Polk County tornado history

38 tornadoes touched Polk County, Missouri between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.5 a year. The strongest was rated F3 (May 4, 2003). Tornadoes here killed 7 and injured 85 people.

38tornadoes since 1950

F3strongest rating

7killed · 85 injured

86 milongest path · 2003

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

By rating

(E)F020

(E)F114

(E)F23

(E)F31

(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	86 mi	880 yd	47	5
Dec 14, 1971	F2	48.3 mi	200 yd	22	1
Feb 28, 2012	EF2	9.5 mi	100 yd	12	1
Mar 13, 1990	F2	2 mi	600 yd	0	0
Feb 28, 2012	EF1	18.4 mi	100 yd	0	0
Dec 18, 2002	F1	11 mi	100 yd	2	0
Jan 10, 2020	EF1	8.7 mi	50 yd	0	0
May 8, 2009	EF1	8.6 mi	250 yd	0	0
Jun 18, 2011	EF1	6 mi	100 yd	0	0
May 12, 1978	F1	3.6 mi	100 yd	0	0
May 19, 2018	EF1	2.3 mi	100 yd	0	0
Oct 5, 1955	F1	2 mi	77 yd	0	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured
May 6, 2024	EF0	18.7 mi	150 yd	1
May 27, 2021	EF1	0.1 mi	50 yd	0
May 27, 2021	EF1	1.2 mi	50 yd	0
Jan 10, 2020	EF1	8.7 mi	50 yd	0
Dec 28, 2019	EF0	1.4 mi	75 yd	0
Apr 30, 2019	EF1	1.8 mi	100 yd	0
May 19, 2018	EF1	2.3 mi	100 yd	0
May 19, 2018	EF1	2 mi	100 yd	0
May 19, 2017	EF0	0.6 mi	100 yd	0
May 17, 2015	EF0	1.7 mi	200 yd	0
May 17, 2015	EF0	10.6 mi	100 yd	0
May 17, 2015	EF0	2.1 mi	100 yd	0

Deadliest: May 4, 2003, F3, 5 killed.

Nearby counties

Dallas County, MO18 Hickory County, MO15 Greene County, MO58 Cedar County, MO20 Dade County, MO27 St. Clair County, MO25 Webster County, MO38 Lawrence County, MO30

Questions

How many tornadoes has Polk County, Missouri had?

38 tornadoes touched Polk County, Missouri between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 0.5 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Polk County?

The strongest rating recorded was F3 on May 4, 2003, with a 86-mile path and 5 deaths.

When is tornado season in Polk County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in May (17 of 38). 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).