EF0 Tornado — Butler, Missouri

2025-03-30 · near Parks, Butler, Missouri

Event narrative

An EF-1 tornado began in Ripley County two miles east northeast of Oxly and moved eastward crossing into Butler County just north of the Little Black River. It caused EF-0 damage along its path in Butler County. It caused damage to the roof of a mobile home and shingle damage to another house. It also damaged several trees along its path. The tornado crossed Highway 67 and ended about three miles south southwest of Harviell. The estimated peak wind was 85 mph. The total path length was about 8.5 miles. Sporadic 70-80 mph straight line winds occurred south of the tornado track.

Wider weather episode

In the base of an approaching upper-level trough, strong mid and upper-level jets overspread the middle Mississippi Valley on the afternoon of the 30th. Steep mid-level lapse rates contributed to rapid destabilization, as well, setting the stage for a widespread severe thunderstorm event. As the cold front approached, thunderstorms rapidly intensified and quickly formed into line segments upon reaching southeast Missouri in the mid-afternoon. Large hail was common with many locations reporting quarter size up to golf ball size hail. However, one storm produced an EF-1 tornado over southeast Ripley that moved east into southwest Butler County. It mainly damaged trees and a few outbuildings along its path. This same storm went on to produce baseball size hail in Qulin. The Cape Girardeau Regional Airport (KCGI) measured a 58 mph gust with another storm that went on to produce an EF-1 tornado just across the Mississippi River in Alexander County Illinois.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.6078, -90.5923)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1247506. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.