Missouri
Missouri sits where Tornado Alley meets the New Madrid Seismic Zone, the two greatest rivers on the continent, and an ice storm belt that stretches across the Ozarks. The 2011 Joplin tornado killed 158 people. The question here is not if something happens, but which hazard hits first.
Enter your Missouri ZIP for live alerts, forecasts, and county-specific data.
Know your region
Joplin, Springfield, Branson, the Ozarks. The 2011 Joplin tornado (EF5) killed 158 people. Southwest Missouri sits in the most active tornado zone. Ozark streams flash flood through campgrounds and low-water crossings with lethal speed every year.
Primary hazards: tornadoes, flash flooding, ice storms, severe storms
The state's two population anchors both face severe storms, flooding, and hail. The 1993 Great Flood inundated vast areas along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. St. Louis receives frequent damaging hailstorms. Kansas City sits where prairie weather meets river flooding.
Primary hazards: flooding, severe storms, hail, tornadoes, ice storms
New Madrid, Sikeston, Cape Girardeau, Poplar Bluff. The New Madrid Seismic Zone runs directly beneath this region. The 1811 and 1812 earthquakes were among the strongest in North American history. The Mississippi River floods here regularly.
Primary hazards: earthquakes, flooding, tornadoes, severe storms
Your hazard profile
Each links to a full guide with during-event protocol, recovery steps, and resources specific to MO.
The 2011 Joplin tornado (EF5) killed 158 people, the deadliest U.S. tornado since 1947. Missouri averages 45 tornadoes per year. The state sits where warm Gulf air meets cold fronts, producing violent supercell storms.
Read the tornadoes guide →
The Missouri and Mississippi rivers converge in Missouri. The Great Flood of 1993 inundated vast areas. Flash floods in the Ozarks kill people at low-water crossings and campgrounds every year. Never cross a flooded low-water bridge.
Read the flooding guide →
St. Louis regularly receives damaging hailstorms. Severe thunderstorms with large hail and straight-line winds are frequent. Missouri gets hit from spring through fall.
Read the severe storms and hail guide →
The New Madrid Seismic Zone produced some of the strongest earthquakes in North American history in 1811 and 1812. The Mississippi River temporarily flowed backward. A major earthquake here would affect St. Louis, Memphis, and millions.
Read the earthquakes guide →
The 2007 ice storm left hundreds of thousands without power. Ice accumulation on power lines causes the longest outages. Central and southern Missouri's ice storm belt is more damaging than the snow belt to the north.
Read the ice storms guide →
Missouri resources
State Emergency Management Agency. Coordinates disaster response and manages the state's hazard mitigation plan.
Eastern Missouri forecasts. Severe weather warnings, flood alerts, and winter storm advisories for the St. Louis metro and surrounding region.
New Madrid Seismic Zone information, earthquake insurance guidance, and the state's earthquake preparedness resources.
Statewide referral service. Disaster recovery, energy assistance, food banks, and housing resources.
May 22, 2011
On May 22, 2011, a massive EF5 tornado struck Joplin, Missouri. It killed 158 people, injured over 1,000, and destroyed 8,000 structures including St. John's Regional Medical Center. It was the deadliest tornado in the United States since 1947.
The tornado warning was issued 24 minutes before the tornado struck. That is above-average lead time. Many people heard the warning and took shelter. Many others heard it and did not act because they had heard tornado warnings before that came to nothing. Warning fatigue is real.
For every Missouri household, the Joplin lesson is about acting on warnings, not evaluating them. When the warning sounds, you go to your safe room. You do not look outside. You do not check the radar. You do not wait to see if it gets worse. Twenty-four minutes is enough time to save your life, but only if you use all of it.