Montgomery County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 (12).

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. Mar 13, 2006Tornado$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The supercell thunderstorm that produced tornadoes in Osage, Callaway, and Montgomery counties produced another tornado in Montgomery County that formed in Jonesburg about Midnight CST March 13, 2006. Damage was first found on Highway Y where a home suffered roof damage. On West Boonslick Road a porta potty business suffered roof damage in addition to having about 20 porta potties destroyed, a few of which were missing. A garbage bin was blown about 100 yards into a field and a mobile home just north of the business was blown onto its side and destroyed. Damage in this area was rated F1 and was 100 yards wide. The tornado crossed Interstate 70 at mile marker 83 where it pushed a…

2. Mar 13, 2006Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A supercell thunderstorm produced a tornado that tracked from northeast Montgomery County, across northern Lincoln County, crossed into southeast Pike County, and then crossed the Mississippi River into Calhoun County, IL during the early morning hours of Monday, March 13, 2006. The total damage track was almost 45 miles with the tornado reaching a maximum damage width of 300 yards and a F3 rating. The tornado first formed and caused damage in northeast Montgomery County about 1:20 am CST along Union Chapel Road northwest of Bellflower. A home suffered roof damage with several trusses on the northwest side destroyed. The tornado was about 100 yards wide at this point and was rated…

3. Jul 18, 2000Tornado$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado struck eastern Montgomery County causing damage at a farm and downing trees and power lines. The tornado first caused damage at a farm on Leonard Road which was also where the most extensive damage occurred. A large garage lost both doors and half of its roof. A grain trailer was overturned and 2 grain bins blown away, one to the northwest and the other about 1/2 mile to the east. The remainder of the damage path consisted of downed trees and crop damage.

4. Oct 2, 2007Tornado$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down near the intersection of CR 165 and CR 168. It travelled to the northeast destroying one outbuilding and damaging or destroying numerous trees. Also, the southeast corner of a hog confinement building was damaged, leading to a partial roof collapse. Some of the debris was thrown a third of a mile to the northeast. An unoccupied car was also damaged. The tornado lifted and dissipated on CR 160 about a quarter of a mile south of CR 164.

5. May 10, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$35,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm wind gusts damaged a greenhouse near New Florence.

6. Dec 10, 2021Tornado$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A weak tornado touched down just northwest of Wellsville east of Highway 19 where it broke several power poles. It then moved northeast toward the intersection of Morgan School Road and Route A and traveled northeast to Orchard Road. Minor tree damage and flattened corn was observed. The width of the tornado was around 50 yards, and the damage was rated EF-0. Interestingly, the WSR-88D identified debris (lowering correlation coefficient), likely from the lofted corn stalks. Overall, the tornado was rated EF0 with a path length of 4.27miles and max path width of 50 yards. No deaths or injuries were reported.

7. May 25, 2008Flash Flood$15,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain flooded several county roads. Two people had to be rescued from a car trapped in flood water on Highway Y two miles east of Highway 19.

8. Jun 17, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous tree limbs blown down between Montgomery City and High Hill. Also, a large tree was blown down near Montgomery City, briefly blocking a road.

9. Jan 12, 2007Ice Storm, Montgomery$6,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An arctic boundary settled south of the area on the 12th and 13th of January bringing subfreezing temperatures to the northwestern half of the county warning area. Three rounds of precipitation occurred during this period, with the first being the most destructive of all. Significant tree and limb damage was reported as a result of this storm, together with widespread power outages. More than 100,000 homes and businesses lost power during this storm. About 1.5 inches of sleet fell and a 1/2 inch of ice accumulation hit parts of Central and Northeast Missouri. From 1/4 to 1/2 inch of ice accumulated from freezing rain across Eastern Missouri and parts of Southwest Illinois.…

10. May 25, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$5,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Amateur radio spotters reported trees and power lines down in Montgomery City.

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°F2 times, most recently Jul 30, 1980

All-time low

−24°F3 times, most recently Dec 23, 1989

Warmest night

88°FJun 27, 1914

Coldest day

−8°FDec 22, 1989

Wettest day

5.58 inJul 10, 1991

Snowiest day

17.0 inFeb 2, 2011

Hottest year

2012mean 57.1°F

Coldest year

2014mean 50.2°F

Wettest year

200859.11 in

Driest year

201221.89 in

Snowiest season

60.5 in1977-78

Station Vandalia (USC00238577), 764 ft elevation, 24.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1911 to October 27, 2026; 93.4% 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 USC00238577.
• 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.