Hurricane-Force Winds Slam 2 Missouri Locations Friday

Missouri was warned that there would be explosive thunderstorm development Friday. That happened as predicted including two places in Missouri that were slammed with hurricane-force winds.

The NOAA Storm Prediction Center documents all reports of tornadoes, hail and wind. Their daily report of Friday thunderstorms that impacted many states including Missouri showed incredible wind speeds. If you're not familiar, a wind is considered "hurricane force" if it exceeds 75 mph. Note the two Missouri reports that were both in McDonald County where wind gusts of 78 and 81 were confirmed by the National Weather Service.

There's a big difference between a hurricane and hurricane-force wind gusts, though

According to the Saffir-Simpson Scale, a category 1 hurricane includes sustained winds of 75mph or greater. Think about that. Missouri had wind damage from gusts over 75mph while those who live through hurricanes experience sustained winds at those speeds for hours. That's insane to imagine.

The good news is that while there were many tornado warnings in the Kansas City and Springfield, Missouri area, but I have not heard of any significant damage in Missouri as of this writing. There were sadly fatalities in Michigan and Oklahoma from the storm systems on Friday. Missouri was fortunate that the damage from severe storms was not worse than it was.

Don't let your guard down yet, though. The Storm Prediction Center says Missouri will likely see more explosive thunderstorm development on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, too. That's why everyone in Missouri must stay weather-aware as we begin the stormiest months of the year.