Dunklin County, Missouri
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 29069 · population 28,216 · 542 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 678 records for Dunklin County, Missouri from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 512 days; the most frequent are severe thunderstorm wind events (213 records). The deadliest single record is the November 24, 1973 tornado: 2 deaths. FEMA has issued 22 declarations naming the county since 1973, 20 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Wildfires” on May 21, 2025.
The record, 1950 to 2026
Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $100,000
- $100,000 or more
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more, or a death
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
- 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
- Storm records
- 678on 512 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 339 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $137Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 39strongest F4
- FEMA declarations
- 22latest 2025
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.
What hazards hit Dunklin County most?
The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 213 since 1955. 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.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 213 | 163 | 1955-2026 | 0 | 3 | $2.3M | 14 of 114 |
| Hail | 149 | 112 | 1961-2026 | 0 | 0 | $202K | 30 of 114 |
| Heat | 114 | 111 | 2007-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 4 of 114 |
| Winter storms | 69 | 68 | 1997-2026 | 0 | 0 | $34M | 18 of 114 |
| Tornadoes | 39 | 36 | 1954-2026 | 2 | 36 | $99M | 9 of 114 |
| Floods | 38 | 36 | 1997-2025 | 1 | 0 | $1.3M | 77 of 114 |
| Drought | 29 | 29 | 2007-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 27 of 114 |
| Extreme cold | 12 | 12 | 2007-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 29 of 114 |
| High wind and dust storms | 10 | 10 | 2003-2025 | 0 | 0 | $39K | 17 of 114 |
| Heavy rain | 3 | 2 | 2006-2019 | 0 | 0 | $15 | 59 of 114 |
| Hurricanes and tropical storms | 1 | 1 | 2008-2008 | 0 | 0 | $206K | 2 of 114 |
| Lightning | 1 | 1 | 1997-1997 | 0 | 0 | $2K | 58 of 114 |
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 Dunklin County had?
NOAA records 39 tornadoes in Dunklin County from 1954 to 2026, the strongest rated F4, with 2 deaths and 36 injuries recorded in the county. That is 9th of 114 Missouri counties and 229th of 3,080 U.S. 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 39 tornadoes whose track touched Dunklin County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 39, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 14 people, 2 of them in Dunklin County.
| Date | Tornado | Rating | Path | Killed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-12-10 19:07, as SPC files it | CaruthersvilleCrossed AR, MO, TN | EF4 | 81.17 mi | 8 |
| 2006-04-02 16:37, as SPC files it | LafeCrossed AR, MO | F3 | 77 mi | 2 |
| 1973-11-24 22:25, as SPC files it | Gideon to East Prairie | F2 | 57.3 mi | 2 |
| 1981-04-22 16:50, as SPC files it | Sikeston | F4 | 63 mi | 1 |
| 2018-02-24 17:21, as SPC files it | Knobel to PollardCrossed AR, MO | EF2 | 41.93 mi | 1 |
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Missouri.
Every tornado record filed for Dunklin County (39)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-15 | Clarkton, Dunklin County | EF0 2.02 mi x 75 yd | 0 | 0 | $125K |
| 2025-04-02 | Glennonville, Dunklin County | EF1 1.54 mi x 125 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K |
| 2025-03-14 | Octa, Dunklin County | EF1 12.98 mi x 550 yd | 0 | 0 | $350K |
| 2022-04-13 | Hornersville Mem Arp, Dunklin County | EF0 4.75 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $262K |
| 2021-12-10 | Hornersville Mem Arp, Dunklin County | EF3 11.54 mi x 1,800 yd | 0 | 0 | $1.6M |
| 2018-04-03 | Arbyrd, Dunklin County | EF1 6.7 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 0 | $1.8M |
| 2018-02-24 | Wilhelmina, Dunklin County | EF2 12.44 mi x 150 yd | 0 | 5 | $2.4M |
| 2017-04-30 | Cardwell, Dunklin County | EF1 0.31 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2017-04-30 | Hornersville, Dunklin County | EF1 1.2 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $301K |
| 2012-09-01 | Bucoda, Dunklin County | EF0 0.03 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | $129K |
| 2010-05-16 | Gibbons, Dunklin County | EF0 0.8 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2008-05-02 | Senath, Dunklin County | EF0 0.29 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | $27K |
| 2006-04-02 | Senath, Dunklin County | F3 14.4 mi x 880 yd | 0 | 0 | $2.2M |
| 2003-05-04 | Hornersville, Dunklin County | F0 3 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 0 | $16K |
| 1999-06-03 | Arbyrd, Dunklin County | F0 11 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $18K |
| 1999-01-21 | Kennett, Dunklin County | F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | $89 |
| 1999-01-21 | Cardwell, Dunklin County | F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | $89 |
| 1994-04-15 | Arbyrd, Dunklin County | F0 0.3 mi x 20 yd | 0 | 0 | $995 |
| 1989-06-02 | Dunklin County | F1 0.5 mi x 23 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1985-04-23 | Dunklin County | F1 1.8 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1984-04-29 | Dunklin County | F0 0.5 mi x 3 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1984-04-03 | Dunklin County | F0 1 mi x 27 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1981-08-27 | Dunklin County | F1 1 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1981-06-04 | Dunklin County | F0 0.1 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1981-04-22 | Dunklin County | F4 1.3 mi x 400 yd | 0 | 26 | $25M step |
| 1973-11-24 | Dunklin County | F2 3 mi x 33 yd | 2 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1973-05-27 | Dunklin County | F1 0.5 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1973-04-26 | Dunklin County | F2 2 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 2 | $25K step |
| 1968-05-15 | Dunklin County | F1 1.5 mi x 17 yd | 0 | 0 | $250 step |
| 1967-04-23 | Dunklin County | F1 0.3 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1964-03-04 | Dunklin County | F2 11.5 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 2 | $25K step |
| 1957-05-21 | Dunklin County | F1 0.1 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1957-05-21 | Dunklin County | F1 18.5 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1957-04-03 | Dunklin County | F1 1 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1957-01-22 | Dunklin County | F1 1 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 1 | $25K step |
| 1955-04-23 | Dunklin County | F1 0.2 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1955-03-20 | Dunklin County | F2 51.4 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1954-09-06 | Dunklin County | F1 0.5 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1954-04-15 | Dunklin County | F2 1 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.
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 Dunklin County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 28, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($2,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-30 | HeatDunklin County · forecast zone Dunklin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-29 | HeatDunklin County · forecast zone Dunklin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-09 | HeatDunklin County · forecast zone Dunklin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-01 | DroughtDunklin County · forecast zone Dunklin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-05-01 | DroughtDunklin County · forecast zone Dunklin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-28 | Thunderstorm WindGibson, Dunklin County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $2K |
| 2026-04-28 | HailHolcomb, Dunklin County | 1.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-16 | HailKennett, Dunklin County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-01 | DroughtDunklin County · forecast zone Dunklin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-15 | Thunderstorm WindGlennonville, Dunklin County | 51 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-03-15 | Thunderstorm WindHornersville, Dunklin County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $10K |
| 2026-03-15 | TornadoClarkton, Dunklin County | EF0 2.02 mi x 75 yd | 0 | 0 | $125K |
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
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973-11-24 | TornadoDunklin County | F2 3 mi x 33 yd | 2 | 0 | $250K step |
| 2015-12-31 | FloodWilhelmina, Dunklin County A person drowned when attempting to swim in the St. Francis River while it was flooded. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1981-04-22 | TornadoDunklin County | F4 1.3 mi x 400 yd | 0 | 26 | $25M step |
| 2018-02-24 | TornadoWilhelmina, Dunklin County The tornado tracked from Clay County, AR to Dunklin County. Most of the damage was in Malden where a number of homes were damaged. A few homes, trees and power poles were damaged from the St. Francis River to Malden. The path was intermittent. The tornado crossed into New Madrid County and then lifted. Estimated peak ... | EF2 12.44 mi x 150 yd | 0 | 5 | $2.4M |
| 1984-11-01 | Thunderstorm WindDunklin County | 0 | 2 | – | |
| 1973-04-26 | TornadoDunklin County | F2 2 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 2 | $25K step |
| 1964-03-04 | TornadoDunklin County | F2 11.5 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 2 | $25K step |
| 1985-04-30 | Thunderstorm WindDunklin County | 0 | 1 | – |
A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-01-26 | Ice StormDunklin County · forecast zone Dunklin | 0 | 0 | $34M | |
| 2018-02-24 | TornadoWilhelmina, Dunklin County | EF2 12.44 mi x 150 yd | 0 | 5 | $2.4M |
| 2006-04-02 | TornadoSenath, Dunklin County | F3 14.4 mi x 880 yd | 0 | 0 | $2.2M |
| 2018-04-03 | TornadoArbyrd, Dunklin County | EF1 6.7 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 0 | $1.8M |
| 2021-12-10 | TornadoHornersville Mem Arp, Dunklin County | EF3 11.54 mi x 1,800 yd | 0 | 0 | $1.6M |
| 2025-03-14 | TornadoOcta, Dunklin County | EF1 12.98 mi x 550 yd | 0 | 0 | $350K |
| 2020-05-04 | Thunderstorm WindCampbell, Dunklin County | 87 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $342K |
| 2006-09-22 | Flash FloodNorth Portion, Dunklin County | 0 | 0 | $315K |
Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $25M, in the dollars of the day) holds: April 22, 1981 (tornado, Dunklin County).
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 Dunklin 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).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 4 | 8 | 15 | 16 | 28 | 59 | 42 | 41 |
| Hail | 0 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 29 | 54 | 22 | 31 |
| Heat | – | – | – | – | 0 | 1 | 37 | 76 |
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 1 | 18 | 34 | 16 |
| Tornadoes | 8 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 5 |
| Floods | – | – | – | – | 5 | 14 | 16 | 3 |
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 Dunklin County. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 51 · Feb 46 · Mar 52 · Apr 96 · May 108 · Jun 82 · Jul 109 · Aug 59 · Sep 19 · Oct 13 · Nov 20 · Dec 23 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Dunklin County
FEMA's register lists 22 declarations that include Dunklin County: 16 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (13) and flood (3).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-05-21 | DR-4867 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Wildfires |
| 2025-05-21 | DR-4872 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 2022-01-10 | DR-4636 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes |
| 2020-07-09 | DR-4552 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding |
| 2020-03-26 | DR-4490 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3482 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2019-07-09 | DR-4451 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 2017-06-02 | DR-4317 | Flood | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding |
| 2016-01-21 | DR-4250 | Flood | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding |
| 2016-01-02 | EM-3374 | Flood | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding |
| 2011-05-09 | DR-1980 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 2011-02-03 | EM-3317 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 2009-02-17 | DR-1822 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 2009-01-30 | EM-3303 | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 2008-11-13 | DR-1809 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, and A Tornado |
| 2008-03-19 | DR-1749 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 2007-12-12 | EM-3281 | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storms |
| 2006-04-05 | DR-1635 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 2005-09-10 | EM-3232 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 2002-05-06 | DR-1412 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding |
| 1979-04-21 | DR-579 | Tornado | Tornadoes, Torrential Rain & Flooding |
| 1973-04-19 | DR-372 | Severe Storm | Heavy Rains, Tornadoes & Flooding |
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 Dunklin County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 38 flood or flash flood records for Dunklin County from 1997 to 2025, on 36 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Dunklin County ranks 1596th of 2,942 U.S. counties.
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $399,000 on 58 claims filed in Dunklin County; the most in one year was 8 in 2011. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1978: 1 · 1979: 2 · 1980: 1 · 1982: 3 · 1983: 1 · 1984: 1 · 1985: 2 · 1990: 1 · 1992: 1 · 1996: 1 · 1997: 1 · 1998: 4 · 2001: 3 · 2002: 1 · 2003: 2 · 2006: 4 · 2008: 4 · 2010: 1 · 2011: 8 · 2013: 2 · 2014: 2 · 2017: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2019: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2026: 1; the other years: 0.
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 Dunklin County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Dunklin County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $30.8 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.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | $1.2M | 1.2 a year (modeled) |
| Drought | Relatively High | $1.7M | 13 modeled event-days a year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | $18M | once in about 75 years (modeled) |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | $2.1M | 18 modeled event-days a year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | $163K | 7.6 a year (modeled) |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | $2.1M | once in about 2 years (modeled) |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | $280K | 58 a year (modeled) |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | $494K | 2 a year (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Dunklin County
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 Dunklin CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Dunklin County's FEMA declarations (CSV)22 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis