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Dent County, Missouri severe weather history spans 398 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 32.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,264 nationally and #49 in Missouri.
398
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$20.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Dent County, Missouri severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Dent County, Missouri severe weather history averages 5.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 110 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 23 events fall before 1990 and 375 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Dent County, Missouri record is flood, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $17.0M 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 Dent County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 131 | 0 | $359K | 2.75 | 1955–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 121 | 0 | $1.5M | 70 | 1958–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 52 | 0 | $17.0M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Flood | 48 | 2 | $510K | 0 | 2007–2026 |
| Heavy Rain | 24 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2024 |
| Tornado | 20 | 2 | $1.1M | F3 | 1957–2025 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $40K | 0 | 2021–2021 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–1999 |
Decade by decade
Dent County, Missouri severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
21 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 18 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-05-21 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 10.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-06-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1968-04-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2010-12-31 | EF1 | 2 | 0 | 6.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-10-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-03-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-02-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 18.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1994-06-26 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-11-15 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 24.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Dent County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 31, 2010 | Tornado | LECOMA | 2 | 0 | $450K |
| Nov 22, 2020 | Flood | SLIGO | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 5, 2017 | Flood | JACK | 1 | 0 | $10K |
| Jun 26, 1994 | Tornado | Salem to | 0 | 2 | $50K |
| May 21, 1957 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The NWS survey team determined that an EF-1 tornado occurred. The tornado was estimated to be 100 yards wide along County Road 2050 near Lecoma with estimated winds of 90 to 100 mph. The tornado tracked approximately 1.5 miles before entering into rural Phelps County. Several structures had extensive damage or were destroyed along its path including a mobile home near Lecoma where 2 fatalities occurred.
A vehicle was swept of the low water crossing over Highway TT at Crooked Creek. A driver with a six-year old passenger drove into the flooded low water crossing northeast of Salem. The driver was able to swim to safety, but the 6-year old was swept downstream and drowned.
Dent County suffered $15M in damages, with $8M to infrastructure at Montauk State Park, along with two homes destroyed, five having major damage and another 20 with minor damage. An additional $7M occurred to roads and bridges along with some homes. Heaviest damages were along the Current River near Montauk State Park, Spring Creek near Salem, and Crooked Creek and Meramec River near Sligo.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
14,539
Population (ACS)
$168K
Median home value
18
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 2025 | 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 |
| Jun 2, 2017 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jan 2, 2016 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | EM |
| Feb 3, 2011 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Salem 160
- Sligo 147
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Dent County, Missouri?
398 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 4 direct deaths and $20.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Dent County?
Hail, with 131 recorded events — 32.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Dent County?
21 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 18 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Dent County?
18 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Dent County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Dent County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Dent County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 53 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Dent 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
- DeKalb County 263
- Douglas County 941
- Daviess County 353
- Dunklin County 442
- Dallas County 501
- Franklin County 733
Cite this page
“Dent County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/dent-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.