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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Odessa, 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 Odessa, Missouri since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 108 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
0

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
108

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
7

48 deaths in all

What the records show for Odessa

The strongest of the 108 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 20, 1957; its path came within 24 miles, and it killed 44 people. Of the 108, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 48 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 43. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Odessa has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 61% of the 334 Missouri cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 89 times since 1959, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 334 Missouri cities, 58% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Odessa.

Compare Odessa's storm record with another city →

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Odessa

By decade

  • 2020s7
  • 2010s18(1 EF3+)
  • 2000s23
  • 1990s6
  • 1980s5
  • 1970s11(3 EF3+)
  • 1960s30(2 EF3+)
  • 1950s8(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Odessa, Missouri
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
May 20, 1957F524 mi69.4 mi44 / 207
May 4, 1977F423 mi48.6 mi0 / 1
May 4, 1977F424 mi12 mi0 / 5
Jan 24, 1967F317 mi14.5 mi2 / 18
May 4, 1977F32 mi26.2 mi1 / 5
Apr 12, 1964F311 mi19.5 mi1 / 10
Mar 6, 2017EF3in town17.74 mi0 / 12
Jun 8, 2022EF213 mi9.56 mi0 / 0
May 16, 2015EF218 mi10.03 mi0 / 0
May 10, 2014EF216 mi12.63 mi0 / 0
May 9, 2003F219 mi10 mi0 / 0
May 4, 2003F220 mi22 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 108, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Odessa

The Storm Prediction Center has 89 hail reports within 10 miles of Odessa since 1959, made on 65 separate days. Of these, 56 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on April 24, 1961. The most recent report is from July 11, 2025. May has the most reports, 26.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Odessa

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Elm, MO, 9 miles southwest of Odessa at 850 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 18°F. July is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.4 inches; the year adds up to 42.9 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 33 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 116 nights a year. Snowfall averages 11.9 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.9 inches is more than at 54 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (40%). Higginsville, 13 miles east, has its own station (Higginsville, MO): 40.8 inches a year, 2.1 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 88°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Elm, MO
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow in
Jan38181.433.8
Feb43221.842.9
Mar54322.961.1
Apr65424.470.1
May74535.380.0
Jun83635.270.0
Jul88675.660.0
Aug87654.460.0
Sep79563.960.0
Oct68443.460.0
Nov54332.740.7
Dec42231.943.3
Year654342.96711.9

Averages for 1991–2020 at Elm, MO (850 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.

Missouri weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Odessa

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 85 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Odessa: 72 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 flash floods and 4 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $118,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 8, 2005. July has had the most flash floods, 5 of 9. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 60 have had fewer than Odessa.

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

Lafayette County, which includes Odessa, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 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 Lafayette County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $20.2 million a year, the 43rd highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.5 million (32%), 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 Odessa