Weather & Natural Hazards

Get ready before the sky turns

Missouri sits where cold, warm, and dry air crash together, so it gets a little of every kind of dangerous weather — tornadoes, floods, ice, heat, hail, and wind — plus an earthquake zone in the southeast. The calm truth: almost all of it is survivable if you're ready. This guide explains each hazard in plain English and points you to the official warning.

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.

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).

Four things, done ahead of time

Almost all of it is survivable if you do four things

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.
Tell a watch from a warning. A watch means be ready; a warning means act now. Knowing the difference is the whole game.
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.
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 →

Everything else builds on this: knowing the difference between a watch and a warning, and setting 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.

Turn on Wireless Emergency Alerts in your phone's settings (check that they're enabled).
Buy and program a battery-backed NOAA Weather Radio with a SAME tone alarm for your county.
Sign up for your county's emergency alert system (text or email).
Save your local National Weather Service page (find it by ZIP at weather.gov).
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 do exactly what it says. 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's weather, explained 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 Every protective action on one page — the cheat sheet 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 exactly 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.

When a warning is issued

Missouri Porch explains the hazard; the National Weather Service and your local officials call the warning.

Last checked: 2026-06-18. Hazards repeat, so most of this page stays true year to year — but alert-product names, the year's stats, and the ShakeOut date can change. Check the date above, and always follow the live National Weather Service warning and your local officials over anything written here.

This site explains and prepares — it is not a live warning. When a warning is issued, follow it and your local emergency officials immediately; they have the live picture. This is not insurance, legal, or medical advice. In any life-threatening emergency, call 911.

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