NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit New Madrid, 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
5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of New Madrid, Missouri since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Olga in 2019. Since 1950, 114 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 114
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
69 deaths in all
What the records show for New Madrid
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed New Madrid; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 60 mph winds when its centre passed 70 miles away. The record near New Madrid begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Olga in 2019, a tropical storm 20 miles away. Of the 5 systems, one has come since 2000. New Madrid has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 87% of the 334 Missouri cities on this site. The highest rating among the 114 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on December 10, 2021, came within 18 miles. The deadliest, an EF4 on December 10, 2021, killed 57 people. Of the 114, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 58 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 25. The most recent tornado was on November 18, 2025. New Madrid has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 66% of the 334 Missouri cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 29 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 334 Missouri cities, 99% have more hail reports within 10 miles than New Madrid.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near New Madrid
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 20 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 28 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in New Madrid: 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 New Madrid
By decade
- 2020s20(3 EF3+)
- 2010s23
- 2000s15
- 1990s18
- 1980s7(1 EF3+)
- 1970s13(1 EF3+)
- 1960s7
- 1950s11(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF4 | 24 mi | 168.53 mi | 57 / 515 |
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF4 | 18 mi | 81.17 mi | 8 / 14 |
| Apr 22, 1981 | F4 | 16 mi | 63 mi | 1 / 32 |
| May 26, 2024 | EF3 | 17 mi | 19.57 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1973 | F3 | 19 mi | 36 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 22, 1955 | F3 | 5 mi | 12.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 20, 1955 | F3 | 14 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 17 |
| Nov 13, 1951 | F3 | 12 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 24, 1973 | F2 | 4 mi | 57.3 mi | 2 / 6 |
| Feb 24, 2018 | EF2 | 23 mi | 41.93 mi | 1 / 5 |
| May 26, 2024 | EF2 | 25 mi | 25.58 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 24, 2023 | EF2 | 24 mi | 0.28 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 114, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in New Madrid
The Storm Prediction Center has 29 hail reports within 10 miles of New Madrid since 1955. Of these, 16 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 6, 1986. The most recent report is from March 30, 2025. May has the most reports, 11.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in New Madrid
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is New Madrid, MO, 1 mile southeast of New Madrid at 302 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 28°F. May is the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 49.4 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 56 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 72 nights a year. That 49.4 inches is more than at 123 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (92%). Portageville, 14 miles southwest, has its own station (Portageville, MO): 48.9 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 28 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Feb | 49 | 31 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Mar | 58 | 39 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Apr | 69 | 49 | 5.1 | 8 |
| May | 79 | 59 | 5.5 | 8 |
| Jun | 87 | 67 | 4.2 | 6 |
| Jul | 90 | 71 | 3.7 | 5 |
| Aug | 89 | 68 | 2.6 | 4 |
| Sep | 82 | 60 | 3.9 | 5 |
| Oct | 72 | 49 | 4.0 | 5 |
| Nov | 58 | 38 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Dec | 47 | 31 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Year | 69 | 49 | 49.4 | 71 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at New Madrid, MO (302 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 New Madrid
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 80 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of New Madrid: 41 floods, 32 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 flash floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $2.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on March 9, 2017. April has had the most flash floods, 2 of 5. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 25 have had fewer than New Madrid.
March 9, 2006: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of New Madrid — 4 injured, $200,000 damage.
NWS: “Four people were treated at a local hospital for minor injuries when their mobile home was destroyed near Portageville. Another trailer was overturned near Catron.”
July 1, 2019: flood in New Madrid — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “Minor flooding of the Mississippi River affected some cropland, as well as county roads near the river.”
May 1, 2011: flood in New Madrid — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Record flooding occurred on the Mississippi River. 35 feet on the night of May 5 broke the previous record (set in 1937) by a few inches.”
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 New Madrid's ZIP code 63869 have filed 59 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $388,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Mid-spring storms in 2011: 10 claims (17% of all) and $99,000. The year with the most claims was 1979, with 21. 20% 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, 84 have fewer than New Madrid.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-spring storms2011 | 10 | $99,000 |
New Madrid County, which includes New Madrid, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 21, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives New Madrid County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes, hail and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $28.3 million a year, the 30th highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.5 million (9%), 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 New Madrid
- Tiptonville, TN6 mi
- Portageville, MO14 mi
- East Prairie, MO14 mi
- Hickman, KY19 mi
- Sikeston, MO20 mi
- Malden, MO24 mi
- Charleston, MO25 mi
- Ridgely, TN26 mi
- Bernie, MO26 mi
- Troy, TN26 mi
- Dexter, MO27 mi
- Hayti, MO27 mi
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