Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
Greene; Macoupin; Montgomery; Bond; Fayette; Clinton; Marion; Washington; Randolph; Adams; Brown; Pike; Calhoun; Jersey; Knox; Lewis; Shelby; Marion; Monroe; Ralls; Pike; Boone; Audrain; Moniteau; Cole; Osage; Callaway; Montgomery; Lincoln; Gasconade; Warren; Franklin; Crawford; Washington; St. Francois; Ste. Genevieve; Iron; Madison; Reynolds
Callaway County, Missouri severe weather history spans 485 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 41.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #928 nationally and #41 in Missouri.
485
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
7
Direct injuries
$3.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Callaway County, Missouri severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Callaway County, Missouri severe weather history averages 6.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 173 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 90 events fall before 1990 and 395 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Callaway County, Missouri record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $2.0M 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 Callaway County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 202 | 0 | $652K | 80 | 1956–2026 |
| Hail | 192 | 0 | $157K | 4 | 1960–2026 |
| Tornado | 42 | 1 | $1.0M | F2 | 1959–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 35 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Lightning | 7 | 1 | $70K | 0 | 2003–2016 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $2.0M | 0 | 1999–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2000 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2005 |
Decade by decade
Callaway County, Missouri severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
41 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 35 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-05-22 | EF3 | 0 | 33 | 32.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-04-20 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-03-13 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 13.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-05-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 42.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1966-05-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-04-10 | EF1 | 1 | 2 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-05-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-05-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-03-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 14.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-04-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Callaway County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 2001 | Tornado | FULTON | 1 | 2 | $75K |
| Aug 20, 2014 | Lightning | FULTON | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 13, 2006 | Tornado | GUTHRIE | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Apr 20, 2025 | Tornado | GUTHRIE | 0 | 1 | $125K |
| Jul 7, 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | NEW BLOOMFIELD | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 20, 1964 | 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
The Missouri River at Jefferson City rose above 33 feet during the late evening hours of June 3rd, which is 3 feet above Major Flood stage and remained that high through the evening of June 8th. This was the period when the river was at it's highest levels for this event. The flooding affected Jefferson City Memorial Airport for a couple of months. The terminal building sustained more than 50 percent damage so will have to be torn down and rebuilt to FEMA floodplain standards. The airport tower was flooded as well. The ASOS unit had to be powered off beginning May 22nd until July 30th and had to be repaired once the flood waters went down.
A swath of damaging downburst winds extended from Calwood, along Highway Z towards Interstate 70. A grain elevator sustained major damage in Calwood. Also, numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down along the damage path. The width of the damage area ranged from 50 to 125 yards.
The tornado touched down south of County Road 362 at 1:31 PM and quickly strengthened, blowing in the garage and removing a significant section of roof from a home along County Road 362. This was the worst observed damage and was rated as 120 mph (EF-2). The tornado then moved north-northeast, crossing State Road Y and removing siding from a church along Blessing Lane. The tornado dissipated along County Road 347 at 1:36 PM. Additional damage along the path mainly consisted of tree damage. The tornado was rated EF-2 with a path length of 2.61 miles and a maximum path width of 100 yards.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
44,741
Population (ACS)
$202K
Median home value
29
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND WILDFIRES | DR |
| Sep 1, 2021 | 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 |
| Jan 2, 2016 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Callaway County, Missouri?
485 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $3.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Callaway County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 202 recorded events — 41.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Callaway County?
41 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 35 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Callaway County?
29 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Callaway County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Callaway County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Callaway County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 64 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Callaway 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
- Caldwell County 219
- Camden County 636
- Butler County 518
- Cape Girardeau County 624
- Buchanan County 491
- Carroll County 233
Cite this page
“Callaway County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/callaway-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.