From Nebraska to Florida, Places Where Tornadoes Caused the Most Damage Last Week

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Last week, a devastating series of tornadoes swept through the South and Midwest. The severe weather outbreak resulted in at least 28 fatalities and widespread damage to homes, businesses, and infrastructure.

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While the full scale of the damage is yet to be determined, the NOAA Damage Assessment Toolkit provides an early survey of the destruction. From May 12 to 19, NOAA surveyors logged over 1,400 instances of tornado damage, including the full destruction of hundreds of homes, electric wires, and other critical infrastructure. A closer look at the data reveals the counties where tornadoes caused the most damage last week.

To determine where tornadoes caused the most damage last week, Climate Crisis 247 reviewed data on post-storm damage assessments from the NOAA Damage Assessment Toolkit. Counties were ranked based on a custom tornado damage impact score, a weighted aggregation of the severity of all NOAA damage assessment points within a given county. The severity is the product of the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale value and an NOAA-assigned Degree of Damage (DoD) score. The tornado damage impact score gives greater weight to larger buildings like manufactured homes and family residences that sustained greater degrees of damage, such as complete destruction or collapse of exterior walls. NOAA storm data is for the period May 12 to 19, 2025.

25. Iron County, MO

Tornado damage impact score: 38 points
Number of storm damage reports: 7 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 115 mph
County seat: Ironton
Summary of property damage: 3 one- or two-family residences, 1 manufactured home (double wide), 2 hardwood trees, 1 softwood tree

24. Aiken County, SC

Tornado damage impact score: 38 points
Number of storm damage reports: 14 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 105 mph
County seat: Aiken
Summary of property damage: 2 one- or two-family residences, 2 low-rise buildings (1–4 stories), 10 softwood trees

23. Cape Girardeau County, MO

Tornado damage impact score: 42 points
Number of storm damage reports: 8 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 125 mph
County seat: Jackson
Summary of property damage: 1 small barn or farm outbuilding, 2 one- or two-family residences, 1 manufactured home (single wide), 4 hardwood trees

22. Clark County, IL

*Photo by Jessica Kirkpatrick on Pexels*

Tornado damage impact score: 43 points
Number of storm damage reports: 17 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 90 mph
County seat: Marshall
Summary of property damage: 2 small barns or farm outbuildings, 3 hardwood trees, 10 softwood trees

21. Palm Beach County, FL

Tornado damage impact score: 44 points
Number of storm damage reports: 22 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 85 mph
County seat: West Palm Beach
Summary of property damage: 1 small barn or farm outbuilding, 19 softwood trees

20. Hayes County, NE

*Photo by Kellee Halliburton on Unsplash*

Tornado damage impact score: 47 points
Number of storm damage reports: 10 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 115 mph
County seat: Hayes Center
Summary of property damage: 1 small barn or farm outbuilding, 1 one- or two-family residence, 4 electrical transmission lines, 2 free-standing light poles, 1 hardwood tree, 1 softwood tree

19. Ripley County, IN

Tornado damage impact score: 51 points
Number of storm damage reports: 22 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 93 mph
County seat: Versailles
Summary of property damage: 1 small barn or farm outbuilding, 2 one- or two-family residences, 9 hardwood trees, 10 softwood trees

18. St. Louis County, MO

Tornado damage impact score: 67 points
Number of storm damage reports: 20 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 118 mph
County seat: Clayton
Summary of property damage: 3 electrical transmission lines, 17 hardwood trees

17. Walton County, FL

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Tornado damage impact score: 71 points
Number of storm damage reports: 28 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 104 mph
County seat: DeFuniak Springs
Summary of property damage: 1 small barn or farm outbuilding, 21 hardwood trees, 6 softwood trees

16. Todd County, KY

Tornado damage impact score: 76 points
Number of storm damage reports: 12 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 120 mph
County seat: Elkton
Summary of property damage: 3 small barns or farm outbuildings, 1 one- or two-family residence, 2 manufactured homes (single wide), 1 manufactured home (double wide), 5 hardwood trees

15. Clark County, WI

Tornado damage impact score: 92 points
Number of storm damage reports: 20 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 120 mph
County seat: Neillsville
Summary of property damage: 2 small barns or farm outbuildings, 4 one- or two-family residences, 4 electrical transmission lines, 7 hardwood trees, 2 softwood trees

14. Christian County, KY

Tornado damage impact score: 106 points
Number of storm damage reports: 36 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 118 mph
County seat: Hopkinsville
Summary of property damage: 7 small barns or farm outbuildings, 8 one- or two-family residences, 3 electrical transmission lines, 17 hardwood trees, 1 softwood tree

13. Monroe County, IN

Tornado damage impact score: 111 points
Number of storm damage reports: 26 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 120 mph
County seat: Bloomington
Summary of property damage: 4 small barns or farm outbuildings, 7 one- or two-family residences, 2 manufactured homes (single wide), 1 motel, 1 small professional building (doctor’s office), 11 hardwood trees

12. Brown County, IN

Tornado damage impact score: 128 points
Number of storm damage reports: 15 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 127 mph
County seat: Nashville
Summary of property damage: 3 small barns or farm outbuildings, 4 one- or two-family residences, 7 hardwood trees, 1 softwood tree

11. Russell County, KY

Tornado damage impact score: 149 points
Number of storm damage reports: 17 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 140 mph
County seat: Jamestown
Summary of property damage: 2 small barns or farm outbuildings, 5 one- or two-family residences, 1 manufactured home (single wide), 2 manufactured homes (double wide), 7 hardwood trees

10. Greene County, IN

Tornado damage impact score: 152 points
Number of storm damage reports: 33 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 132 mph
County seat: Bloomfield
Summary of property damage: 9 small barns or farm outbuildings, 13 one- or two-family residences, 1 manufactured home (single wide), 2 manufactured homes (double wide), 6 hardwood trees, 1 softwood tree

9. Madison County, IL

Tornado damage impact score: 152 points
Number of storm damage reports: 55 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 107 mph
County seat: Edwardsville
Summary of property damage: 1 small barn or farm outbuilding, 4 one- or two-family residences, 2 small retail buildings (fast food restaurants), 1 small professional building (doctor’s office), 39 hardwood trees, 8 softwood trees

8. Edgecombe County, NC

Tornado damage impact score: 193 points
Number of storm damage reports: 64 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 110 mph
County seat: Tarboro
Summary of property damage: 6 small barns or farm outbuildings, 5 one- or two-family residences, 1 apartment, 1 metal building system, 38 hardwood trees, 4 softwood trees

7. Holmes County, FL

*Photo by Julius Hildebrandt on Unsplash*

Tornado damage impact score: 218 points
Number of storm damage reports: 62 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 115 mph
County seat: Bonifay
Summary of property damage: 3 small barns or farm outbuildings, 3 one- or two-family residences, 3 manufactured homes (single wide), 1 small retail building (fast food restaurant), 2 free-standing light poles, 35 hardwood trees, 13 softwood trees

6. Carroll County, MS

Tornado damage impact score: 233 points
Number of storm damage reports: 73 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 105 mph
County seat: Carrollton
Summary of property damage: 5 small barns or farm outbuildings, 4 one- or two-family residences, 2 manufactured homes (single wide), 1 metal building system, 1 electrical transmission line, 13 hardwood trees, 43 softwood trees

5. Union County, KY

Tornado damage impact score: 351 points
Number of storm damage reports: 33 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 155 mph
County seat: Morganfield
Summary of property damage: 4 small barns or farm outbuildings, 13 one- or two-family residences, 1 manufactured home (single wide), 2 electrical transmission lines, 10 hardwood trees

4. Scott County, MO

Tornado damage impact score: 482 points
Number of storm damage reports: 70 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 152 mph
County seat: Benton
Summary of property damage: 12 small barns or farm outbuildings, 23 one- or two-family residences, 5 manufactured homes (single wide), 1 manufactured home (double wide), 2 electrical transmission lines, 21 hardwood trees, 1 softwood tree

3. Dodge County, WI

Tornado damage impact score: 536 points
Number of storm damage reports: 153 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 125 mph
County seat: Juneau
Summary of property damage: 14 small barns or farm outbuildings, 33 one- or two-family residences, 1 low-rise building (1–4 stories), 16 metal building systems, 3 warehouse buildings (tilt-up walls or heavy-timber construction), 2 free-standing light poles, 61 hardwood trees, 15 softwood trees

2. Williamson County, IL

Tornado damage impact score: 768 points
Number of storm damage reports: 55 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 190 mph
County seat: Marion
Summary of property damage: 10 small barns or farm outbuildings, 29 one- or two-family residences, 1 manufactured home (double wide), 14 hardwood trees, 1 softwood tree

1. St. Louis city, MO

Tornado damage impact score: 1,388 points
Number of storm damage reports: 211 assessments
Maximum reported wind speed: 152 mph
County seat: St. Louis
Summary of property damage: 89 one- or two-family residences, 2 apartments, 1 masonry apartment or motel building, 5 small retail buildings (fast food restaurants), 2 small professional buildings (doctor’s offices), 2 strip malls, 7 low-rise buildings (1–4 stories), 3 mid-rise build

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