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Weather & Natural Hazards

Get ready before the sky turns

Missouri gets tornadoes, floods, ice, heat, hail, wind, and southeast earthquake risk. Most of it is survivable when you have alerts, shelter, and a plan.

The one idea

Missouri sits at a weather crossroads — cold northern air, warm Gulf air, and dry western air all collide here — so the state gets a little of every kind of dangerous weather, and the southeast corner sits over an earthquake zone on top of it. The calm truth: almost all of it is survivable if you do four simple things ahead of time.

Missouri gets a little of every kind of weather — and the time to get ready is before the sky turns.

For live warnings, use the National Weather Service and your local emergency manager. In an emergency, call 911.

The safety companion to the Missouri outdoors guides — it ties hard to Rivers & Tubing (flash floods and low-water crossings), Boating (storms on the water), and Hiking and Camping (heat, cold, and lightning that catch people outside).

Quick route

If you only need one minute

Start with the overview, use the fast answer when you are in a hurry, then use the agency page for the current detail.

  1. First read

    Get the overview

    Know the main Missouri hazards and the first step that helps with all of them.

  2. Most useful

    Set up alerts

    The page to use when you need warnings that can actually reach you.

  3. Live source

    Open National Weather Service ->

    NWS issues forecasts, watches, warnings, and hazard statements.

Four things, done ahead of time

Almost all of it is survivable if you do four things

  1. Know which hazards threaten you. Everyone in Missouri faces tornadoes, storms, heat, and ice; river towns add river flooding, the Ozarks add flash floods, and the southeast adds earthquakes.
  2. Tell a watch from a warning. A watch means be ready; a warning means act now. Knowing the difference tells you when to act.
  3. Set up at least two ways to get alerts. Include one that will wake you at night — a NOAA Weather Radio and Wireless Emergency Alerts on your phone.
  4. Have a simple plan and kit. Pick your shelter spots, make a family communication plan, and keep a few days of supplies ready.

Start with the most important page

Watches, warnings & getting alerts →

Start with this: know the difference between a watch and a warning, and set up at least two ways to be warned — including one that will wake you at 3 a.m.

Do this today

Set up your alerts in five minutes

The goal is at least two ways to get warned — including one that will wake you at night.

  1. Turn on Wireless Emergency Alerts in your phone's settings (check that they're enabled).
  2. Buy and program a battery-backed NOAA Weather Radio with a SAME tone alarm for your county.
  3. Sign up for your county's emergency alert system (text or email).
  4. Save your local National Weather Service page (find it by ZIP at weather.gov).
  5. Twice a year, test your alerts and replace the radio's backup batteries.

Take shelter now

Where to shelter from a tornado

Find where you are, then follow that row. The goal is always the same: get low, get to the middle, and put as many walls between you and the outside as you can.

A house with a basement
Go to the basement. Get under a sturdy workbench, table, or stairwell, away from windows, and cover your head and neck.
A house with no basement
Go to a small interior room on the lowest floor — a closet, bathroom, or hallway — at the center of the house, away from all windows. Cover your head and neck.
An apartment or upper floor
Get to the lowest floor you can reach quickly (a neighbor's first-floor unit, an interior hallway, or stairwell), then an interior room away from windows. Don't use the elevator.
A mobile or manufactured home
Leave early for a sturdy building — they offer almost no protection even when tied down. Know your destination before the season.
A school, workplace, or large building
Follow the building's plan: interior hallways and small rooms on the lowest floor. Avoid gyms, cafeterias, and auditoriums — wide roofs fail.
In a vehicle
Drive to a sturdy building and shelter inside if you safely can. Never use an overpass. If you can't reach shelter, use the NWS last resort: stay belted with your head below the windows, or lie in a spot clearly lower than the road (never one that floods).
Caught outside with no shelter
Get to the nearest sturdy building fast. If there's truly nothing, lie flat in the lowest spot you can find, away from trees and vehicles, and cover your head and neck — but a building is always better.

Start here

New to it? Start here

Missouri Weather: Start Here Why Missouri gets so much, which hazards threaten your part of the state, and the simplest first step. Watches, warnings & getting alerts The most important page: tell a watch from a warning, and set up the alerts that will actually reach you — including one that wakes you at night. Quick reference First protective actions to skim before the season, or when the sky turns.

The hazards

Know what threatens you

Tornadoes & severe storms Watch vs. warning, where to shelter (and the deadly myths), the vehicle last resort, and Missouri's hard lessons. Flooding & flash floods Turn Around, Don't Drown — the depth rules, flash vs. river, and what to do if your car is trapped. Winter weather & ice Ice is the real danger here — black ice, the current cold alerts, and heating your home without poisoning it. Extreme heat The heat index, heat exhaustion vs. heat stroke (a 911 emergency), and the parked-car rule that saves lives. Lightning, hail & damaging wind When thunder roars, go indoors — plus hail, straight-line winds and derechos, and riding out an outage. Earthquakes & the New Madrid zone Yes, Missouri has an earthquake threat. Drop, Cover, and Hold On — and how to get ready for the one with no warning. Drought, wildfire & other hazards Drought, grass fires and Red Flag days, dense fog, tropical remnants, and smoky-air days.

Be ready

Turn the hazard into something you get through

Be ready — your plan & kit The simple plan and the several-days kit that turn almost any Missouri hazard into something you get through.

Weather questions people ask first

Where should I start?

Start with alerts. If a warning cannot reach you at night, the rest of the plan is weaker than it looks.

Is an outdoor siren enough?

No. Outdoor sirens are mainly for people outside. Use Wireless Emergency Alerts, a NOAA Weather Radio, local alerts, and a backup that can wake you.

What does a warning mean?

A warning means act now for the hazard named in the alert. Move to the right shelter or protective action instead of waiting to see it yourself.

Who issues the weather warning?

The National Weather Service issues watches and warnings. Local emergency managers, road agencies, and utilities may add local instructions.

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