MO Missouri Porch

Weather & Natural Hazards

Quick reference

The whole hub on one page — the cheat sheet to skim before the season, or when the sky turns. Each card is the short version; tap into a hazard page for the full story. The life-or-death scripts below are written out word for word.

The one idea

Missouri gets a little of every kind of weather — and the time to get ready is before the sky turns.

Do this today

Set up your alerts in five minutes

The goal is at least two ways to get warned — including one that will wake you at night.

  1. Turn on Wireless Emergency Alerts in your phone's settings (check that they're enabled).
  2. Buy and program a battery-backed NOAA Weather Radio with a SAME tone alarm for your county.
  3. Sign up for your county's emergency alert system (text or email).
  4. Save your local National Weather Service page (find it by ZIP at weather.gov).
  5. Twice a year, test your alerts and replace the radio's backup batteries.

Take shelter now

Where to shelter from a tornado

Find where you are, then do exactly what it says. The goal is always the same: get low, get to the middle, and put as many walls between you and the outside as you can.

A house with a basement
Go to the basement. Get under a sturdy workbench, table, or stairwell, away from windows, and cover your head and neck.
A house with no basement
Go to a small interior room on the lowest floor — a closet, bathroom, or hallway — at the center of the house, away from all windows. Cover your head and neck.
An apartment or upper floor
Get to the lowest floor you can reach quickly (a neighbor's first-floor unit, an interior hallway, or stairwell), then an interior room away from windows. Don't use the elevator.
A mobile or manufactured home
Leave early for a sturdy building — they offer almost no protection even when tied down. Know your destination before the season.
A school, workplace, or large building
Follow the building's plan: interior hallways and small rooms on the lowest floor. Avoid gyms, cafeterias, and auditoriums — wide roofs fail.
In a vehicle
Drive to a sturdy building and shelter inside if you safely can. Never use an overpass. If you can't reach shelter, use the NWS last resort: stay belted with your head below the windows, or lie in a spot clearly lower than the road (never one that floods).
Caught outside with no shelter
Get to the nearest sturdy building fast. If there's truly nothing, lie flat in the lowest spot you can find, away from trees and vehicles, and cover your head and neck — but a building is always better.

The cheat sheet

One-line rules for every hazard

The short version of each hazard. These are reminders, not the full instructions — when a warning hits, follow the word-for-word scripts on this page and on each hazard's page.

Watch vs. warning

  • Watch = be ready: conditions are right, so make your plan.
  • Warning = act now: the danger is happening or about to.
  • Never wait for a watch — a warning can come with none before it.

Get alerts

  • Stack at least two — include one that will wake you at night.
  • A NOAA Weather Radio is your indoor siren; WEA buzzes your phone.
  • Sign up for your county's alert system too — and WEA won't catch everything.

Outdoor sirens

  • Built to warn people who are OUTSIDE — not a reliable indoor warning.
  • They run about three minutes; 'stopped' does NOT mean 'safe.'
  • What sets them off varies by town — ask your city or county.

Tornado

  • Lowest floor, small interior room, away from all windows; cover head and neck.
  • Avoid gyms, cafeterias, and big-box stores — wide roofs fail first.
  • Leave a mobile home early for a sturdy building.
  • In a car: reach a sturdy building if you safely can, or use the NWS last resort — NEVER an overpass.

Flood

  • Turn Around, Don't Drown — never walk or drive into floodwater.
  • About 12 inches of water can float many cars; the road may be gone.
  • If fast water traps your car, STAY INSIDE; if water rises inside, get on the roof.
  • Never drive around a barricade — the road past it may be gone.

Winter & ice

  • Stay off icy roads; watch for black ice on bridges and overpasses.
  • Generators, grills, and camp stoves run OUTSIDE only — more than 20 ft out. CO kills.
  • Keep space heaters at least 3 feet from anything that can burn.

Heat

  • Heat stroke is a 911 emergency — call 911 and cool the person fast.
  • The skin may be DRY or drenched in sweat, so don't wait for sweating to stop.
  • Give nothing to eat or drink to anyone who is confused, drowsy, or passed out.
  • Never leave kids, older adults, or pets in a parked car; use a cooling center.

Lightning

  • When thunder roars, go indoors — if you can hear it, you can be struck.
  • Wait 30 minutes after the last rumble before going back out.
  • A tent, porch, dugout, or open shelter is NOT safe.

Wind & hail

  • A 'Destructive'-tagged Severe Thunderstorm Warning buzzes your phone — treat it like a tornado.
  • Move to an interior room away from windows; protect against flying glass.
  • Bring people, pets, and vehicles under cover from hail.

Earthquake

  • Drop, Cover, and Hold On — Lock, Cover, and Hold On if you use a wheelchair.
  • There is no warning at all — the safety is what you do automatically.
  • Turn gas off only if you smell, hear, or see a leak or an official says to — and never turn it back on yourself.
  • Practice it at the ShakeOut on October 15, 2026.

Kit

  • Several days of water — about 1 gallon per person per day (don't forget pets).
  • Food that needs no cooking, a NOAA radio, a flashlight, and a first-aid kit.
  • Medications plus a written list, cash in small bills, and phone chargers.
  • Backup power for medical devices, and pet supplies.

Plan

  • Pick your shelter spots and make sure everyone knows them.
  • Choose an out-of-town contact and a meeting place.
  • Know where your water, gas, and electrical shutoffs are.

Insurance

  • Flood and earthquake damage are almost always SEPARATE policies.
  • Standard homeowner's and renter's policies usually don't cover them.
  • Ask a licensed agent before a disaster — this is general information, not advice.

Word for word — the scripts that save lives

Don't paraphrase these in the moment

Five protective actions where the exact wording matters. Read them now, so they're already in your head when there's no time to read.

Tornado — in a vehicle, last resort

If you're driving, the best move is to get to a sturdy building and shelter inside — if you can reach one safely without racing the storm. Do NOT try to outrun a tornado in traffic, and NEVER shelter under a highway overpass: wind speeds up underneath and debris funnels through, making it more dangerous, not less. If no sturdy shelter is reachable, the National Weather Service gives two last resorts: either stay in the vehicle with your seat belt on, get your head down below the windows, and cover your head and neck; or, only if you can get to a spot clearly lower than the roadway that won't collect water, lie face-down there and cover your head and neck.

Flood — if your vehicle is trapped

If floodwater traps your vehicle, never step out into rapidly moving water — it can sweep you off your feet and pull you under. If fast water is around the car, STAY INSIDE. If water starts rising INSIDE the car, get onto the roof and call or signal for help. Move on foot only if the water around you is shallow and still. And never drive around a barricade — it's there because the road ahead is unsafe or gone.

Power outage — generators & carbon monoxide

Run a generator OUTDOORS only — more than 20 feet from every door, window, and vent, with the exhaust pointed away from the house. Never run one inside a house, garage, basement, carport, or enclosed porch, even with the doors or windows open. The same goes for grills and camp stoves, and never heat your home with a gas oven or stovetop. Carbon monoxide from these is invisible, odorless, and kills.

Heat stroke — a 911 emergency

Heat stroke is a 911 emergency. The signs are confusion, slurred speech, unusual behavior, a seizure, fainting, a very high body temperature, and very hot skin — and the skin may be DRY or DRENCHED in sweat, so don't wait for sweating to stop. Call 911. While help comes, move the person to a cool place and cool them fast: cool water, wet cloths, ice packs at the neck, armpits, and groin, and fanning. Do NOT give food or drink to anyone who is confused, drowsy, or unconscious.

Earthquake — Drop, Cover, and Hold On

There's one move to learn: Drop, Cover, and Hold On. DROP to your hands and knees before the shaking knocks you down. COVER your head and neck — get under a sturdy table or desk if one is close, or crouch against an interior wall away from windows. HOLD ON to your shelter (or to your head and neck) until the shaking stops. Don't run outside while it's shaking — most injuries come from falling debris and from people moving around. The old 'stand in a doorway' advice is out of date; under sturdy furniture is safer.

If you use a wheelchair or walker, it's Lock, Cover, and Hold On: LOCK your wheels first, then COVER your head and neck with your arms (or a pillow or a book), and HOLD ON until the shaking stops.

Find your forecasters

Your NWS office

Several National Weather Service offices serve Missouri, and the boundaries don't follow tidy regional lines — so look yours up. Type your ZIP code into weather.gov to find your local office and its forecasts, warnings, and river levels. The national Storm Prediction Center issues the big tornado and severe-thunderstorm watches that cover wide areas.

When a warning hits

Stop reading and act

When a warning is issued for where you are, stop reading and act. Follow the live National Weather Service warning and your local emergency officials immediately — they have the live picture that no website can.

See also

Heading outside? The hazards that catch people in the open are covered on Rivers & Tubing, Boating, Hiking, Camping, and Wildlife.

When a warning is issued

Missouri Porch explains the hazard; the National Weather Service and your local officials call the warning.

Last checked: 2026-06-18. Hazards repeat, so most of this page stays true year to year — but alert-product names, the year's stats, and the ShakeOut date can change. Check the date above, and always follow the live National Weather Service warning and your local officials over anything written here.

This site explains and prepares — it is not a live warning. When a warning is issued, follow it and your local emergency officials immediately; they have the live picture. This is not insurance, legal, or medical advice. In any life-threatening emergency, call 911.

Page feedback

See something off, missing, or unclear?

Send a quick note if a Missouri source, county office, local detail, or link needs a closer look.

Send a note