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Polk County, Missouri severe weather history spans 855 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 35.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #240 nationally and #12 in Missouri.
855
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
10
Direct injuries
$55.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Polk County, Missouri severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Polk County, Missouri severe weather history averages 12.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 290 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 42 events fall before 1990 and 813 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Polk County, Missouri record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $20.6M 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 Polk County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 304 | 0 | $20.6M | 4 | 1965–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 266 | 0 | $8.5M | 78 | 1970–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 156 | 1 | $13.1M | 0 | 1996–2026 |
| Flood | 54 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2007–2026 |
| Tornado | 38 | 0 | $12.8M | F2 | 1955–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 33 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2014 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
Polk County, Missouri severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
37 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 27 touched down inside it and 10 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 | EF3 | 5 | 47 | 86.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2012-02-28 | EF2 | 1 | 12 | 9.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-12-14 | EF2 | 1 | 22 | 48.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1990-03-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-05-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-05-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-01-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2019-04-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-05-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-05-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Polk County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 27, 2015 | Flash Flood | PLEASANT HOPE | 1 | 0 | $500K |
| Apr 27, 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Humansville | 0 | 4 | $50K |
| Aug 13, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | HUMANSVILLE | 0 | 2 | $5K |
| May 8, 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | KNOX | 0 | 1 | $7.0M |
| Jun 2, 2007 | Flash Flood | PLEASANT HOPE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Dec 18, 2002 | Tornado | HUMANSVILLE | 0 | 1 | $500K |
| Sep 28, 1959 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $3K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 56 year old man was swept off of Highway H by flash flooding of the Pomme De Terre River. Nearly all low water crossings across the county were flooded and several suffered damage. Several county roads sustained damaged from flood water. This storm report will contain the damage estimates for the entire county for this event.
The remnants of Tropical Storm Erin caused serious flooding across southern and central Polk County. Numerous secondary roads were washed out along with many low water crossings. Specific locations that were flooded include a bridge on Highway W near its intersection with Highway 123, a section of Highway 215 west of Eudora where the Turkey Creek intersects the highway, a section Highway 123 south of Eudora, a few streets in the city of Bolivar, a section of Highway 13 near the Polk and Greene county Line experienced 5 feet of flash flood water, all roads leading in and out of Pleasant Hope became impassable, and areas of Pleasant Hope flooded with a few houses impacted.
Seventy to 90 mph winds caused massive damage across much of Polk County. The central and southern sections of the county was impacted the greatest. Hundreds of outbuildings were either heavily damaged or destroyed. The communities of Bolivar and Pleasant Hope experienced damage to several hundred structures. At Southwest Baptist University, a large tree fell on a car that was occupied by a student. The student was injured and transported to the hospital. The Marion C. Early High School gymnasium experienced significant damage. In Tin Town, a farm experienced signficant damage to the home and all outbuildings.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
32,444
Population (ACS)
$206K
Median home value
24
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 9, 2020 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 26, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jan 21, 2016 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jan 2, 2016 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | EM |
| Aug 7, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Pleasant Hope 188
- Bolivar 146
- Rimby 101
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Polk County, Missouri?
855 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $55.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Polk County?
Hail, with 304 recorded events — 35.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Polk County?
37 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 Polk County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Polk County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Polk County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Polk County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 54 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Polk 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
- Platte County 669
- Pulaski County 564
- Pike County 285
- Putnam County 161
- Phelps County 566
- Ralls County 224
Cite this page
“Polk County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/polk-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.