Weather & Natural Hazards

Missouri's weather, explained

You are going to be okay if you get ready. This is the calm overview — why Missouri sees so much weather, which hazards reach your part of the state, and the one simple step that puts you ahead of almost all of it.

One idea to carry with you

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

The lay of the land

Why Missouri gets a little of everything

Missouri lies where three air masses fight it out: cold, dry air sweeping down from Canada, warm, wet air pushing up from the Gulf, and dry air coming off the western plains. When they collide, you get violent tornadoes, huge floods, ice storms, dangerous heat, big hail, and damaging winds — the whole menu. And the southeast corner, the Bootheel, sits over the New Madrid Seismic Zone, the most dangerous earthquake area east of the Rockies. No single part of the country gets quite this much variety.

From 1980 through 2024, 120 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters affected Missouri (NOAA counts nationwide events whose total U.S. losses topped $1 billion, adjusted for inflation — so these aren't 120 disasters wholly inside Missouri, but big events that reached the state). The pace has picked up sharply: the recent five-year average is far above the long-term one.

By region, by household

Which hazards threaten you

Almost every Missouri hazard is survivable if you do these four simple things ahead of time. They are the whole plan, in order.

Step 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.

Step 2

Tell a watch from a warning

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

Step 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.

Step 4

Have a simple plan and kit

Pick your shelter spots, make a family communication plan, and keep a few days of supplies ready.

The simplest first step

Do these two things today

Turn on the emergency alerts in your phone's settings, and pick the spot where you'll shelter from a tornado. That's it — those two small acts put you ahead of almost everything else.

From there, start with Watches, warnings & getting alerts — the most important page on this hub — then learn the protective action for tornadoes.

Part of the series

Weather safety connects to the rest of getting outside in Missouri. Explore the Outdoors hub, plus Rivers & Tubing, Boating, Hiking, and Camping.

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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