Wayne County, Missouri
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 29223 · population 10,969 · 759 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 850 records for Wayne County, Missouri from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 714 days; the most frequent are floods and flash floods (131 records). 500 of them are forecast-zone records, which the National Weather Service files once per zone: a county covered by several zones receives each one, so a single storm can add several records on the same day. The deadliest day on its record was March 14, 2025: tornado records filed for Wayne County that day count 6 deaths across 3 records. FEMA has issued 28 declarations naming the county since 1973, 26 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding” on September 1, 2026.
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
- 850on 714 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 661 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $78Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 26strongest EF3
- FEMA declarations
- 28latest 2026
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 Wayne County most?
The most frequent records are floods and flash floods: 131 since 1996. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floods | 131 | 109 | 1996-2024 | 0 | 0 | $46M | 36 of 114 |
| Hail | 118 | 83 | 1972-2026 | 0 | 0 | $314K | 96 of 114 |
| Winter storms | 110 | 109 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 3 | $3.1M | 13 of 114 |
| Heat | 90 | 90 | 1997-2025 | 0 | 14 | – | 18 of 114 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 88 | 87 | 1997-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 11 of 114 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 84 | 74 | 1980-2025 | 0 | 5 | $2.1M | 108 of 114 |
| Extreme cold | 78 | 78 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 0 | $40K | 8 of 114 |
| High wind and dust storms | 68 | 68 | 1997-2025 | 0 | 0 | $4.2M | 11 of 114 |
| Drought | 44 | 44 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 22 of 114 |
| Tornadoes | 26 | 17 | 1957-2025 | 6 | 37 | $17M | 96 of 114 |
| Heavy rain | 7 | 6 | 2010-2015 | 0 | 0 | $27K | 46 of 114 |
| Wildfires | 4 | 4 | 2006-2025 | 0 | 0 | $5.0M | 11 of 114 |
| Lightning | 2 | 2 | 1997-2006 | 0 | 2 | – | 46 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 Wayne County had?
NOAA records 26 tornadoes in Wayne County from 1957 to 2025, the strongest rated EF3, with 6 deaths and 37 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 27 tornadoes whose track touched Wayne County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 26: 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.
| Date | Tornado | Rating | Path | Killed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-03-14 21:20, as SPC files it | Des Arc | EF3 | 29.85 mi | 3 |
| 2025-03-14 21:28, as SPC files it | Mill Spring | EF3 | 30.6 mi | 2 |
| 2025-03-14 22:15, as SPC files it | Greenville | EF3 | 28.64 mi | 1 |
| 2011-05-25 14:49, as SPC files it | Ellsinore | EF3 | 47.41 mi | 0 |
| 1964-03-25 13:00, as SPC files it | Piedmont | F3 | 46 mi | 0 |
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Missouri.
Every tornado record filed for Wayne County (26)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-03-14 | Leeper, Wayne County | EF3 13.26 mi x 325 yd | 2 | 0 | $3.0M |
| 2025-03-14 | Burbank, Wayne County | EF2 11.98 mi x 400 yd | 1 | 1 | $1.5M |
| 2025-03-14 | Gads Hill, Wayne County | EF3 5.47 mi x 1,525 yd | 3 | 0 | $4.0M |
| 2023-04-05 | Mill Spg, Wayne County | EF1 6.14 mi x 300 yd | 0 | 0 | $194K |
| 2021-10-24 | Shook, Wayne County | EF1 4.73 mi x 400 yd | 0 | 0 | $22K |
| 2015-12-23 | Patterson, Wayne County | EF1 3.04 mi x 75 yd | 0 | 0 | $62K |
| 2015-12-23 | Mill Spg, Wayne County | EF1 2.95 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $6K |
| 2011-05-25 | Mill Spg, Wayne County | EF1 17.77 mi x 150 yd | 0 | 0 | $92K |
| 2011-05-25 | Leeper, Wayne County | EF3 32.99 mi x 1,200 yd | 0 | 2 | $656K |
| 2011-04-25 | Clubb, Wayne County | EF1 5.88 mi x 500 yd | 0 | 0 | $92K |
| 2011-04-25 | Silva, Wayne County | EF1 11.78 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 0 | $33K |
| 2011-04-22 | Old Greenville, Wayne County | EF1 2.07 mi x 300 yd | 0 | 0 | $131K |
| 2011-04-19 | Clubb, Wayne County | EF1 5.16 mi x 500 yd | 0 | 0 | $33K |
| 2004-05-01 | Leeper, Wayne County | F1 0.2 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $8K |
| 2004-04-24 | Patterson, Wayne County | F1 4 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $156K |
| 1997-07-08 | Clubb, Wayne County | F0 0.2 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1995-06-08 | Clubb, Wayne County | F0 0.5 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $19K |
| 1989-04-03 | Wayne County | F1 2 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $2.5M step |
| 1989-04-03 | Wayne County | F1 0.5 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1989-04-03 | Wayne County | F0 0.2 mi x 350 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1984-11-09 | Wayne County | F1 1 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1984-11-09 | Wayne County | F1 8 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1982-12-02 | Wayne County | F1 2 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 8 | $250K step |
| 1964-03-25 | Wayne County | F3 17.4 mi x 300 yd | 0 | 26 | $25K step |
| 1964-03-25 | Wayne County | F3 15.3 mi x 300 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1957-05-21 | Wayne County | F1 13 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 Wayne County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the July 29, 2025 thunderstorm wind ($2,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
Thunderstorm winds blew down two trees near Clearwater Lake southwest of Piedmont.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1289659)
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-27 | HailWilliamsville, Wayne County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-01 | DroughtWayne County · forecast zone Wayne | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-27 | Dense FogWayne County · forecast zone Wayne | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-10 | Dense FogWayne County · forecast zone Wayne | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | DroughtWayne County · forecast zone Wayne | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-26 | Cold/Wind ChillWayne County · forecast zone Wayne | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-24 | Winter StormWayne County · forecast zone Wayne | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-23 | Cold/Wind ChillWayne County · forecast zone Wayne | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-21 | Freezing FogWayne County · forecast zone Wayne | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-04 | DroughtWayne County · forecast zone Wayne | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-11-23 | Dense FogWayne County · forecast zone Wayne | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-11-20 | Dense FogWayne County · forecast zone Wayne | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-03-14 | TornadoGads Hill, Wayne County An EF-3 tornado touched down 4 miles northeast of Garwood in Reynolds County and proceeded northeast into northwest Wayne County southwest of Gads Hill. Thousands of trees were uprooted or snapped along its path through northwest Wayne County. Significant damage occurred in Gads Hill, where three houses and several ... | EF3 5.47 mi x 1,525 yd | 3 | 0 | $4.0M |
| 2025-03-14 | TornadoLeeper, Wayne County An EF-3 tornado touched down just northeast of Eastwood in Carter County and moved quickly northeast to the Wayne County line just southwest of Leeper. The tornado destroyed 3 homes in Leeper, including completely wiping the slab clean on one. A nearby house had its roof mostly removed and another had some broken ... | EF3 13.26 mi x 325 yd | 2 | 0 | $3.0M |
| 2025-03-14 | TornadoBurbank, Wayne County An EF-2 tornado touched down northeast of Greenville and moved northeast doing profound and extreme tree damage along its path. Thousands of trees were snapped or uprooted. The tornado directly impacted the River Valley Campground on Hidden Valley Road near the Castor River, killing one person and severely injuring ... | EF2 11.98 mi x 400 yd | 1 | 1 | $1.5M |
| 1964-03-25 | TornadoWayne County | F3 17.4 mi x 300 yd | 0 | 26 | $25K step |
| 1997-07-26 | HeatWayne County · forecast zone Wayne High temperatures were in the upper 90s to around 100 degrees for three consecutive days. High humidity pushed heat index values to between 105 and 115 degrees. An air conditioning unit failed on an office building in Cape Girardeau. Four overheated female employees in the office building were taken to a local ... | 0 | 12 | – | |
| 1982-12-02 | TornadoWayne County | F1 2 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 8 | $250K step |
| 2017-05-27 | Thunderstorm WindGreenville, Wayne County Multiple trees were uprooted on D Highway a few miles southeast of Greenville. One vehicle was struck by a falling tree, with minor injuries. Multiple trees were down in a campground. In Greenville, trees and power lines were down. | 61 kt wind | 0 | 2 | $72K |
| 2012-09-06 | Thunderstorm WindPiedmont Municipal Airport, Wayne County Numerous trees were blown down in northwestern parts of the county. In particular, trees were down around Highway HH at Clearwater Dam. Tree limbs and whole trees were on roads in the Piedmont area. A car crashed into a downed tree near Piedmont, causing major injuries (indirect). | 61 kt wind | 0 | 2 | $32K |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-05-01 | Flash FloodWappapello, Wayne County | 0 | 0 | $26M | |
| 2008-03-18 | FloodPiedmont, Wayne County | 0 | 0 | $13M | |
| 2025-03-14 | WildfireWayne County · forecast zone Wayne | 0 | 0 | $5.0M | |
| 2008-09-14 | High WindWayne County · forecast zone Wayne | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $4.1M |
| 2025-03-14 | TornadoGads Hill, Wayne County | EF3 5.47 mi x 1,525 yd | 3 | 0 | $4.0M |
| 2025-03-14 | TornadoLeeper, Wayne County | EF3 13.26 mi x 325 yd | 2 | 0 | $3.0M |
| 2017-05-01 | FloodSilva, Wayne County | 0 | 0 | $1.7M | |
| 2009-01-26 | Winter StormWayne County · forecast zone Wayne | 0 | 0 | $1.4M |
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 $2.5M, in the dollars of the day) holds: April 3, 1989 (tornado, Wayne 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 Wayne 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floods | – | – | – | – | 19 | 51 | 42 | 19 |
| Hail | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 30 | 40 | 20 | 23 |
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 8 | 36 | 46 | 20 |
| Heat | – | – | – | – | 5 | 12 | 41 z | 32 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | – | – | – | – | 4 | 17 | 41 | 26 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 22 | 17 | 23 | 17 |
Heat in the 2010s: 41 records against 12 in the decade before, 41 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the Wayne County days with a record above.
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 Wayne County. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 91 · Feb 82 · Mar 80 · Apr 133 · May 90 · Jun 38 · Jul 85 · Aug 69 · Sep 22 · Oct 37 · Nov 55 · Dec 68 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Wayne County
FEMA's register lists 28 declarations that include Wayne County: 21 major disasters, 7 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (16) and flood (5).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-01 | DR-4939 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding |
| 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 |
| 2023-09-21 | DR-4741 | 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 |
| 2016-01-02 | 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 |
| 2009-06-19 | DR-1847 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 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 |
| 2008-03-12 | DR-1748 | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storms and Flooding |
| 2007-12-12 | EM-3281 | Severe Ice Storm | Severe Winter Storms |
| 2005-09-10 | EM-3232 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 2002-05-06 | DR-1412 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding |
| 1993-12-01 | DR-1006 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 1993-07-09 | DR-995 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding |
| 1982-12-10 | DR-672 | Flood | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 1976-09-24 | EM-3017 | Drought | Drought |
| 1976-07-21 | DR-516 | 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 Wayne County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 131 flood or flash flood records for Wayne County from 1996 to 2024, on 109 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Wayne County ranks 1125th of 2,942 U.S. counties.
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $3.2 million on 141 claims filed in Wayne County; the most in one year was 65 in 2008. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1982: 2 · 1983: 17 · 1989: 1 · 1993: 8 · 1995: 1 · 1998: 2 · 1999: 1 · 2002: 6 · 2005: 7 · 2008: 65 · 2009: 1 · 2011: 13 · 2015: 1 · 2016: 3 · 2017: 7 · 2019: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2025: 4; 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 Wayne County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Wayne County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $15.5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cold Wave | Relatively Moderate | $3.0M | 1.1 a year (modeled) |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Moderate | $1.0M | 11 modeled event-days a year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Moderate | $180K | 1.2 a year (modeled) |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | $1.5M | once in about 2 years (modeled) |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | $60K | 7.7 a year (modeled) |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | $375K | 2.8 a year (modeled) |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | $1.8M | once in about 107 years (modeled) |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | $15K | 3.3 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 Wayne 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
- Floods in MissouriThe state's floods and flash floods, 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 Wayne CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Wayne County's FEMA declarations (CSV)28 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis