made on 85 separate days. Of these, 59 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently April 15, 2023. The most recent report is from May 8, 2024. May has the most reports, 32.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lamar
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lamar 7N, MO, 6 miles north of Lamar at 963 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 22°F. May is the wettest at 7.1 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 49.0 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 42 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 100 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 49.0 inches is more than at 122 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (91%). Jasper, 13 miles south, has its own station (Joplin Regional Airport, MO): 45.7 inches a year, 3.3 less than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 22 | 2.0 | 5 | 3.2 |
| Feb | 48 | 26 | 2.3 | 5 | 1.8 |
| Mar | 57 | 34 | 3.3 | 7 | 1.4 |
| Apr | 67 | 44 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 75 | 54 | 7.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 63 | 6.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 67 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 66 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 57 | 4.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 46 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 57 | 35 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.2 |
| Dec | 46 | 26 | 2.4 | 4 | 0.7 |
| Year | 67 | 45 | 49.0 | 73 | 7.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lamar 7N, MO (963 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 Lamar
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 166 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lamar: 94 thunderstorm wind reports, 35 floods, 32 flash floods and 5 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $1.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on November 23, 2003. June has had the most flash floods, 11 of 32. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 231 have had fewer than Lamar.
December 14, 2015: flood 9 miles from the centre of Lamar — 1 killed.
July 30, 2023: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Lamar — 1 injured, $150,000 damage.
December 6, 1998: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Lamar — 1 injured, $45,000 damage.
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 Lamar's ZIP code 64759 have filed 17 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $270,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 24% 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, 28 have fewer than Lamar.
Barton County, which includes Lamar, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1976, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 5 floods, 5 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on September 21, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Barton County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.6 million a year, the 71st highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.0 million (43%), 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 Lamar
- Jasper, MO13 mi
- Lockwood, MO18 mi
- Oronogo, MO20 mi
- Frontenac, KS23 mi
- Nevada, MO23 mi
- Carthage, MO23 mi
- Greenfield, MO24 mi
- Pittsburg, KS24 mi
- Webb City, MO27 mi
- Carl Junction, MO28 mi
- El Dorado Springs, MO28 mi
- Stockton, MO29 mi
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