Putnam County

Every recorded tornado

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

Costliest events since 1996

1. Apr 10, 1997Heavy Snow, Putnam$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy wet snow fell across the Northern third of Missouri throughout the day on the 10th followed by a second band of snow during the early morning hours of the 11th. Since temperatures were near or slightly over freezing during the snowfall, some of the snow melted quickly but 6 to 12 inches of snow accumulated with well over a foot in many locations. The heaviest snow fell along and to the north of Highway 136 from Albany in Gentry County to Prineton in Mercer County to Lancaster in Schuyler County. The greatest totals were recorded in Schuyler and Mercer Counties where 20-24 inches of snow was reported. Schuyler County Emergency Management reported 24 inches of snow at…

2. Mar 12, 2006Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   $200,000 in wind damage reported by FEMA from the North Central Missouri Electric Cooperative.

3. Jun 14, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Mobile home destroyed with two injuries. Reported by law enforcement.

4. May 10, 2003Tornado$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Two residences reported damage in Putnam county. First home along EE Highway just south of US-136 lost a garage and had cars overturned. Second residence damaged along 220th Road at US-136 on the crest of a hill, lost a garage, with minor damage to the house and trees.

5. May 24, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$10,000
6. Mar 9, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$8,000
7. Apr 5, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$5,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Law enforcement reported power poles snapped off on highway K.

8. Dec 10, 2007Ice Storm, Putnam$5,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ice accumulations of around a half inch was reported across the county. Some tree branches and power lines were down.

9. Sep 13, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$5,000
10. Sep 19, 2016Thunderstorm Wind$5,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    There were a few tree limbs of unknown size and conditions and a few powerlines down in Powersville.

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, 35.3 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.
• 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.