Macon County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Macon County: 2.
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.

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$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado which formed in Carroll County continued northeast through Chariton County and into Macon County, where the most widespread damage occurred. Continuous damage was observed from 2 miles south of New Cambria, where two workers suffered minor injuries at a mining quarry, to 2 miles west of Atlanta. Within this area, thirteen single family homes and 9 mobile homes were destroyed. Six single family homes and 4 mobile homes suffered major damage, and 33 single family homes and one mobile home suffered minor damage. Eighty-five agricultural outbuildings were destroyed, and 37 sustained damage. Widespread tree and power pole damage occurred.

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

   After dissipating just west of Atlanta, a new tornado touched down 1 mile southeast of Atlanta and moved northeast into Knox County. In Macon County, 5 single family residences and 3 mobile homes were destroyed from 2 miles east of Atlanta to 10 miles northeast of Atlanta. Four single family homes were damaged within this area. Several outbuildings were also damaged or destroyed. Some damage south of the tornado track was likely due to the very intense rear flank downdraft, which storm spotters observed to accompany the storm.

3. May 24, 2004Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado touchdown just west of New Cambria. Three buildings were destroyed and 50 were damaged. A grain elevator was destroyed, and there was extensive roof damage to the Macon C-4 school.

4. Jan 30, 2002Ice Storm, Macon$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A long-lived major ice and snow storm blasted much of northwest, northern and central Missouri from late Tuesday, January 29th, until Thursday, January 31st. Ice accumulations of over an inch were observed from the Kansas City metropolitan area, east and north through Moberly Missouri. At one point 409,504 total customers were without electrical power in the CWA, with some residents without power up to two weeks. For the Kansas City area, the ice storm was ranked as the worst ever. Further north across northern Missouri, heavy snow fell generally along and north of a line, from St. Joseph to Trenton to Kirksville. Snow accumulations ranged from 8 to 14 inches.

5. Mar 9, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Barn destroyed and large power poles downed.

6. Aug 10, 2006Thunderstorm Wind$40,000
7. Feb 11, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds blew down a chimney and a television antenna. A small grain bin was lifted from its foundation.

8. Aug 23, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A mobile home was blown off its foundation.

9. Dec 29, 2020Winter Weather, Macon$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   As a winter storm moved into the general area, Macon County received light snow and freezing rain. Along Highway 63 near Excello - between Macon and Moberly - a box truck used by two males slid off ice covered roadway onto the east side of the roadway, and overturned. Both men were not wearing seat belts. The driver survived with injuries, while the driver did not survive his injuries. ||Missouri Highway Patrol crash report: https://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/HP68/AccidentDetailsAction?ACC_RPT_NUM=200648868 .

10. Jun 14, 1998Tornado$10,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    An F1 tornado briefly touched down in Atlanta. Power lines and trees were downed on the southwest side of Atlanta and there was minor roof damage to two buildings. A hatchback car was overturned as the approaching strong wind caught the opened hatch thereby overturning the vehicle.

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, 20.8 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.