NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sikeston, 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
4 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Sikeston, Missouri since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Olga in 2019. Since 1950, 140 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 140
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
15 deaths in all
What the records show for Sikeston
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Sikeston; the strongest was Olga in 2019, a tropical storm with 44 mph winds when its centre passed 27 miles away. The record near Sikeston begins with an unnamed storm in 1906; the most recent system was Olga in 2019. Of the 4 systems, one has come since 2000. Sikeston has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 81% of the 334 Missouri cities on this site. The strongest of the 140 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 22, 1981; its path came within 4 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an EF2 on June 4, 2012, killed 3 people. Of the 140, 16 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 66 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 30. The most recent tornado was on May 16, 2025. Sikeston has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 85% of the 334 Missouri cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 41 times since 1971, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 334 Missouri cities, 94% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Sikeston.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Sikeston
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 20 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormSep 29 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Sikeston: 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 Sikeston
By decade
- 2020s15(2 EF3+)
- 2010s27(2 EF3+)
- 2000s24
- 1990s21
- 1980s16(1 EF3+)
- 1970s16(1 EF3+)
- 1960s9
- 1950s12(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 22, 1981 | F4 | 4 mi | 63 mi | 1 / 32 |
| May 16, 2025 | EF3 | 5 mi | 16.1 mi | 2 / 10 |
| Feb 29, 2012 | EF3 | 18 mi | 19.96 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 26, 2024 | EF3 | in town | 19.57 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 17, 2013 | EF3 | 9 mi | 14.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1973 | F3 | 9 mi | 36 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 22, 1955 | F3 | 16 mi | 12.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 20, 1955 | F3 | 15 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 17 |
| Nov 13, 1951 | F3 | 21 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 4, 2012 | EF2 | 10 mi | 0.5 mi | 3 / 0 |
| Dec 18, 1957 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.5 mi | 3 / 1 |
| Nov 24, 1973 | F2 | 14 mi | 57.3 mi | 2 / 6 |
The strongest 12 of 140, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sikeston
The Storm Prediction Center has 41 hail reports within 10 miles of Sikeston since 1971, made on 33 separate days. Of these, 24 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 8, 1974. The most recent report is from May 8, 2025. May has the most reports, 19.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sikeston
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Sikeston Pwr Stn, MO, 2 miles southwest of Sikeston at 310 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 28°F. April is the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and September the driest at 3.2 inches; the year adds up to 49.8 inches over 76 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 74 nights a year. Snowfall averages 3.1 inches a year, most of it in February. That 49.8 inches is more than at 125 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (93%). Oran, 14 miles north, has its own station (Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport, MO): 48.0 inches a year, 1.8 less than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 28 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.8 |
| Feb | 49 | 31 | 4.3 | 6 | 1.2 |
| Mar | 59 | 39 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.6 |
| Apr | 71 | 49 | 5.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 81 | 59 | 4.7 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 89 | 68 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 71 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 90 | 68 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 84 | 60 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 73 | 49 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 58 | 39 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 48 | 32 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Year | 70 | 49 | 49.8 | 76 | 3.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Sikeston Pwr Stn, MO (310 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 Sikeston
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 92 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sikeston: 76 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 floods, 4 flash floods, 4 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $2.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 17, 1999.
May 26, 2024: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Sikeston — 1 killed, $1,000 damage.
NWS: “A large tree limb was blown down from thunderstorm winds. The tree limb struck a man in the back, who died as a result (43m, direct).”
March 9, 2006: thunderstorm wind in Sikeston — 1 injured, $200,000 damage.
NWS: “S. Highway 60.”
January 29, 2008: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Sikeston — 1 injured, $40,000 damage.
NWS: “S. Highway 61 near Morley.”
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 Sikeston's ZIP code 63801 have filed 262 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.7 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Mid-spring storms in 2011: 91 claims (35% of all) and $799,000. 45% 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, 141 have fewer than Sikeston.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-spring storms2011 | 91 | $799,000 |
Scott County, which includes Sikeston, has been named in 31 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 24 of them major disasters (by incident: 18 severe storms, 5 floods, 3 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on August 3, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Scott County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail and inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $37.1 million a year, the 18th highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.2 million (17%), is from tornadoes.
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 Sikeston
- Oran, MO14 mi
- Benton, MO14 mi
- Charleston, MO15 mi
- East Prairie, MO16 mi
- Bloomfield, MO20 mi
- New Madrid, MO20 mi
- Chaffee, MO21 mi
- Scott City, MO22 mi
- Dexter, MO23 mi
- Advance, MO23 mi
- Tiptonville, TN26 mi
- Bernie, MO28 mi
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