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New Madrid County, Missouri severe weather history spans 290 recorded events between 1951 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 35.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,832 nationally and #79 in Missouri.
290
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
16
Direct injuries
$110.5M
Property damage
The record
What the New Madrid County, Missouri severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, New Madrid County, Missouri severe weather history averages 3.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 90 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 45 events fall before 1990 and 245 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the New Madrid County, Missouri record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $70.1M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in New Madrid County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 104 | 1 | $6.7M | 100 | 1961–2024 |
| Hail | 69 | 0 | $6K | 3.2 | 1955–2025 |
| Flood | 49 | 0 | $4.6M | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Tornado | 39 | 0 | $29.1M | F4 | 1951–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 15 | 1 | $70.1M | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 11 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2013 |
Decade by decade
New Madrid County, Missouri severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
35 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 29 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981-04-22 | EF4 | 1 | 32 | 63.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-05-26 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 19.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1955-04-22 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 12.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1951-11-13 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-11-24 | EF2 | 2 | 6 | 57.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2018-02-24 | EF2 | 1 | 5 | 41.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2018-02-24 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-04-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-03-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-07-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in New Madrid County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 1997 | Flash Flood | NEW MADRID | 1 | 1 | $6K |
| May 26, 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | SIKESTON | 1 | 0 | $1K |
| Nov 25, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $250K | |
| Mar 10, 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 4 | $200K |
| Feb 25, 2018 | Tornado | MATTHEWS | 0 | 2 | $750K |
| Nov 15, 2005 | Tornado | LILBOURN | 0 | 2 | $60K |
| Nov 13, 1951 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers activated the New Madrid Floodway by detonating a levee at Birds Point in Mississippi County. The intentional levee breach relieved pressure on levees along the lower Ohio River and portions of the Mississippi River. The blast that opened the levee shattered windows in Mississippi County and rattled windows as far away as Paducah, Kentucky. The flash flood caused by the levee breach was anticipated for days, and evacuations had been completed beforehand. Over 130,000 acres of prime farmland were submerged. Dozens of homes were flooded. A primary national insurer estimated property losses were around 100 million dollars within the floodway. The westward extent of the flash flood was limited by a second set of levees designed to channel the water back toward the Mississippi River. The floodway remained submerged for the remainder of the month.
An EF-1 tornado began just south of County Road 824 and west of Highway FF near Browns, and moved east northeast into the south side of Sikeston where it dissipated near Ingram Road. The tornado did mainly roof damage to homes, businesses, apartment buildings, and a nursing home on the south side of Sikeston. It also broke several wooden power poles and damaged a few barns and outbuildings. The estimated peak wind was 105 mph.
This EF-2 tornado tracked from the south side of Matthews to one mile east of town. Roofs were partially or completely torn off dozens of homes. Semi trucks were blown over and destroyed. Numerous outbuildings were destroyed. A couple of injuries occurred due to windows being blown out of a nursing home. Peak winds were estimated near 120 mph.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
15,731
Population (ACS)
$112K
Median home value
28
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 21, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND WILDFIRES | DR |
| Jul 23, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 21, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 9, 2020 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 26, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- New Madrid 160
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in New Madrid County, Missouri?
290 events are on record between 1951 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $110.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in New Madrid County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 104 recorded events — 35.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed New Madrid County?
35 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 29 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover New Madrid County?
28 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include New Madrid County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is New Madrid County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates New Madrid County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 72 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the New Madrid 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
- Morgan County 552
- Newton County 923
- Montgomery County 293
- Nodaway County 497
- Monroe County 218
- Oregon County 344
Cite this page
“New Madrid County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/new-madrid-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.