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Cedar County, Missouri severe weather history spans 396 recorded events between 1958 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 40.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,271 nationally and #50 in Missouri.
396
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
42
Direct injuries
$87.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Cedar County, Missouri severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Cedar County, Missouri severe weather history averages 5.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 145 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 50 events fall before 1990 and 346 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Cedar County, Missouri record is tornado, responsible for 5 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $66.3M 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 Cedar County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 161 | 0 | $12.4M | 2.75 | 1965–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 156 | 0 | $7.9M | 70 | 1958–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 40 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Tornado | 19 | 5 | $66.3M | F3 | 1958–2020 |
| Heavy Rain | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2025 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2025 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $55K | 0 | 2011–2011 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2008 |
Decade by decade
Cedar County, Missouri severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
19 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 14 touched down inside it and 5 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 |
| 1982-03-15 | EF3 | 2 | 8 | 70.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2006-03-12 | EF2 | 1 | 7 | 38.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1958-09-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-01-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-01-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-06-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-12-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-07-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-05-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Cedar County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 2003 | Tornado | JERICO SPGS | 3 | 37 | $40.0M |
| Mar 13, 2006 | Tornado | EL DORADO SPGS | 1 | 5 | $800K |
| Mar 16, 1982 | Tornado | 1 | 0 | $25.0M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado is a continuation of the Vernon County tornado. The tornado increased in intensity as it tracked across Cedar County. 47 structures were damaged and 26 were destroyed including homes and businesses. Five injuries and one fatality resulted. A 77 year old man died six days later in the hospital from blunt trauma injuries he sustained from flying debris. He apparently was attempting to move into his basement as the tornado struck his frame home near Virgil City. The tornado exited Cedar County east of Cedar Springs and continued into St. Clair County.
Hail from golf balls to baseballs in size fell for over 5 minutes across rural areas west of El Dorado Springs and into the western portions of El Dorado City limits. Damage was reported to multiple vehicles, roofs, siding, outbuildings, businesses and equipment. Several windshields were reported with significant damage and holes into the interior of the vehicle.
Fifty to 80 mph winds caused damage to trees, boat docks, and boats across southern and central Cedar County. The most significant damage occurred on Stockton Lake, where the State Park Marina, Orleans Trail Marina, and Mutton Creek Marina had expensive damage to docks and boats. The State Park Marina estimates that 1.2 million dollars of damage occurred to the wave wall proctector. One boat broke away from a dock and became wedged underneath the dock. In the campgrounds, numerous trees were knocked over and one of the bath houses was destroyed. Several other outbuildings and numerous trees were damaged across the southern portion of the county.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
14,615
Population (ACS)
$168K
Median home value
23
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 |
| Jun 2, 2017 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Stockton 109
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Cedar County, Missouri?
396 events are on record between 1958 and 2026, causing 5 direct deaths and $87.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Cedar County?
Hail, with 161 recorded events — 40.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Cedar County?
19 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 14 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Cedar County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Cedar County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Cedar County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Cedar County as very low risk, placing it in the 26 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Cedar 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
- Cass County 778
- Chariton County 263
- Carter County 267
- Christian County 965
- Carroll County 233
- Clark County 340
Cite this page
“Cedar County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/cedar-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.