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DeKalb County, Missouri severe weather history spans 263 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 51.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,019 nationally and #89 in Missouri.
263
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
15
Direct injuries
$1.7M
Property damage
The record
What the DeKalb County, Missouri severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, DeKalb County, Missouri severe weather history averages 3.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 100 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 32 events fall before 1990 and 231 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the DeKalb County, Missouri record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $745K in reported property damage. In total, 5 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in DeKalb County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 135 | 0 | $260K | 2.75 | 1955–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 88 | 0 | $686K | 70 | 1959–2025 |
| Tornado | 19 | 3 | $745K | F4 | 1957–2021 |
| Flash Flood | 15 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2021 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2017 |
Decade by decade
DeKalb County, Missouri severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
21 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 16 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-05-29 | EF4 | 3 | 6 | 22.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-04-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-05-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1971-05-18 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 55.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-04-10 | EF2 | 0 | 7 | 9.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-06-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 25.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1957-05-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-05-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 20.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-05-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-08-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in DeKalb County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 2004 | Tornado | WEATHERBY | 3 | 6 | $300K |
| Apr 10, 1965 | Tornado | 0 | 7 | $250K | |
| Apr 13, 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | OSBORN | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Large F4 tornado touched down 2 miles south of Weatherby and moved east northeast. The tornado killed 3 persons near Weatherby. The 80 and 60 year old fatalities occurred in a destroyed frame house. Two mobile homes were destroyed with one having the 54 year old fatality. The tornado crossed into Daviess county 4 miles east of Weatherby.
PSDA indicated a second tornado initially touched down just north of the De Kalb-Clinton County line about 1 mile east of Stewartsville, Missouri along Highway 36, where F1 damage was noted to a destroyed pole barn. The tornado tracked northeast producing F1 damage about a third of a mile north of the intersection of Fairview and Rogers Roads, where a second pole barn was destroyed. The tornado then intensified as it tracked northeast, producing F2 damage to a home near the intersection of Grindstone and Baker Roads. The tornado lifted just north of the intersection of Routes C and 6.
Emergency management from DeKalb County notified the office that there were power poles and power lines down on two roads that are about a mile apart. The path of damage between these two roads was pretty narrow, and radar indicated some weak rotation, so a tornado was deemed the reason for the damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
10,876
Population (ACS)
$169K
Median home value
22
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 26, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| 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 |
| Feb 3, 2011 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Aug 17, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in DeKalb County, Missouri?
263 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $1.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in DeKalb County?
Hail, with 135 recorded events — 51.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed DeKalb County?
21 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 16 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover DeKalb County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include DeKalb County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is DeKalb County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates DeKalb County as very low risk, placing it in the 16 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the DeKalb 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
- Daviess County 353
- Dent County 398
- Dallas County 501
- Douglas County 941
- Dade County 437
- Dunklin County 442
Cite this page
“DeKalb County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/dekalb-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.