195
Recorded events
6
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$69.8M
Property damage
Flash Flood in Howell County, Missouri: 195 recorded events between 1996 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #44 nationally and #2 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flash Flood in Howell County, Missouri: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flash flood in Howell County is the 2010s, when 71 of the county's 195 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 Howell County archive, flash flood makes up 20.4% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #44 for this hazard and #2 within Missouri, putting it in the 98.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Apr is the peak month for flash flood in Howell County with 63 recorded events, while Feb 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.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 2025 | (H63)WEST PLAINS | 0 | 2 | 0 | $500K |
| Jul 9, 2004 | MOODY | 0 | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Feb 27, 1997 | WILLOW SPRINGS | 0 | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Dec 18, 2021 | MOUNTAIN VIEW | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 25, 2011 | OLDEN | 0 | 1 | 0 | $3.0M |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 29, 2025 | WILLOW SPGS | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 27, 2025 | LEOTA | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 20, 2025 | BURNHAM | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 5, 2025 | WEST PLAINS ARPT | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 5, 2025 | SOUTH FORK | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 5, 2025 | WEST PLAINS | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 5, 2025 | OLDEN | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 5, 2025 | HUTTON VLY | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 5, 2025 | WEST PLAINS ARPT | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 4, 2025 | MOUNTAIN VIEW | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Howell County
- Thunderstorm Wind 296
- Hail 294
- Flood 95
- Tornado 50
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Several city streets in the City of West Plains were flooded, leading to two fatalities. The first fatality occurred as a car was swept off Porter Wagner into Howell Creek around 4:55 PM CST and the second swept off County Road 8230 into Mustion Creek around 5:16 PM CST. Both victims drowned after leaving their vehicle.
The Missouri Highway Patrol reported that a 65 year old man was swept off the road and drowned by a flooded creek near the the intersection of County Road 4740 and County Road 5130. This section of the road was not a low water crossing. The stream is an unnamed small headwater tributary to Spring Creek.||The city of West Plains experienced historical flash flooding on the evening of April 23rd. Areas around the city flooded due to very heavy rainfall. It was estimated about a million dollars of damage occurred with this event alone.||The total cost estimate for flooding damages for Howell County for this entire episode has been included. This includes roads, bridges, and structures which were affected.
Two feet of swift moving flood water over a low water crossing washed a vehicle off of the road resulting in a water rescue. One woman drowned as she was swept out of the vehicle and carried downstream. The man was also swept out of the vehicle and was carried up on an embankment and survived with minor injury.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flash flood events are on record in Howell County, Missouri?
195 flash flood events are recorded in Howell County between 1996 and 2025, causing 6 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flash flood recorded in Howell County?
The strongest flash flood on record in Howell County measured 0.
Where does the flash flood data for Howell 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
“Flash Flood in Howell County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/howell-county/flash-flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.