Knox County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Knox 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.

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.

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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by MO DNR (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Apr 8, 1999Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado moved from Macon into Knox County southwest of Novelty and caused damage for about 7 miles as it tracked northeast. One home completely lost its roof while another lost half of its roof. Another home had the siding peeled off one side. At least 4 barns, 6 outbuildings and 2 grain bins were destroyed. Several large trees were downed along with power lines and power poles.

2. Jun 25, 2015Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Up to 5 inches of rain fell onto already saturated soils causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded including Highway 15 just north of Edina. The heavy rains caused the South Fabius River to rise rapidly. There was a levee breach on the South Fork of the South Fabius River upstream from Edina. The flood waters caused flooding on the south side of Edina. About 7 businesses had to be evacuated due to the flood waters.

3. Jun 3, 2008Flash Flood$1,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Over 3 inches fell in a short amount of time in Knox county during the morning hours of June 3rd. The intersection of Highway K and M was flooded just south of Millport.

4. Jun 3, 2008Flash Flood$1,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Up to three inches of rain fell on already saturated soils in Knox county. Several secondary roads were flooded including Route K just southwest of Colony, where it goes over the Middle Fabius River.

5. Dec 9, 2009Strong Wind, Knox$1,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense low pressure moved across the region into the Great Lakes. On December 9, very strong winds developed across Central and Eastern Missouri. Wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph were common across the area.

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

108°FJul 14, 1954

All-time low

−21°FFeb 2, 1951

Warmest night

80°FJul 19, 2019

Coldest day

−6°F2 times, most recently Jan 14, 2024

Wettest day

7.32 inJul 24, 2008

Snowiest day

12.6 inJan 26, 1967

Hottest year

2012mean 55.0°F

Coldest year

1951mean 48.7°F

Wettest year

201964.54 in

Driest year

195324.66 in

Snowiest season

50.1 in1964-65

Station Kirksville Regional Airport (USW00014938), 956 ft elevation, 21.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 94.0% 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 USW00014938.
• 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.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.