Macon County, Missouri

What hazards hit Macon County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 149 since 1958. 56% of its hail reports since 1958 fell in May and June. 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 Macon County had?

NOAA records 15 tornadoes in Macon County from 1954 to 2011, the strongest rated F4, with 2 deaths and 12 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 17 tornadoes whose track touched Macon County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 15: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 2 people.

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 Macon County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the December 29, 2020 winter weather (1 death, 1 injury and $11,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

As a winter storm moved into the general area, Macon County received light snow and freezing rain. Along Highway 63 near Excello - between Macon and Moberly - a box truck used by two males slid off ice covered roadway onto the east side of the roadway, and overturned. Both men were not wearing seat belts. The driver survived with injuries, while the driver did not survive his injuries. Missouri Highway Patrol crash report: https://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/HP68/AccidentDetailsAction?ACC_RPT_NUM=200648868 .
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 932193)

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

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: 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 Macon 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?

56% of its hail reports since 1958 fell in May and June. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Macon County

FEMA's register lists 23 declarations that include Macon County: 17 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (13) and severe ice storm (3).

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 Macon County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 43 flood or flash flood records for Macon County from 1998 to 2021, on 29 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Macon County ranks 2756th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $8,285 on 2 claims filed in Macon County; the most in one year was 1 in 1996. 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 Macon County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Macon County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $10.6 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 Macon County

1. Chariton County 430
2. Macon County 417
3. Adair County 406
4. Linn County 353
5. Monroe County 334
6. Shelby County 313
7. Randolph County 308
8. Knox County 282

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
• Hail in MissouriThe state's hail reports, 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 Macon CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Macon County's FEMA declarations (CSV)23 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis