95
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$2.7M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Ripley County, Missouri: 95 recorded events between 1967 and 2024. The strongest on record measured 87. That places the county #2,270 nationally and #92 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Ripley County, Missouri: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Ripley County is the 2010s, when 26 of the county's 95 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Ripley County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 30.7% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2,270 for this hazard and #92 within Missouri, putting it in the 28.0 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Ripley County with 24 recorded events, while Sep is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 26, 2024 | OXLY | 74 | $100K |
| May 9, 2024 | PURMAN | 65 | $40K |
| May 9, 2024 | DONIPHAN | 61 | $6K |
| Jul 8, 2023 | PINE | 56 | $5K |
| Apr 16, 2023 | OXLY | 61 | $20K |
| Apr 5, 2023 | DONIPHAN | 61 | $25K |
| Jul 26, 2022 | DONIPHAN | 56 | $5K |
| Jul 9, 2021 | DONIPHAN | 52 | $1K |
| May 4, 2021 | DONIPHAN | 56 | $100K |
| May 28, 2020 | FAIRDEALING | 56 | $15K |
Other hazards here
More from Ripley County
- Hail 105
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This intense macroburst was centered along U.S. Highway 160 over western and central Ripley County, including the city of Doniphan. The average path width was about 5.5 miles, averaging from two miles north of Highway 160 to about three miles south. Peak wind gusts near 90 mph caused extensive tree damage, in addition to structural damage in the city of Doniphan. The Ripley County courthouse, a nearby commercial business, and the chamber of commerce building lost portions of their roofs. Rain caused water damage to all three buildings. A museum lost metal roofing. Two houses in the city were damaged by a falling tree. Doors were blown off buildings and blown up to 50 yards. Windows were broken. Winds were measured at 79 mph at the Doniphan Fire Department and estimated at 90 mph by the NWS survey team at the courthouse. A tree fell through a trailer home on Highway Y, splitting it in two. A house in Gatewood was damaged by a falling tree. There were numerous power outages around the county. Many roads were blocked by downed trees.
Approximately 200 trees were blown down. One barn was destroyed, with debris blown into trees. Four vehicles and a tractor that were in the barn were damaged. A home sustained shingle damage and other minor damage. One calf was killed and another injured. The damage was caused by a microburst with peak winds near 100 mph. The damage swath was one-half mile wide by 1 and 3/4 miles long.
A macroburst containing winds estimated up to 95 mph produced major damage across extreme northern Ripley County. The path in Ripley County was nearly 19 miles long and nearly five miles wide. Thousands of large trees were snapped or uprooted. Numerous power lines were blown down or downed by falling trees, causing the worst power outage in the area since the 2009 ice storm. Approximately 30 structures, mainly barns and garages, were damaged or destroyed. Several houses sustained mainly minor roof damage, with one having several windows blown out. Multiple trees were down on houses. Roads were blocked by fallen trees. A wind gust to 63 mph was measured north of Bennett, where large trees were uprooted.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Ripley County, Missouri?
95 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Ripley County between 1967 and 2024, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Ripley County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Ripley County measured 87.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Ripley County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Ripley County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/ripley-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.