Franklin County Hail & Wind Storm History

If you're trying to answer "was there a hailstorm here on a specific date," this page exists to help you check. Insurance claims live or die on tying roof damage to a documented date of loss, and Franklin County sits inside a genuine severe-storm corridor: eastern Missouri gets hit by spring and summer supercells producing large hail and tornadoes, then a full winter of freeze-thaw cycling that works whatever damage the storm season left behind.

Why Franklin County sees this much severe weather

Franklin County lies within the broader St. Louis metro severe weather zone, an area where the collision of moist Gulf air and drier continental air masses regularly spins up supercell thunderstorms in spring and early summer. The National Weather Service's St. Louis forecast office, which covers Franklin County, has documented multiple tornado outbreaks and large hail events here across the past two decades.

The practical effect for a roof is that damage here rarely comes from one mechanism. A shingle bruised by hail in spring is already weakened before summer's straight-line winds test the seal strip, and by the time winter's freeze-thaw cycle works the gaps that damage opened, a roof that looked fine in the fall can be leaking by February. That's the pattern behind most storm-related roof claims filed in this county.

The March 14-15, 2025 severe weather outbreak

The most significant recent event for Franklin County. On the afternoon and evening of March 14, 2025, a powerful low-pressure system produced widespread severe thunderstorms across central and eastern Missouri, and the National Weather Service St. Louis office confirmed 12 tornadoes within its coverage area that night, one of the most active outbreaks on record for the region. Two tornadoes touched down directly in Franklin County.

The Union, MO tornado formed near Elmont at 8:29 PM and tracked 19.2 miles northeast, reaching an EF-1 rating with estimated peak winds of 105 mph before dissipating just south of Union.

The Kohl City tornado formed minutes later at 8:33 PM, tracking 5.57 miles and reaching the same EF-1 rating with 105 mph winds. A third tornado, rated EF-2 with winds up to 130 mph, developed near Villa Ridge at 8:56 PM and caused significant damage to homes in that area before continuing into St. Louis County.

Large hail accompanied the same storm system. NWS-logged storm reports confirmed 1.75-inch hail 3 miles southeast of Union at 8:47 PM, 2.00-inch hail 1 mile east-southeast of Sullivan at 9:02 PM, 1.00-inch hail at Pacific at 9:09 PM, and 1.75-inch hail at Catawissa at 9:19 PM, all well past the roughly one-inch threshold generally considered sufficient to damage asphalt shingle roofing. The scale of damage across the region led to a federal disaster declaration, and FEMA opened disaster recovery centers in Franklin County to help residents document losses.

The 2026 severe weather season

Eastern Missouri's severe season has stayed active into 2026. On July 4, 2026, a powerful downburst-driven windstorm moved across central Missouri, and a National Weather Service damage survey confirmed straight-line winds up to 105 mph east of Jefferson City, strong enough to rival a landfalling hurricane. The heaviest structural damage concentrated in Osage, Cole, Miller, Morgan, and Camden counties, west of Franklin County, but NWS-logged storm reports that day also placed wind activity as far east as Washington, MO, consistent with the same broad system.

If your roof took wind damage around that date and you're unsure whether it qualifies as storm-related, that's exactly the kind of question a documented contractor inspection settles, since tying damage to a specific, NWS-confirmed event date is central to a clean insurance claim.

Separately, on July 9-10, 2026, a slow-moving thunderstorm complex dropped 6 to 10 inches of rain, with pockets of 12 inches, over southeastern Missouri, causing catastrophic flash flooding in Iron, Reynolds, and Washington County (a different county from the city of Washington in Franklin County). That event sat south of Franklin County itself, but it's a reminder that the same summer pattern capable of large hail and wind here can also produce extreme rainfall regionally.

As of this update, no hail or tornado event has been confirmed by NWS St. Louis as directly striking Franklin County in 2026, though the county remains within the same active corridor that produced the March 2025 outbreak. This section will be updated as new storms are confirmed.

Documented severe weather events in Franklin County

This list reflects documented, NWS-confirmed events and is not exhaustive of every hail or wind report in the county's history. Storm Data records for individual towns and specific hail sizes going further back are available through the NOAA Storm Events Database for homeowners researching a specific date.

What this history means if you're checking your own roof's storm exposure

If your roof is more than a few years old, it has very likely been under at least one of the hail or wind events listed above, whether or not visible damage was ever reported. Hail bruising in particular can sit on a shingle for years without producing a visible leak, quietly shortening the roof's service life while looking intact from the ground.

If you're unsure whether a specific storm date lines up with damage you're noticing now, our Missouri roof insurance claim guide covers how claim timelines work and how a date of loss gets established, and our guide on documenting hail damage before your adjuster arrives covers what to record if a storm has just hit.

Frequently asked questions

Was there a hailstorm in Franklin County on March 14, 2025?

Yes. NWS-confirmed storm reports recorded hail up to 2.00 inches near Sullivan and 1.75 inches near Union and Catawissa on the evening of March 14, 2025, part of a larger severe weather outbreak that also produced three tornadoes touching Franklin County and led to a federal disaster declaration.

How large does hail need to be to damage a shingle roof?

Roofing industry and insurance guidance generally treats hail around one inch in diameter, roughly the size of a quarter, as the threshold where asphalt shingle damage becomes likely, though actual damage depends on wind-driven impact angle, shingle age, and shingle type as well as hailstone size alone.

How do I find out if there was a specific storm on a date I'm trying to confirm?

The NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information Storm Events Database is the authoritative public record, searchable by county and date. The National Weather Service St. Louis office, which covers Franklin County, also publishes event summaries for significant regional storms.

Does Franklin County have a specific hail season?

Most large hail and tornado activity here occurs in spring and early summer, roughly March through June, when temperature and moisture contrasts are strongest, though damaging storms can and do occur outside that window, including the December 2021 and December 2010 winter tornado outbreaks.

Why does this storm history matter for an insurance claim?

Most Missouri homeowner policies require a claim to be tied to a specific date of loss, and a documented, NWS-confirmed storm event on that date substantially strengthens a claim, especially for damage discovered weeks or months after the fact.

Will this page be updated after future storms?

Yes. This page is maintained as new severe weather events affecting Franklin County are confirmed through National Weather Service and NOAA storm reporting.

Think a recent storm damaged your roof

Emmendorfer Exteriors has documented and filed storm damage claims across Franklin County since 1990, and Tom Emmendorfer meets your adjuster on the roof to make sure the full damage scope from events like these gets on the record. See our storm damage and insurance claims page for how that process works. For a free inspection, request an estimate.