NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Portageville, 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
6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Portageville, Missouri since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Olga in 2019. Since 1950, 94 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 94
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
30 deaths in all
What the records show for Portageville
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Portageville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 60 mph winds when its centre passed 68 miles away. The record near Portageville begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Olga in 2019, a tropical storm 25 miles away. Of the 6 systems, one has come since 2000. Portageville has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 95% of the 334 Missouri cities on this site. The highest rating among the 94 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on December 10, 2021, came within 13 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on April 2, 2006, killed 16 people. Of the 94, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 47 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on March 14, 2025. Of the 334 Missouri cities, 49% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Portageville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 41 times since 1975, with stones up to 3.2 inches. Of the 334 Missouri cities, 94% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Portageville.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Portageville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 18 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 20 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 28 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 68 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 Portageville: 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 Portageville
By decade
- 2020s9(1 EF3+)
- 2010s22
- 2000s16(2 EF3+)
- 1990s18
- 1980s9(1 EF3+)
- 1970s5
- 1960s6
- 1950s9(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF4 | 13 mi | 81.17 mi | 8 / 14 |
| Apr 22, 1981 | F4 | 24 mi | 63 mi | 1 / 32 |
| Apr 2, 2006 | F3 | 24 mi | 18 mi | 16 / 70 |
| Apr 2, 2006 | F3 | 18 mi | 77 mi | 2 / 177 |
| Apr 22, 1955 | F3 | 19 mi | 12.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 13, 1951 | F3 | 13 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 24, 1973 | F2 | 9 mi | 57.3 mi | 2 / 6 |
| Feb 24, 2018 | EF2 | 17 mi | 41.93 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Mar 14, 2025 | EF2 | 12 mi | 19.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 24, 2018 | EF2 | 23 mi | 0.95 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 30, 2017 | EF2 | 24 mi | 4.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 9, 2017 | EF2 | 21 mi | 9.66 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 94, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Portageville
The Storm Prediction Center has 41 hail reports within 10 miles of Portageville since 1975, made on 33 separate days. Of these, 26 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.2 inches, fell on December 17, 2016. The most recent report is from April 3, 2025. April has the most reports, 18.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Portageville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Portageville, MO, 2 miles south of Portageville at 280 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 43°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 48.9 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 45 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 71 nights a year. Snowfall averages 6.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 48.9 inches is more than at 121 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (90%). Tiptonville, TN, 12 miles northeast, has its own station (New Madrid, MO): 49.4 inches a year, 0.5 more 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 | 28 | 3.5 | 6 | 2.4 |
| Feb | 48 | 31 | 3.8 | 6 | 2.2 |
| Mar | 57 | 40 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Apr | 68 | 49 | 5.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| May | 78 | 60 | 5.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 86 | 68 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 71 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 69 | 2.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 61 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 71 | 50 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 57 | 40 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Dec | 47 | 32 | 4.5 | 7 | 1.3 |
| Year | 67 | 50 | 48.9 | 73 | 6.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Portageville, MO (280 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 Portageville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 49 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Portageville: 42 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 floods, 1 flash flood and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $4.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on February 22, 2022.
May 24, 2000: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Portageville — 1 injured, $150,000 damage.
NWS: “Several mobile homes were destroyed. Numerous houses were damaged.”
May 1, 2011: flood 7 miles from the centre of Portageville — $3.0 million damage.
May 1, 2011: flood 1 mile from the centre of Portageville — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “The Mississippi River rose to record levels in Caruthersville by mid-May. The city of Caruthersville held back the river by reinforcing the flood wall with sandbags thus the city was able to stay mainly dry with the exception of a few streets that were flooded.”
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 Portageville's ZIP code 63873 have filed 11 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $164,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 36% 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, 2 have fewer than Portageville.
New Madrid County, which includes Portageville, 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 Portageville
- Tiptonville, TN12 mi
- New Madrid, MO14 mi
- Hayti, MO14 mi
- Caruthersville, MO18 mi
- Malden, MO18 mi
- Ridgely, TN18 mi
- Campbell, MO23 mi
- Bernie, MO24 mi
- Kennett, MO24 mi
- Steele, MO26 mi
- East Prairie, MO28 mi
- Hickman, KY29 mi
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