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Platte County, Missouri severe weather history spans 669 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 48.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #447 nationally and #23 in Missouri.
669
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
18
Direct injuries
$42.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Platte County, Missouri severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Platte County, Missouri severe weather history averages 9.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 233 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 108 events fall before 1990 and 561 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $35.6M 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 Platte County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 321 | 0 | $1.4M | 3 | 1959–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 262 | 0 | $561K | 92 | 1957–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 50 | 0 | $4.1M | 0 | 1998–2021 |
| Tornado | 19 | 0 | $35.6M | F4 | 1961–2024 |
| Flood | 14 | 0 | $650K | 0 | 1999–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2008 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 2005–2005 |
Decade by decade
Platte County, Missouri severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
17 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-05-04 | EF4 | 2 | 30 | 21.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1966-06-08 | EF4 | 1 | 2 | 19.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1961-05-07 | EF4 | 0 | 12 | 26.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1964-04-12 | EF3 | 1 | 22 | 14.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2004-05-29 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-06-26 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 10.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-04-10 | EF3 | 0 | 11 | 23.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1971-05-18 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 55.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1969-06-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-05-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Platte County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 10, 1965 | Tornado | 0 | 9 | $250K | |
| May 18, 1971 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $25K | |
| May 31, 1985 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| Jun 27, 1969 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Mar 7, 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | (MCI)KS CITY INTL AR | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Tornado in Leavenworth county crossed the Missouri River into Platte county around Missouri Route 92, near its intersection with North Farley Road. F1 damage was noted and extended one and a half miles to the east, with a width around 50 yards. Two barns had major damage and there were 16 homes with minor damage. There was also tree and fence damage noted.
The Platte River at Platte City crested at 32.50 feet, or 12.50 feet above flood stage. This was its third highest crest on record and was on May 10, 2007. Several homes suffered loss and there was widespread agricultural losses in the adjacent bottom lands.
While Platte County escaped much of the devastating flooding that affected portions of Buchanan, Holt and Atchison Counties, the Missouri River still rose to near record levels and impacted portions of Platte County. Most notable was the flooding in Parkville, where the river rose to 35.01 feet. This was a record at the time, but the gauge was only in existence for a short time before the flood, so it's unknown how this ranked historically; however, the upstream gauge in Leavenworth, Kansas reached 31.30 feet (2nd place at the time). Portions of Parkville were flooded, as well as English Landing Park. The river remained in flood into the middle part of May. Note: The dollar value assigned to the damages is likely not accurate, as the full extent of the damage is unknown.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
110,371
Population (ACS)
$345K
Median home value
26
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| May 20, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 7, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 12, 2011 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Platte County, Missouri?
669 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $42.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Platte County?
Hail, with 321 recorded events — 48.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Platte County?
17 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 9 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Platte County?
26 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Platte County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Platte County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Platte County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 71 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Platte 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
- Pike County 285
- Polk County 855
- Phelps County 566
- Pulaski County 564
- Pettis County 495
- Putnam County 161
Cite this page
“Platte County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/platte-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.