Lincoln County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 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 (9).

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jun 2, 2019Flash Flood$5.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Winfield Pin Oaks Levee system was breached during the afternoon hours on Sunday, June 2nd. The breach was at least 100 feet wide. The water rose quickly and reached the houses in the area beginning around 6 pm. An estimated 150 homes were affected by the levee breach and 250 people evacuated the area. No deaths or injuries occurred due to this levee breach.

2. Jul 20, 2025Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain resulted in 42 water rescues in Lincoln County. The only official report of a road closure was MO-79 at Brownsmill Road where swift moving floodwater was reported. In Elsberry, 50 homes and 20 to 30 businesses were affected by the flooding, and a state of emergency was declared.

3. Mar 13, 2006Tornado$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado that formed in Montgomery County north of Bellflower moved into Lincoln County, strengthened, and caused extensive damage along Highway E on the north side of Olney. A home was completely destroyed as the tornado reached F3 intensity and was about 300 yards wide. The family at home escaped injury as they had taken shelter in the basement. About 1:35 am CST, the tornado destroyed a home and caused damage to a home business along Highway H northwest of Silex. At this point the tornado was a strong F2 and about 200 yards wide. A man in the home that was destroyed suffered a broken leg. At the home business, the home suffered roof damage and had the north side brick wall…

4. May 4, 2019Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Portions of the Winfield Main, Foley and Cap Au Gris levees were overtopped due to the rising waters of the Mississippi River. Between 20 and 30 homes were flooded and portions of Highway 79 were flooded as well.

5. Jun 4, 2008Flood$1.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lincoln County was the area most affected by the Mississippi River flood of 2008. At Winfield, the river crested at 37.08 feet on 6/27/2008. This is the second highest crest ever recorded. All of the land east of Highway 79 was flooded. At the height of the flood, Highway 79 also went underwater near Old Monroe, Winfield, Foley, and Elsberry. Almost all of Foley went underwater. The southeast part of Winfield, about 100 homes, flooded when the Pin Oak levee failed. In Old Monroe, the waste water treatment plant was flooded by water from the Cuivre River, which was back water from the flooded Mississippi. According to damage assessments made by local emergency management officials,…

6. Jun 27, 2008Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Pin Oak Levee near the Mississippi River failed causing flood waters to rush towards the town of Winfield. At least 60 homes were flooded in Winfield west of Highway 79.

7. Jun 19, 2008Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A levee break was reported near Highway M, southeast of Elsberry. It flooded areas east of Highway 79 to the Mississippi River in the Kings Lake and southern Elsberry Levee districts. The flood waters moved into Foley, flooding a couple dozen homes. Another levee broke further north a couple of hours later affecting the areas to the north of the original levee break.

8. Dec 27, 2015Flood$240,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Between 4 and 7 inches of rain fell across Lincoln County during a 2 day period. All of this rain caused the creeks and rivers to rise. The Cuivre River went into major flood. Almost 30 structures were either damaged or destroyed from the river flooding. Damage estimates so far were around $235,000.

9. Feb 11, 1999Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado formed just southeast of Whiteside and continued northeast for about 6 miles. 2 barns and 2 utility sheds were destroyed near the initial formation point. Several power poles and large trees were either snapped off or uprooted. This damage was rated at F1 while the rest of the damage path was F0. The tornado continued along County Road F destroying a few more utility buildings, downing numerous trees and power poles.

10. Jun 18, 2008Flash Flood$75,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A 150 foot section of the Cap Au Gris Levee failed about a quarter of a mile south of the Winfield Lock and Dam on the Mississippi River. It flooded mostly farmland as well as a couple of houses and farm buildings. The secondary Winfield Levee (Pin Oak) kept the flood waters away from Winfield at this time.

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

115°FJul 14, 1954

All-time low

−18°FJan 20, 1985

Warmest night

86°FJul 25, 2012

Coldest day

−5°FDec 24, 1983

Wettest day

8.64 inJul 26, 2022

Snowiest day

12.4 inMar 24, 2013

Hottest year

2012mean 61.2°F

Coldest year

1978mean 53.4°F

Wettest year

201561.24 in

Driest year

195320.59 in

Snowiest season

66.0 in1977-78

Station St. Louis Lambert International Airport (USW00013994), 531 ft elevation, 34.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1938 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% 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 USW00013994.
• 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.