NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Warsaw, 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 Warsaw, Missouri since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1902. Since 1950, 62 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 62
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Warsaw
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Warsaw; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1902, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 72 miles away. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site, 62% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Warsaw. The strongest of the 62 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 19, 1973; its path came within 22 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on March 15, 1982, killed 2 people. Of the 62, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 30 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on May 19, 2025. Of the 334 Missouri cities, 89% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Warsaw. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 90 times since 1956, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 334 Missouri cities, 57% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Warsaw.
Compare Warsaw's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Warsaw
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 72 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 Warsaw: 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 Warsaw
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s8
- 2000s11(1 EF3+)
- 1990s8
- 1980s13(2 EF3+)
- 1970s9(4 EF3+)
- 1960s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 1973 | F4 | 22 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F3 | 23 mi | 70 mi | 2 / 8 |
| Mar 12, 2006 | F3 | 21 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 19 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F3 | in town | 14 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 20, 1973 | F3 | 15 mi | 10.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 20, 1973 | F3 | 6 mi | 19.4 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 20, 1973 | F3 | 12 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F2 | 21 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 20, 1973 | F2 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 1954 | F2 | 13 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 19, 2025 | EF1 | 11 mi | 4.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 19, 2025 | EF1 | 9 mi | 4.32 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 62, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Warsaw
The Storm Prediction Center has 90 hail reports within 10 miles of Warsaw since 1956, made on 62 separate days. Of these, 56 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on May 26, 2024. The most recent report is from June 3, 2025. May has the most reports, 28.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Warsaw
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Truman Dam & Rsvr, MO, 3 miles northwest of Warsaw at 754 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 22°F. May is the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 43.6 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 43 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 105 nights a year. That 43.6 inches is more than at 66 of the 134 Missouri stations used on this site (49%). Lincoln, 9 miles northeast, has its own station (Cole Camp 3NW, MO): 42.6 inches a year, 1.0 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 | 43 | 22 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Feb | 47 | 25 | 2.1 | 4 |
| Mar | 57 | 34 | 3.0 | 7 |
| Apr | 68 | 44 | 4.6 | 8 |
| May | 76 | 55 | 5.5 | 8 |
| Jun | 85 | 65 | 5.2 | 7 |
| Jul | 90 | 69 | 4.7 | 6 |
| Aug | 89 | 67 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Sep | 82 | 59 | 4.1 | 6 |
| Oct | 70 | 46 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Nov | 57 | 36 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Dec | 46 | 27 | 2.0 | 4 |
| Year | 67 | 46 | 43.6 | 69 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Truman Dam & Rsvr, MO (754 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 Warsaw
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 122 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Warsaw: 90 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 flash floods, 8 heavy rain events, 4 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 3 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $449,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on May 19, 2025. July has had the most flash floods, 5 of 19. Of the 334 Missouri cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 165 have had fewer than Warsaw.
June 12, 2004: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Warsaw — 1 killed.
NWS: “Two men were fishing on Truman Lake near Warsaw while a squall line rapidly pushed across the lake and swamped their boat. Vance Wiles age 40, drowned as he tried to swim to shore without a life jacket.”
August 5, 2011: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Warsaw — 1 killed.
NWS: “A person was struck by lightning and killed while standing on a courtesy dock helping pull a boat out of the water.”
July 5, 2019: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Warsaw — 1 killed.
NWS: “Law enforcement reported a woman was swept off her feet while crossing a flooded driveway. The location is within headwaters of small unnamed basins leading to uncertainty of the precise location of the flood.”
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
Benton County, which includes Warsaw, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 5 ice storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on September 21, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Benton County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and lightning; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $16.9 million a year, the 50th highest of 115 Missouri counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.7 million (45%), 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.