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Dallas County, Missouri severe weather history spans 501 recorded events between 1959 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 33.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #868 nationally and #37 in Missouri.
501
Recorded events
7
Direct deaths
44
Direct injuries
$13.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Dallas County, Missouri severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Dallas County, Missouri severe weather history averages 7.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 161 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 23 events fall before 1990 and 478 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Dallas County, Missouri record is flash flood, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $7.9M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Dallas County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 166 | 0 | $4.0M | 88 | 1967–2026 |
| Hail | 150 | 0 | $442K | 2.75 | 1963–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 104 | 3 | $1.1M | 0 | 1996–2026 |
| Flood | 45 | 1 | $150K | 0 | 2007–2026 |
| Tornado | 19 | 3 | $7.9M | F3 | 1959–2026 |
| Heavy Rain | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2015–2025 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $2K | 0 | 2008–2015 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2014 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $30K | 0 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
Dallas 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: 13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-05-04 | EF3 | 5 | 47 | 86.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2012-02-28 | EF2 | 1 | 12 | 9.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1971-12-14 | EF2 | 1 | 22 | 48.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2009-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-03-31 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 4.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1958-11-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-01-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1996-05-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-10-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-12-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Dallas County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 2003 | Tornado | LOUISBURG | 2 | 10 | $3.8M |
| Feb 29, 2012 | Tornado | FOOSE | 1 | 12 | $650K |
| May 8, 2025 | Flood | LOUISBURG | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 8, 2018 | Flash Flood | OLIVE | 1 | 0 | $30K |
| Dec 27, 2015 | Flash Flood | SPRING GROVE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 15, 2009 | Flash Flood | COLT | 1 | 0 | $5K |
| Oct 31, 2008 | Lightning | BUFFALO | 0 | 14 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 2008 | Tornado | FOOSE | 0 | 3 | $1.0M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This is a continuation of the EF-2 rated tornado that touched down in Polk County at 23:58 and moved into Dallas County from one mile north northwest of Foose to two miles east of Buffalo. In Dallas County, two frame home and six mobile homes were damaged or destroyed, three turkey barns were damaged along Wildlife Road and numerous power poles and trees were downed. One fatality occurred in a mobile home.
A Green County Sheriffs vehicle was swept off of a roadway at a low water crossing due to flash flooding. This low water crossing was located on Cabin Creek Drive, a quarter mile south of State Road AA, where Cabin Creek intersects Cabin Creek Drive. The Deputy was overcome by flood waters attempting to escape the vehicle.
Flash flooding developed following two to three inches of rain. While driving on private property, a 75 year old man died after he attempted to drive his pickup truck across AB Creek that was estimated to be four feet deep. Two other occupants were able to escape the vehicle downstream.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
17,551
Population (ACS)
$190K
Median home value
25
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 |
| 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Buffalo 212
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Dallas County, Missouri?
501 events are on record between 1959 and 2026, causing 7 direct deaths and $13.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Dallas County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 166 recorded events — 33.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Dallas County?
19 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 13 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Dallas County?
25 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Dallas County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Dallas County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Dallas County as very low risk, placing it in the 42 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Dallas 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
- Dade County 437
- Daviess County 353
- Crawford County 352
- DeKalb County 263
- Cooper County 353
- Dent County 398
Cite this page
“Dallas County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/dallas-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.