Latest tornado tallies for the active 2025 season
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- Have you been thinking to yourself, "it’s been a busy severe weather season"? That’s because it has been, especially when it comes to tornadoes. Missouri’s tornado season has been unusually active, with 115 confirmed tornadoes so far.
On average, Missouri sees 45 tornadoes each year, according to NOAA data from 1991 to 2020. Kansas records nearly twice that number, averaging 87 annually. But so far in 2025, Missouri ranks second in the nation for the most confirmed tornadoes, trailing only Texas, which leads with 137. In third place is Illinois with 110 confirmed tornadoes in 2025, including the strongest tornado of the year so far, an EF-4 that struck near the town of Marion with maximum winds of 190 mph. The Sunflower State, meanwhile, has recorded just 40 tornadoes so far this year.
Tornadoes can happen at any time of year given the right conditions. For parts of America’s heartland, the classic spring and summer tornado season has yet to peak, typically ramping up in June and July for the Upper Midwest and Northern Plains. While late April, May, and early June historically tally the highest number of tornadoes across Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas, neighboring states to the north often see the most activity later into the warm season. For example, Iowa and Nebraska historically see the most tornadoes in June, with Minnesota and North Dakota are known to see the most tornadoes in July.
As the classic “tornado season” starts to wind down locally over the next month, powerful thunderstorm complexes known as mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) will provide the biggest threat for severe weather. While an MCS can occasionally produce a brief tornado, the biggest hazard they pose is straight-line winds and very heavy rainfall. Several MCSs traverse the Mid-Missouri River Valley every year, usually during the summer. While these powerful storm systems can be problematic, they are also essential, providing inches of beneficial rainfall to area crops between spells of scorching heat.
