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Shelby County, Missouri severe weather history spans 193 recorded events between 1950 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 42.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,479 nationally and #107 in Missouri.
193
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$3.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Shelby County, Missouri severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Shelby County, Missouri severe weather history averages 2.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 65 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 45 events fall before 1990 and 148 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Shelby County, Missouri record is lightning, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $2.8M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Shelby County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 82 | 0 | $20K | 78 | 1958–2025 |
| Hail | 60 | 0 | $0 | 1.75 | 1960–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 24 | 0 | $1K | 0 | 1996–2019 |
| Tornado | 21 | 0 | $2.8M | F4 | 1950–2025 |
| Lightning | 5 | 2 | $157K | 0 | 1996–2008 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2004–2004 |
Decade by decade
Shelby County, Missouri severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
25 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 16 touched down inside it and 9 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975-04-23 | EF4 | 1 | 4 | 28.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1967-04-21 | EF4 | 0 | 2 | 59.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1995-07-04 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 26.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-04-13 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-06-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-04-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 89.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-08-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-08-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-03-06 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 18.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-06-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Shelby County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 17, 2005 | Lightning | HUNNEWELL | 2 | 1 | $0 |
| May 12, 2002 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Mar 7, 2017 | Tornado | MAUD | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Two men were killed and one injured by a lightning strike west of Hunnewell. The 3 men were doing road work near the bridge over the North Fork of the Salt River when the storm approached. They took shelter in a nearby shed, and when the storm appeared to let up, they headed for their vehicle. They were struck within a few feet of the vehicle. The men who died were killed instantly.
The communications tower at the county courthouse in Shelbyville was struck by lightning damaging computers for the 911 system and the sheriff's office, radio consoles, and various other electronic equipment. Damage is estimated around $100,000.
The county sheriff reported numerous windows broken and large tree limbs down in Shelbyville from high wind gusts. As the storms moved south, four barns were heavily damaged south of town. Numerous large trees across the county were blown over as well.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
5,986
Population (ACS)
$100K
Median home value
26
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 |
| Oct 31, 2014 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Shelby County, Missouri?
193 events are on record between 1950 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $3.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Shelby County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 82 recorded events — 42.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Shelby County?
25 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 Shelby County?
26 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Shelby County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Shelby County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Shelby County as very low risk, placing it in the 16 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Shelby 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
- Shannon County 480
- Stoddard County 423
- Scott County 400
- Stone County 679
- Scotland County 266
- Sullivan County 187
Cite this page
“Shelby County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/shelby-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.