Callaway County, Missouri

What hazards hit Callaway County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 204 since 1956. The rank column places the county among Missouri's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Callaway County had?

NOAA records 42 tornadoes in Callaway County from 1959 to 2026, the strongest rated EF2, with 1 death and 6 injuries recorded in the county. That is 37th of 114 Missouri counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 40 tornadoes whose track touched Callaway County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 42: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Missouri.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Callaway County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 20, 2025 tornado (1 injury and $125,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

The tornado touched down south of County Road 362 at 1:31 PM and quickly strengthened, blowing in the garage and removing a significant section of roof from a home along County Road 362. This was the worst observed damage and was rated as 120 mph (EF-2). The tornado then moved north-northeast, crossing State Road Y and removing siding from a church along Blessing Lane. The tornado dissipated along County Road 347 at 1:36 PM. Additional damage along the path mainly consisted of tree damage. The tornado was rated EF-2 with a path length of 2.61 miles and a maximum path width of 100 yards.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1242834)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Callaway County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

Records by month in Callaway County. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Callaway County

FEMA's register lists 29 declarations that include Callaway County: 21 major disasters, 8 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (15) and flood (6).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Callaway County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 44 flood or flash flood records for Callaway County from 1996 to 2023, on 43 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Callaway County ranks 717th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $4.5 million on 316 claims filed in Callaway County; the most in one year was 109 in 1993. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Callaway County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Callaway County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $22.4 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Callaway County

1. Boone County 977
2. Callaway County 615
3. Cole County 469
4. Audrain County 468
5. Montgomery County 424
6. Osage County 346

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in MissouriEvery Missouri tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Severe thunderstorm wind in MissouriThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
• The Missouri recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Callaway CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Callaway County's FEMA declarations (CSV)29 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis