Iron County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Iron County: 0.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. May 12, 2002Flash Flood$5.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Some of the worse flash flooding in recent years hit on Sunday, Mother's Day, and continued into early Monday. Around 6 inches of rain fell on ground already saturated by previous rain. For several counties, it was the worst flooding in memory. Iron County was especially hard hit. Virtually every creek and small stream flooded closing roads throughout the county. There were numerous water rescues as people were trapped in their cars. Emergency shelters in the County were opened to help stranded motorists and people who were flooded out of homes. The story was similar in Reynolds County as Highways 49 and 21 had to be closed. In Fredericktown, in Madison County, many city streets…

2. Mar 14, 2025Tornado$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   In Iron County the tornado caused some of its most significant damage in Des Arc where residences were significantly damaged. Two injuries were confirmed here. The tornado continued to track northeast beyond Des Arc where it caused damage to a few more residences, an outbuilding, and numerous trees. It then exited into Madison County. In Iron County the tornado was rated EF-3 with a path length of 7.64 miles and a maximum path width of 800 yards.

3. Jul 9, 2026Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The rain began around 10pm but continued through the night. A swath of 10 to 12 inches of rain fell from near Viburnum to Taum Sauk Mountain to east of Annapolis. A report of 12.25 inches was measured 6 miles northeast of Oates. Flash flooding began around midnight and peaked just before dawn. All creeks and rivers in the area overflowed their banks with water inundating numerous camp sites as well as some homes and roadways. Several residents were forced to evacuate.

4. Dec 28, 2015Flash Flood$220,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Between 5 and 6 inches of rain fell in a 48 hour period between December 26th and December 28th. There were two waves of rainfall, the second wave caused flash flooding in Iron County. One vehicle became stranded at a low water crossing on County Road 160 just south of Route F, around 545 am on December 28th. The occupant(s) were able to get out, but video from the scene several hours later showed the vehicle being pushed as the current from Brushy Creek became strong enough to lift the SUV and float it downstream. Numerous other roads were flooded including Highway 21 between Routes AA and CC, Highway 221 from Highway 21 through the town of Pilot Knob, Route E over Marble Creek…

5. Jul 26, 1998Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rainfall of at least 6 inches caused widespread flooding across the area. Numerous roads and bridges were either washed out or damaged by the water. Preliminary estimates of damages to public facilities were around $200,000 in Iron County and close to $400,000 in Reynolds County. The Missouri Department of Conservation reported that the Logan Creek Conservation Area in Reynolds also suffered significant damage. In Ironton, Stout's Creek flooded part of Main Street and part of the Meadowbrook subdivision. The creek also flooded parts of the town of Arcadia Valley. The Governor declared a state of emergency for all 3 counties.

6. Mar 18, 2008Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Up to 6 inches of rain fell on already saturated soils in Iron county from the late evening hours of March 17th through March 18th. Numerous roads were covered with water countywide. Also, 8 to 10 homes in Des Arc were flooded and the bridge north of town on Highway 143 was washed out. In the Ironton/Arcadia area, Knob Creek and Stouts Creek were out of their banks and overtopping the bridge that goes over them. Highway D, Highway 21 were impassable in spots and Highway 49 about half a mile south of Highway 72 was flooded.

7. Dec 1, 2006Winter Storm, Iron$98,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A major winter storm hit Central, Northeast, East Central and parts of Southeast Missouri from November 30 through Dcember 1. Over a foot of snow fell across parts of Central Missouri while a major ice storm hit parts of East Central and Southeast Missouri, including the St. Louis area. Ice accumulations of 1 inch or more downed trees and power lines resulting in at least 300,000 electric customers losing service for up to a week. Downed limbs and trees damaged homes and automobiles across the area as well. Many rural schools were closed for several days due to slick roads and power outages. The National Guard was called out to several counties to assist with debris removal and…

8. Nov 4, 2024Flash Flood$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding caused 1 fatality near Knob Creek in Ironton. It also resulted in swift water rescues along County Road 207 in Arcadia and on State Highway C near Annapolis. A car was pushed off a bridge and into the St. Francois River at State Highway U and County Road 31. Water was covering the bridge at the time.

9. Sep 14, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A dead tree fell onto a vehicle that was traveling southbound on Highway 21, injuring the driver and killing the passenger. A witness trailing the vehicle reported there was only light wind and rain, as did a Missouri State Trooper. The vehicle was destroyed.

10. May 4, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$10,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Power lines were downed and there was tree damage in and around Highway 21 and County Road 27 just north of Belleview. Power poles were snapped on Highway 21 just northwest of Pilot Knob.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

112°FJul 23, 1901

All-time low

−28°FFeb 13, 1899

Warmest night

80°FJul 12, 2011

Coldest day

−6°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

5.58 inAug 13, 1950

Snowiest day

10.8 inJan 3, 1996

Hottest year

2012mean 58.2°F

Coldest year

1898mean 50.5°F

Wettest year

189861.61 in

Driest year

190126.19 in

Station Potosi 4 Sw (USC00236826), 1,175 ft elevation, 23.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 27, 2026; 90.9% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00236826.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.