Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
Bourbon; Crawford; Cherokee; Benton; Morgan; Miller; Maries; Vernon; St. Clair; Hickory; Camden; Pulaski; Phelps; Barton; Cedar; Polk; Dallas; Laclede; Texas; Dent; Jasper; Dade; Greene; Webster; Wright; Newton; Lawrence; Christian; Douglas; Howell; Shannon; McDonald; Barry; Stone; Taney; Ozark; Oregon
Phelps County, Missouri severe weather history spans 566 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 35.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #672 nationally and #32 in Missouri.
566
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
12
Direct injuries
$20.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Phelps County, Missouri severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Phelps County, Missouri severe weather history averages 7.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 171 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 51 events fall before 1990 and 515 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Phelps County, Missouri record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $11.9M 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 Phelps County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 203 | 0 | $37K | 4.25 | 1955–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 178 | 0 | $1.5M | 70 | 1961–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 71 | 0 | $5.1M | 0 | 1997–2026 |
| Flood | 36 | 0 | $2.0M | 0 | 2008–2026 |
| Tornado | 35 | 2 | $11.9M | F3 | 1951–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 32 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2024 |
| Lightning | 5 | 0 | $232K | 0 | 2001–2016 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2011 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
Phelps County, Missouri severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
34 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 29 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-12-31 | EF3 | 2 | 6 | 11.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-01-07 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 4.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1999-06-01 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-03-14 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 10.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-06-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-05-12 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 19.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-06-04 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-12-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-12-31 | EF1 | 2 | 0 | 6.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-03-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 10.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Phelps County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 31, 2010 | Tornado | ROLLA DOWNTOWN ARPT | 2 | 6 | $1.0M |
| Sep 23, 2006 | Tornado | ST JAMES | 0 | 2 | $1.5M |
| Mar 15, 2025 | Tornado | ROLLA DOWNTOWN ARPT | 0 | 1 | $2.5M |
| Apr 20, 2002 | Flash Flood | NORTH PORTION | 0 | 1 | $300K |
| Jun 5, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K | |
| Nov 15, 1960 | 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
A NWS survey team determined that an EF-3 tornado occurred north of Rolla. The heaviest damage occurred between state Highway E and County Road 8040. Two single wide mobile homes were completely destroyed with debris thrown upstream while the frames were detached. Two fatalities occurred in one of these homes. A two story home had all but its interior walls destroyed. Several cars were thrown with one vehicle thrown over the destroyed home. Minor to moderate roof and tree damage occurred at various locations near the starting point to Highway 63 north of Rolla. There was primarily tree damage between Highway 63 and Highway 68.
An EF-2 tornado moved through Phelps County, including the city of Rolla. The tornado started in the Mark Twain National Forest approximately 7 miles southeast of Newburg, MO with damage diminishing to the north of Dillion, MO. The tornado caused an intermittent path of damaged and uprooted trees before causing damage to homes and businesses along Highway 63 south of Rolla then continued to cause damage across southeast sections of Rolla that included significant damage to some homes, roof damage to multiple schools and other businesses. One person was injured across this portion of the path. The damage became more intermittent across eastern sections of Rolla, then became even more sparse as it crossed Interstate 44 at Highway V though still strong enough to damage a barn roof, uproot additional trees, and shifted a mobile home off it���s piers, and then lifted near Little Prairie Conservation Area to the north of Dillion, MO. At it���s peak, the tornado reached 500 yards wide and had peak winds estimated at 110-120 mph.
Highway J was closed due to high water at the Spring Creek Arm of the Big Piney River. Numerous roads and bridges were damaged. Approximately 8 homes were destroyed and 22 homed suffered moderate damaged from flood water. This storm report will contain the damage estimates for the entire county for this event.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
45,194
Population (ACS)
$207K
Median home value
25
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND WILDFIRES | DR |
| 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 21, 2016 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Rolla 172
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Phelps County, Missouri?
566 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $20.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Phelps County?
Hail, with 203 recorded events — 35.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Phelps County?
34 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 Phelps County?
25 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Phelps County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Phelps County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Phelps County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 54 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Phelps 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
- Pettis County 495
- Pike County 285
- Perry County 253
- Platte County 669
- Pemiscot County 273
- Polk County 855
Cite this page
“Phelps County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/phelps-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.