Jefferson City, MO Hail Storm – April 2025

What Happened

A severe thunderstorm moved through the Jefferson City, MO metro on April 20, 2025, producing 1-inch hail and a long run of NWS alerts through the afternoon and evening. The first radar-derived hail signal came at 12:38 PM CDT, then later alerts at 5:34 PM, 5:46 PM, 6:07 PM, 6:15 PM, 6:20 PM, 6:27 PM, 6:40 PM, 6:56 PM, and 6:58 PM CDT kept the storm on the map into early evening.

The alert sequence included dual-polarization radar confidence, spotter-reported confidence, radar-plus-spotter verification, and warning-only notifications. Spotter reports in the broader event area showed the storm complex was active and disruptive across central Missouri and into nearby counties. Near Guthrie, one report at 1:34 PM CDT described a roof partially peeled back and 18- to 20-inch branches snapped from multiple trees. In the same storm cycle, an NWS survey team documented EF2 tornado damage northwest of New Bloomfield at 1:31 PM CDT.

Later reports in the regional storm corridor added more wind and tornado damage. At 5:51 PM CDT, a tree came down on State Highway N near Graham Cave State Park. At 5:56 PM CDT, an EF1 tornado was reported just west of Highway MM in north-central Audrain County, where outbuildings were destroyed and smaller grain bins were rolled at a farm. At 6:01 PM CDT, an EF0 tornado was noted near County Rd 396 in northwest Shannon County with uprooted trees and large branches snapped.

Damage Assessment

The Jefferson City hail event did not produce the kind of isolated, high-end hail footprint that stands alone in a report. Instead, the field record shows a broader severe weather day with hail alerts layered over wind and tornado damage across central Missouri and surrounding counties. The verified reports were concentrated on structural and tree damage, with roof loss near Guthrie, snapped branches, downed trees, and multiple tornado survey findings.

That mix matters for the surface picture. In the same storm cycle, one report near Hannibal described multiple damaged trailers near Hannibal Regional Hospital at 6:35 PM CDT. Another at 6:48 PM CDT confirmed EF0 tornado damage in Payson, IL, with a 4.18-mile path and damage largely confined to trees. Additional reports noted power poles down near Hull, IL, a barn destroyed per emergency management, several trees snapped or uprooted, and roof damage to an old school gym. A separate survey at 7:04 PM CDT documented an EF0 tornado path from north of Camp Point to just south of La Prairie, IL, lasting about six minutes and stretching 8.17 miles.

For Jefferson City specifically, the hail alerts stayed locked at 1 inch through the event. The surrounding damage reports suggest a storm system capable of both hail and wind-driven impacts, but the confirmed field damage in the available reports centered on trees, roofs, outbuildings, poles, and bins rather than a single concentrated hail loss zone.