EF1 Tornado — Cape Girardeau, Missouri

2025-05-20 · near Cape Girardeau, Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Event narrative

An EF1 tornado touched down initially at the Cape Splash Aquatic Center, where it did some damage to overhead umbrella structures and a few trees. It continued east across Kingshighway St and into neighborhoods of northern Cape Girardeau. Numerous trees were damaged including some that were snapped or uprooted. Several homes experienced minor roof or siding damage. The tornado appeared to lift along or just east of Oak Hill Street. Peak winds were 95 mph and max width was 150 yards.

Wider weather episode

A squall line pushed eastward overnight across the warm sector of a low pressure system in Iowa. A surging portion of the line produced wind damage in Cape Girardeau County, including the formation of a brief tornado in northern portions of the city of Cape Girardeau. MLCAPE was around 1000-1500J/kg, effective bulk shear was 40-50kts, and 0-3km SRH was 200-300m2/s2, with dewpoints in the mid to upper 60s.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.3278, -89.5685)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1272661. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.