Dangerous Tornado, Flooding Strike Northwestern Missouri Counties
Severe tornadoes and flooding struck Missouri on May 18, with dangerous twisters threatening Maryville area as heavy rains caused widespread flooding.
MARYVILLE, MISSOURI — Dangerous tornadoes and widespread flooding affected northwestern and central Missouri on May 18, prompting multiple National Weather Service warnings as severe thunderstorms brought heavy rainfall across the region.
The most serious threat emerged in northwestern Missouri, where a tornado was spotted near Fairfax at 5:44 PM CDT, moving northeast at 50 mph. The National Weather Service Kansas City office issued a tornado warning through 6:00 PM CDT, describing it as a “particularly dangerous situation” and urging residents to “take cover now.”
A second tornado warning remained in effect until 6:30 PM CDT for northeastern Holt County and central Nodaway County. At 5:40 PM CDT, the tornado was located near Fairfax, approximately 11 miles north of Mound City, moving east at 45 mph.
Life-Threatening Conditions
“You are in a life-threatening situation. Flying debris may be deadly to those caught without shelter,” warned the National Weather Service. “Mobile homes will be destroyed. Considerable damage to homes, businesses, and vehicles is likely and complete destruction is possible.”
Locations directly impacted by the tornado warnings included Maryville, Burlington Junction, Skidmore, Pickering, Arkoe, and Quitman. Fairfax was specifically mentioned as being in the tornado’s path.
Widespread Flooding Across Region
Simultaneously, multiple flood advisories covered large portions of Missouri as Doppler radar detected heavy rainfall from thunderstorms. In northwestern Missouri, areas including Atchison County, northwestern Holt County, and northwestern Nodaway County experienced urban and small stream flooding.
Between 1 and 1.5 inches of rain had already fallen by 5:46 PM CDT, with an additional 0.5 to 1.5 inches expected. The flood advisory for this region remained in effect until 11:45 PM CDT on May 18.
Communities experiencing flooding included Tarkio, Rock Port, Fairfax, Craig, Elmo, Westboro, Watson, Corning, and Phelps City, according to the National Weather Service Kansas City office.
Central Missouri Also Affected
East central Missouri faced similar flooding challenges, with the National Weather Service St. Louis office issuing multiple flood advisories. Crawford County, southern Franklin County, and northwestern Washington County were under a flood advisory until 6:45 PM CDT Monday.
Between 1 and 3 inches of rain had fallen in these areas by 12:39 PM CDT, with an additional 1 to 3 inches expected. Affected locations included Union, Sullivan, Pacific, St. Clair, Cuba, Steelville, Bourbon, Anthonies Mill, Villa Ridge, Gray Summit, Parkway, Leasburg, Miramiguoa Park, Richwoods, Lonedell, St. Cloud, Stanton, Piney Park, and Moselle.
Western Franklin County and Gasconade County received between 2 and 3 inches of rainfall, with minor flooding ongoing in Washington, Union, Owensville, New Haven, Gerald, Bland, Rosebud, Drake, Beaufort, Leslie, Noser Mill, Japan, Lyon, and Canaan. Officials warned that some low-water crossings could become impassable due to the flooding conditions.
