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Vernon County, Missouri severe weather history spans 630 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 40.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #511 nationally and #29 in Missouri.
630
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
22
Direct injuries
$64.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Vernon County, Missouri severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Vernon County, Missouri severe weather history averages 8.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 198 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 77 events fall before 1990 and 553 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Vernon County, Missouri record is flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $36.7M 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 Vernon County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 252 | 0 | $26.4M | 2.75 | 1956–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 217 | 0 | $1.2M | 80 | 1956–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 81 | 0 | $32K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 35 | 1 | $20K | 0 | 2007–2026 |
| Tornado | 33 | 0 | $36.7M | F3 | 1954–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 11 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2015–2025 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $18K | 0 | 2002–2002 |
Decade by decade
Vernon County, Missouri severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
32 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982-03-15 | EF3 | 2 | 8 | 70.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1995-05-17 | EF3 | 0 | 9 | 14.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1958-11-17 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 30.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2006-03-12 | EF2 | 1 | 7 | 38.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-04-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1958-05-31 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-04-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 16.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-08-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-02-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 16.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Vernon County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 28, 2015 | Flood | FAIR HAVEN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 17, 1995 | Tornado | Nevada | 0 | 9 | $7.0M |
| Apr 29, 1991 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 4 | $0 | |
| Dec 2, 1982 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| Mar 13, 2006 | Tornado | SHELDON | 0 | 2 | $700K |
| Jun 2, 2008 | Tornado | SCHELL CITY | 0 | 1 | $150K |
| Jun 2, 2008 | Hail | SCHELL CITY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Nov 17, 1958 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 29 year old male duck hunter drowned when his flat-bottomed kayak type of boat overturned while trying to return to shore during 30 mph winds and rising water. The area of water in which he was hunting was normally controlled at a depth of two feet; however, the region was flooded by the confluence of the Marmaton and Little Osage Rivers. Time and date was estimated.
A severe thunderstorm produced hail from golf ball to tennis balls in size over a swath nearly 32 miles in length from south of Nevada, MO to locations north and east of Nevada. Along this mostly rural path, damage occurred to some roofs of homes and structures, vehicles, multiple RV's, equipment and crops.
A tornado destroyed homes and buildings to the west of Nevada, then heavily damaged brick buildings within the city. The tornado weakened as it tracked east northeast towards Dederick, but was still strong enough to uproot trees and destroy outbuildings. Witnesses reported extremely heavy rain with the tornadoes passage. The 3M industrial plant on the east side of Nevada recorded an 107 mph wind with the event.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
19,687
Population (ACS)
$159K
Median home value
25
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 22, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 21, 2025 | 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 |
| 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Nevada 164
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Vernon County, Missouri?
630 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $64.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Vernon County?
Hail, with 252 recorded events — 40.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Vernon County?
32 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 26 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Vernon County?
25 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Vernon County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Vernon County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Vernon County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 46 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Vernon 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
- Texas County 641
- Warren County 283
- Taney County 741
- Washington County 354
- Sullivan County 187
- Wayne County 347
Cite this page
“Vernon County, Missouri.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/missouri/vernon-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.