Newton County tornado history

55 tornadoes touched Newton County, Missouri between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.7 a year. The strongest was rated EF5 (May 22, 2011). Tornadoes here killed 190 and injured 1,653 people.

55tornadoes since 1950

EF5strongest rating

190killed · 1,653 injured

75.5 milongest path · 2008

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

By rating

(E)F018

(E)F125

(E)F26

(E)F32

(E)F43

(E)F51

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 22, 2011	EF5	21.6 mi	1,600 yd	1,150	158
May 10, 2008	EF4	75.5 mi	1,760 yd	350	21
Apr 24, 1975	F4	11.9 mi	500 yd	22	3
Apr 3, 1956	F4	41.8 mi	400 yd	59	0
May 4, 2003	F3	49 mi	880 yd	48	7
Mar 26, 1976	F3	29.1 mi	40 yd	3	1
Apr 4, 2017	EF2	16.5 mi	300 yd	0	0
May 22, 2011	EF2	14.1 mi	800 yd	0	0
Jan 27, 1967	F2	4.9 mi	200 yd	0	0
Mar 12, 1961	F2	1.9 mi	50 yd	6	0
May 31, 1958	F2	0.5 mi	20 yd	0	0
Apr 13, 1974	F2	0.5 mi	100 yd	0	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width
Apr 29, 2025	EF0	2.1 mi	50 yd
Feb 27, 2023	EF1	0.8 mi	200 yd
Oct 11, 2021	EF1	3.3 mi	90 yd
Aug 19, 2018	EF0	1.1 mi	40 yd
May 19, 2017	EF0	4.1 mi	300 yd
May 10, 2017	EF0	1 mi	100 yd
Apr 4, 2017	EF2	16.5 mi	300 yd
Apr 26, 2016	EF1	0.8 mi	150 yd
May 16, 2015	EF1	12.2 mi	200 yd
Sep 1, 2014	EF1	2.2 mi	100 yd
Sep 1, 2014	EF1	2.7 mi	400 yd
Sep 1, 2014	EF0	1.2 mi	100 yd

Deadliest: May 22, 2011, EF5, 158 killed.

Nearby counties

McDonald County, MO23 Jasper County, MO52 Ottawa County, OK49 Lawrence County, MO30 Barry County, MO50 Cherokee County, KS46 Benton County, AR68 Barton County, MO39

Questions

How many tornadoes has Newton County, Missouri had?

55 tornadoes touched Newton County, Missouri between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 0.7 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Newton County?

The strongest rating recorded was EF5 on May 22, 2011, with a 21.6-mile path and 158 deaths.

When is tornado season in Newton County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in May (12 of 55). 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 (2004 onward).