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Ray County, Missouri severe weather history spans 296 recorded events between 1951 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 39.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,803 nationally and #76 in Missouri.
296
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
21
Direct injuries
$7.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Ray County, Missouri severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Ray County, Missouri severe weather history averages 4.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 99 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 58 events fall before 1990 and 238 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Ray County, Missouri record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $6.5M 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 Ray County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 116 | 0 | $5K | 2.75 | 1955–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 112 | 0 | $992K | 80 | 1962–2025 |
| Tornado | 33 | 2 | $6.5M | F4 | 1951–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 21 | 1 | $101K | 0 | 1996–2021 |
| Flood | 9 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2021 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1997–1998 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2008 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2011 |
Decade by decade
Ray County, Missouri severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
33 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 25 touched down inside it and 8 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977-05-04 | EF4 | 0 | 1 | 48.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-01-24 | EF3 | 2 | 18 | 14.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1967-04-21 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 14.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-05-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2014-05-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1961-05-07 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 7.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-12-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1958-07-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-05-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1955-03-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Ray County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 1967 | Tornado | 2 | 18 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 4, 2001 | Flash Flood | WOOD HGTS | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 7, 1961 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| May 4, 1977 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Flash flooding fatality reported on 168th St. in Ray county, or approximately 5 miles northeast of Excelsior Springs. Woman drove into flooded road where it crossed a small stream…and vehicle was washed of the road. She could not be rescued in time.
A local newspaper reported downed trees and power lines. Half of the bleacher seats at the high school football field were ripped out of place and left twisted on the field. A 75-foot-hole was also torn in the ceiling of a Wal-Mart store.
F1 tornado crossed into Ray county from Jackson county at 0915 CST…2 miles west of Orrick. The tornado traveled east and lifted 2 miles southeast of Richmond. A gas station was destroyed in Orrick and the roof to the school was blown off..
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
23,145
Population (ACS)
$199K
Median home value
33
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2021 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, 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 |
| May 20, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 7, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Ray County, Missouri?
296 events are on record between 1951 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths and $7.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Ray County?
Hail, with 116 recorded events — 39.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Ray County?
33 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 25 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Ray County?
33 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Ray County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Ray County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ray County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 44 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Ray 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
- Randolph County 228
- Reynolds County 192
- Ralls County 224
- Ripley County 309
- Putnam County 161
- St. Charles County 816
Cite this page
“Ray County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/ray-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.