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Benton County, Missouri severe weather history spans 560 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 35.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #691 nationally and #34 in Missouri.
560
Recorded events
7
Direct deaths
53
Direct injuries
$8.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Benton County, Missouri severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Benton County, Missouri severe weather history averages 7.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 163 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 64 events fall before 1990 and 496 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Benton County, Missouri record is flash flood, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $6.2M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Benton County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 198 | 2 | $1.7M | 80 | 1964–2026 |
| Hail | 181 | 0 | $184K | 2.5 | 1956–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 95 | 4 | $60K | 0 | 1996–2026 |
| Flood | 33 | 0 | $25K | 0 | 2007–2026 |
| Tornado | 31 | 0 | $6.2M | F3 | 1954–2026 |
| Heavy Rain | 18 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2021 |
| Lightning | 2 | 1 | $15K | 0 | 2004–2011 |
| Wildfire | 2 | 0 | $20K | 0 | 1999–2000 |
Decade by decade
Benton County, Missouri severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
31 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 27 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982-03-15 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 14.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-04-20 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 19.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-04-20 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-04-20 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 10.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-04-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-05-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-07-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Benton County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 21, 1996 | Flash Flood | WARSAW | 2 | 0 | $10K |
| Jul 5, 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | COUNTYWIDE | 1 | 48 | $350K |
| Jul 5, 2019 | Flash Flood | DELL JCT | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 5, 2011 | Lightning | WARSAW | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 27, 2009 | Flash Flood | BRANDON | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 13, 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | WARSAW | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 20, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| Mar 16, 1982 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A derecho swept across much of west central and central Missouri during the early morning hours of July 5th. Severe winds from this line of thunderstorms affected a campground near Truman Lake where 48 people were injured. One fatality occurred as a 47 year old man drove his boat over the lake while the storm swept through. Thirty five homes and businesses were damaged.
Two men were fishing on Truman Lake near Warsaw while a squall line rapidly pushed across the lake and swamped their boat. Vance Wiles age 40, drowned as he tried to swim to shore without a life jacket. The other passenger Mark Johnson age 37, was wearing a life jacket and survived the accident.
A NWS storm survey concluded that a EF-1 tornado touched down on the west side of Warsaw. The estimated maximum wind speeds were up to 95 mph. The tornado touched down about 3 miles northwest of Warsaw and lift just west of downtown Warsaw. The path width was estimated to be around a quarter of a mile wide and was on the ground for over 3 miles. Numerous trees were uprooted along the path. A metal building was damaged. A boat dock was flipped and heavily damaged with 7 boats sunk at the dock. A fireworks tent was blown over. There were a couple of trees that fell on to recreational vehicles at a RV park.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
20,151
Population (ACS)
$178K
Median home value
21
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 21, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 26, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jul 9, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 7, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 23, 2011 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Warsaw 147
- Cole Camp 117
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Benton County, Missouri?
560 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 7 direct deaths and $8.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Benton County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 198 recorded events — 35.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Benton County?
31 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 27 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Benton County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Benton County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Benton County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Benton County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 67 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Benton County, Missouri severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Bates County 362
- Bollinger County 328
- Barton County 604
- Boone County 830
- Barry County 1,021
- Buchanan County 491
Cite this page
“Benton County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/benton-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.