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Jefferson County, Missouri severe weather history spans 654 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 47.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #467 nationally and #24 in Missouri.
654
Recorded events
9
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$17.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Jefferson County, Missouri severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Jefferson County, Missouri severe weather history averages 9.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 206 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 99 events fall before 1990 and 555 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Jefferson County, Missouri record is flash flood, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $9.6M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Jefferson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 312 | 0 | $574K | 4.5 | 1957–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 236 | 1 | $237K | 87 | 1960–2026 |
| Tornado | 44 | 1 | $9.6M | F3 | 1961–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 41 | 4 | $4.8M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 9 | 2 | $2.2M | 0 | 1998–2017 |
| Lightning | 8 | 1 | $52K | 0 | 1999–2016 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2024 |
Decade by decade
Jefferson County, Missouri severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
47 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 39 touched down inside it and 8 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956-02-24 | EF4 | 6 | 36 | 77.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2010-12-31 | EF3 | 1 | 6 | 6.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-04-22 | EF3 | 1 | 0 | 7.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-03-11 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 5.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-03-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 25.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-12-31 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1995-05-18 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 7.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-05-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-06-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-03-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Jefferson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2, 2015 | Flash Flood | KIMMSWICK | 2 | 0 | $4.0M |
| Aug 10, 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | ARNOLD | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 1, 2017 | Flood | HOENE SPG | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 25, 2016 | Lightning | DANBY | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 18, 2013 | Flash Flood | DE SOTO ARPT | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 7, 2003 | Flash Flood | DE SOTO | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 5, 1998 | Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 22, 1981 | Tornado | 1 | 0 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A line of severe storms moved across Jefferson County. Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down. In Pevely, a 51 year old woman was killed when a tree was uprooted by the thunderstorm winds and it fell on her. She had been helping her boyfriend move a hard top from a Jeep to prevent damage to it from the approaching severe storms. The boyfriend was not injured by the fallen tree. In Arnold, a large maple tree was blown over onto a house. The house suffered damage to the awning and gutters before rolling off the slanted roof. Just southwest of Festus a tree was blown down onto Route CC. Several unoccupied vehicles sustained damage from fallen trees and tree limbs.
The Meramec and Big Rivers rose above major flood stage in the late evening hours of April 30th due to the heavy rainfall. A number of roads were closed due to the river flooding. A 77-year old man drowned when he walked to a creek (that feeds into the nearby Big River) near his house (off of Mimi Mountain Road and Highway BB) to survey the rising water, slipped and was swept away by the current. His body was recovered about three quarters of a mile downstream.
Up to five inches of rain fell in a 24 hour period. This caused flash flooding on Joachim Creek in DeSoto. The creek rose quickly and numerous roads on the east side of town were flooded. The water rose high enough that the fire station on East Miller Street had over a foot of water in it throughout the offices and engine room. About 125 homes were affected by the flash flooding. Also, an 80 year old woman drove into the flood waters on Veterans Drive. Despite attempts by emergency workers to block the car, it plunged into the rushing creek with the woman inside. Several hours later the water receded enough for the emergency workers to find her body in the vehicle a little ways downstream.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
229,458
Population (ACS)
$237K
Median home value
30
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND WILDFIRES | 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 |
| Jun 2, 2017 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jan 21, 2016 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Jefferson County, Missouri?
654 events are on record between 1957 and 2026, causing 9 direct deaths and $17.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Jefferson County?
Hail, with 312 recorded events — 47.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Jefferson County?
47 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 39 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Jefferson County?
30 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Jefferson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Jefferson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Jefferson County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 91 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Jefferson 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
- Jasper County 1,115
- Johnson County 644
- Knox County 166
- Jackson County 1,605
- Laclede County 687
- Iron County 222
Cite this page
“Jefferson County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/jefferson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.