Lawrence County tornado history

30 tornadoes touched Lawrence County, Missouri between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.4 a year. The strongest was rated F3 (May 4, 2003). Tornadoes here killed 12 and injured 86 people.

30tornadoes since 1950

F3strongest rating

12killed · 86 injured

49 milongest path · 2003

(E)F0(E)F1(E)F2(E)F3(E)F4(E)F5· dots = start point only

By rating

(E)F07

(E)F117

(E)F23

(E)F33

(E)F40

(E)F50

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: May.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
May 4, 2003	F3	49 mi	880 yd	48	7
Mar 12, 2006	F3	42 mi	250 yd	8	1
Mar 26, 1976	F3	29.1 mi	40 yd	3	1
Dec 17, 2002	F2	4 mi	100 yd	17	2
Oct 30, 1979	F2	24.2 mi	50 yd	9	0
May 22, 2011	EF2	14.1 mi	800 yd	0	0
Dec 1, 2018	EF1	0.5 mi	50 yd	0	1
May 5, 1971	F1	11 mi	50 yd	0	0
May 8, 2024	EF1	10.8 mi	150 yd	0	0
Aug 19, 2018	EF1	9.4 mi	100 yd	0	0
Apr 29, 2025	EF1	5.2 mi	100 yd	0	0
Nov 12, 2005	F1	5 mi	75 yd	1	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Killed
Apr 29, 2025	EF1	4.4 mi	100 yd	0
Apr 29, 2025	EF1	5.2 mi	100 yd	0
Apr 29, 2025	EF0	5.3 mi	50 yd	0
May 8, 2024	EF1	10.8 mi	150 yd	0
Apr 30, 2019	EF1	3.8 mi	100 yd	0
Apr 30, 2019	EF1	0.6 mi	50 yd	0
Dec 1, 2018	EF1	0.5 mi	50 yd	1
Aug 19, 2018	EF1	9.4 mi	100 yd	0
Jan 21, 2018	EF1	1.3 mi	75 yd	0
May 19, 2017	EF1	4.2 mi	300 yd	0
May 19, 2017	EF0	1 mi	100 yd	0
May 17, 2015	EF1	4.5 mi	100 yd	0

Deadliest: May 4, 2003, F3, 7 killed.

Nearby counties

Dade County, MO27 Barry County, MO50 Jasper County, MO52 Greene County, MO58 Newton County, MO55 Stone County, MO33 Christian County, MO44 Barton County, MO39

Questions

How many tornadoes has Lawrence County, Missouri had?

30 tornadoes touched Lawrence County, Missouri between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 0.4 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Lawrence County?

The strongest rating recorded was F3 on May 4, 2003, with a 49-mile path and 7 deaths.

When is tornado season in Lawrence County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in May (9 of 30). Tornadoes can occur in any month, so keep alerts on year-round.

Right now: live tornado warnings map · alerts for your location. Dates link to that day’s full storm reports where available.