Franklin County, Missouri
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 29071 · population 104,457 · 923 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 882 records for Franklin County, Missouri from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 507 days; the most frequent are severe thunderstorm wind events (345 records). The deadliest day on its record was August 4, 1996: thunderstorm wind records filed for Franklin County that day count 4 deaths across 2 records. FEMA has issued 24 declarations naming the county since 1973, 22 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
- 882on 507 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 6121 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $187Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 35strongest F4
- FEMA declarations
- 24latest 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 Franklin County most?
The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 345 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.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 345 | 215 | 1956-2026 | 4 | 23 | $1.8M | 30 of 114 |
| Hail | 301 | 159 | 1959-2026 | 0 | 0 | $947K | 48 of 114 |
| Heat | 60 | 60 | 1998-2025 | 0 | 68 | – | 39 of 114 |
| Winter storms | 56 | 56 | 1996-2025 | 0 | 9 | $768K | 98 of 114 |
| Floods | 53 | 50 | 1996-2026 | 2 | 2 | $174M | 86 of 114 |
| Tornadoes | 35 | 25 | 1953-2026 | 0 | 19 | $9.2M | 80 of 114 |
| High wind and dust storms | 12 | 11 | 1996-2025 | 0 | 0 | $24K | 35 of 114 |
| Drought | 9 | 9 | 2005-2018 | 0 | 0 | – | 112 of 114 |
| Extreme cold | 5 | 5 | 2000-2024 | 0 | 0 | – | 114 of 114 |
| Heavy rain | 3 | 3 | 2003-2008 | 0 | 0 | – | 64 of 114 |
| Lightning | 2 | 2 | 2002-2005 | 0 | 0 | – | 53 of 114 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 1 | 1 | 2003-2003 | 0 | 0 | – | 67 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 Franklin County had?
NOAA records 35 tornadoes in Franklin County from 1953 to 2026, the strongest rated F4, with 0 deaths and 19 injuries recorded in the county. 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 34 tornadoes whose track touched Franklin County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 35: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 6 people, 0 of them in Franklin County.
| Date | Tornado | Rating | Path | Killed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956-02-24 23:45, as SPC files it | BellevilleCrossed IL, MO | F4 | 77.6 mi | 6 |
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Missouri.
Every tornado record filed for Franklin County (35)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-17 | New Haven, Franklin County | EF0 1.03 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-17 | Berger Rohlfing Airport, Franklin County | EF0 0.94 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-03-14 | Villa Ridge, Franklin County | EF2 14.33 mi x 644 yd | 0 | 1 | $1.5M |
| 2025-03-14 | Boeufcreek, Franklin County | EF1 5.57 mi x 220 yd | 0 | 0 | $35K |
| 2025-03-14 | Elmont, Franklin County | EF1 19.8 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $148K |
| 2024-05-07 | Sullivan, Franklin County | EF1 0.31 mi x 150 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2022-05-19 | Greenstreet, Franklin County | EF1 1.27 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $30K |
| 2022-05-19 | Anaconda, Franklin County | EF0 2.53 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $20K |
| 2019-05-21 | Boles, Franklin County | EF0 1.94 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2018-01-22 | Labadie, Franklin County | EF0 0.18 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2013-05-31 | Jeffriesburg, Franklin County | EF1 9.98 mi x 550 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2013-04-10 | St Albans, Franklin County | EF1 1.32 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2011-02-27 | Oetters, Franklin County | EF1 3.15 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2010-12-31 | Lonedell, Franklin County | EF0 2 mi x 20 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2010-12-31 | Krakow, Franklin County | EF0 0.36 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2010-12-31 | Krakow, Franklin County | EF1 0.8 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $54K |
| 2010-12-31 | Moselle, Franklin County | EF2 11.38 mi x 370 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2004-05-27 | Labadie, Franklin County | F0 1.5 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2003-09-26 | Sullivan, Franklin County | F0 0.2 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2003-05-06 | St Clair, Franklin County | F1 1 mi x 80 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2000-04-16 | Catawissa, Franklin County | F0 0.7 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1996-07-19 | Catawissa, Franklin County | F0 0.1 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1994-04-15 | New Haven, Franklin County | F0 2.3 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | $996K |
| 1993-09-13 | Washington, Franklin County | F0 2 mi x 45 yd | 0 | 0 | $102K |
| 1993-09-13 | Saint Clair, Franklin County | F0 0.3 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | $10K |
| 1993-09-13 | Beaufort To, Franklin County | F1 12 mi x 60 yd | 0 | 0 | $1.0M |
| 1982-12-02 | Franklin County | F2 8 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 2 | $250K step |
| 1980-04-07 | Franklin County | F2 6.5 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1965-08-18 | Franklin County | F1 0.3 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1956-02-25 | Franklin County | F1 0.2 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1956-02-24 | Franklin County | F4 35.3 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 16 | $250K step |
| 1954-08-18 | Franklin County | F0 1.5 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1954-03-25 | Franklin County | F2 3 mi x 60 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1954-03-25 | Franklin County | F1 | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1953-08-01 | Franklin County | F1 7.7 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K 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 Franklin County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the March 11, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($15,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-08 | Flash FloodSullivan Mem Airport, Franklin County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-27 | HailOetters, Franklin County | 2.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-27 | HailGray Summit, Franklin County | 1.25 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-27 | HailGray Summit, Franklin County | 1.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-27 | HailMaupin, Franklin County | 1.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-27 | HailPacific, Franklin County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-27 | Thunderstorm WindJeffriesburg, Franklin County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-27 | HailGerald, Franklin County | 1.25 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-27 | HailLeslie, Franklin County | 1.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-27 | HailSullivan, Franklin County | 2.25 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-27 | HailSullivan, Franklin County | 1.25 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-27 | Thunderstorm WindGerald, Franklin County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-08-04 | Thunderstorm WindWashington, Franklin County A rapidly strengthening thunderstorm produced wind gusts of at least 60 mph across the Washington area, downing some trees and power lines. A pontoon boat on Missouri River was caught by the storm and overturned by the wind gusts. A women and two children on the boat took shelter in a small storage closet to escape ... | 3 | 6 | – | |
| 2000-05-07 | Flash FloodCountywide, Franklin County A thunderstorm complex dropped up to 14 inches of rain on Franklin County from about Midnight to 6 am causing the worst flash flooding in county history. The rain fell at a rate of 3 inches an hour from about 2 to 3 am. A joint Federal-State Damage Assessment Team conducted for individual assistance determined that 98 ... | 2 | 0 | $171M | |
| 1996-08-04 | Thunderstorm WindSt Clair, Franklin County Thunderstorm wind gusts downed trees southeast of St. Clair. A woman was killed when struck in the head by a large tree branch. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2006-07-14 | HeatFranklin County · forecast zone Franklin A major heat wave hit the St. Louis area in mid-July. Temperatures ranged from the middle 90s to a high of 100 on July 19. To make matters worse, severe thunderstorms roared across the region on the 19th and 21st causing a historic power outage. Up to 700,000 metered buildings were without power. In some cases power ... | 0 | 30 | – | |
| 1956-02-24 | TornadoFranklin County | F4 35.3 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 16 | $250K step |
| 2006-08-01 | HeatFranklin County · forecast zone Franklin The late July Heat Wave continued into the first 2 days of August before a cold front finally moved through bringing cooler temperatures. In Columbia, August 2nd was the 5th straight day of reaching a high temperature over 100 degrees. In St. Louis, August 2nd was the 4th straight day over 100 degrees. | 0 | 13 | – | |
| 2013-04-10 | Thunderstorm WindSullivan, Franklin County A microburst caused minor damage at Sullivan Regional Airport. A small section of one hanger was removed with a door of a nearby hanger also sustaining damage. Also, one private aircraft sustained minor damage. The AWOS recorded a wind gust of 101 mph with this microburst. Further downstream the damage from the ... | 88 kt wind | 0 | 11 | – |
| 2003-07-03 | HeatFranklin County · forecast zone Franklin The first heat wave of the summer caused 3 deaths in the City of St. Louis. On Juuly 6, a 78 year old man was found dead in his brick home with a body temperature of 111 degrees and a 54 year old man was found dead outside Busch Memorial Stadium. A third man, 80 years old, died on July 9. Further details were not ... | 0 | 7 | – |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-05-07 | Flash FloodCountywide, Franklin County | 2 | 0 | $171M | |
| 2015-12-27 | FloodBerger, Franklin County | 0 | 0 | $2.5M | |
| 2025-03-14 | TornadoVilla Ridge, Franklin County | EF2 14.33 mi x 644 yd | 0 | 1 | $1.5M |
| 1994-04-15 | TornadoNew Haven, Franklin County | F0 2.3 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | $996K |
| 2000-04-16 | HailSt Clair, Franklin County | 1.50 in hail | 0 | 0 | $857K |
| 2007-01-12 | Ice StormFranklin County · forecast zone Franklin | 0 | 0 | $475K | |
| 2006-11-30 | Winter StormFranklin County · forecast zone Franklin | 0 | 0 | $293K | |
| 2000-04-20 | Thunderstorm WindNew Haven, Franklin County | 65 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $171K |
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 $250K, in the dollars of the day) holds: February 24, 1956 (tornado, Franklin County); December 2, 1982 (tornado, Franklin County); April 7, 1980 (tornado, Franklin 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 Franklin 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 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 40 | 51 | 96 | 82 | 50 |
| Hail | 2 | 7 | 6 | 18 | 47 | 88 | 93 | 40 |
| Heat | – | – | – | – | 2 | 22 | 33 | 3 |
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 12 | 24 | 12 | 8 |
| Floods | – | – | – | – | 9 | 19 | 20 | 5 |
| Tornadoes | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 8 |
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 Franklin County. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 39 · Feb 39 · Mar 58 · Apr 193 · May 132 · Jun 99 · Jul 118 · Aug 85 · Sep 41 · Oct 19 · Nov 21 · Dec 38 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Franklin County
FEMA's register lists 24 declarations that include Franklin County: 16 major disasters, 8 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (9) and severe storm (8).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-05-21 | DR-4867 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Wildfires |
| 2020-03-26 | DR-4490 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3482 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 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 |
| 2011-06-30 | EM-3325 | Flood | Flooding |
| 2011-02-03 | EM-3317 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 2009-01-30 | EM-3303 | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 2008-03-19 | DR-1749 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 2007-12-12 | EM-3281 | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storms |
| 2007-01-15 | DR-1676 | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storms and Flooding |
| 2005-09-10 | EM-3232 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 2003-05-06 | DR-1463 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 2000-05-12 | DR-1328 | Flood | Severe Thunderstorms and Flash Flooding |
| 1995-06-02 | DR-1054 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Hail, Flooding |
| 1994-04-21 | DR-1023 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding |
| 1993-12-01 | DR-1006 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 1993-07-09 | DR-995 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding |
| 1986-10-14 | DR-779 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding |
| 1982-12-10 | DR-672 | Flood | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 1976-09-24 | EM-3017 | Drought | Drought |
| 1973-11-01 | DR-407 | Flood | Severe Storms & 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 Franklin County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 53 flood or flash flood records for Franklin County from 1996 to 2026, on 50 days, with 2 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Franklin County ranks 312th of 2,942 U.S. counties.
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $32.2 million on 1,097 claims filed in Franklin County; the most in one year was 204 in 2015. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1978: 2 · 1979: 11 · 1982: 52 · 1983: 19 · 1984: 2 · 1985: 43 · 1986: 7 · 1987: 2 · 1988: 1 · 1990: 2 · 1992: 3 · 1993: 73 · 1994: 174 · 1995: 18 · 1996: 5 · 1997: 4 · 1998: 22 · 2000: 59 · 2001: 2 · 2002: 2 · 2003: 4 · 2004: 1 · 2005: 3 · 2008: 187 · 2009: 3 · 2010: 1 · 2011: 4 · 2013: 2 · 2014: 4 · 2015: 204 · 2016: 3 · 2017: 153 · 2019: 4 · 2023: 1 · 2024: 18 · 2025: 1 · 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 Franklin County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Franklin County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $59.5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | $3.1M | 5.3 a year (modeled) |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | $5.6M | 12 modeled event-days a year |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | $1.8M | 5.3 a year (modeled) |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | $53K | 1.9 a year (modeled) |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | $6.7M | once in about 2 years (modeled) |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | $32M | 1.7 a year (modeled) |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | $440K | 1.3 a year (modeled) |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | $3.2M | 1.6 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 Franklin 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 Franklin CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Franklin County's FEMA declarations (CSV)24 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis