Randolph County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Randolph County: 4.
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. Mar 12, 2006Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Deadly tornado touched down at 2118 CST 2 miles east of Higbee. The tornado traveled northeast and attained F3 strength near the Monroe/Randolph county line. The tornado killed 4 people just to the east and southeast of Renick and there were 26 injuries. 13 of the injuries occurred when a bus transporting college students was overturned. Three businesses were destroyed as well as 30 residences. Thirty other dwelling places had minor to moderate damage. The tornado exited Randolph county into Monroe county at 2133 CST...8 miles southeast of Moberly.

2. Jan 30, 2002Ice Storm, Randolph$500,000
   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.

3. Feb 27, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Straight line wind damage was reported, with significant roof damage to a home. The winds were estimated up to 80 mph. A garage was also destroyed. A couple of grain silo's were flattened and blown across open fields. A tractor trailer and several cars were blown off the road.

4. Dec 4, 2017Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado formed just east of Higbee and just west of Road 2550. The tornado lasted approximately 15 minutes, and traveled around 10 miles. The worst of the damage occurred just south of Moberly, near the town of Renick, where a mobile home and a house built into an earthen berm were completely destroyed, injuring one of the occupants. Vehicles in the area were also tossed long distances, and several outbuildings were destroyed. The tornado eventually dissipated just west of the Randolph/Monroe County line, just south of Highway M.

5. Aug 26, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Barn destroyed, along with several trailers at a trailer sales park.

6. Dec 4, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A weakened brick building was destroyed by strong winds preceding the tornado that formed just east of Higbee. The damage was extensive, but considering the dilapidated nature of the building and the unidirectional nature of the damage, strong thunderstorm winds of around 70 to 80 mph were deemed to be the cause of the damage.

7. Sep 15, 2004Flash Flood$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm produced torrential rains in a short period of time around the city of Moberly. Numerous homes and businesses sustained water damage. There were also several water rescues for stranded motorists.

8. Apr 3, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$15,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tractor trailer was blown over just south of town. A roof was blown off a house on Route JJ just west of town. Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated up to 70 mph.

9. Jun 8, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds tore shingles off houses in Higbee.

10. Apr 4, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$10,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    An RV was rolled over and destroyed near Renick. Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated to 70 mph.

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

114°FJul 14, 1954

All-time low

−28°FDec 23, 1989

Warmest night

81°FJul 10, 1980

Coldest day

−8°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

7.83 inJun 30, 2017

Snowiest day

13.5 inJan 21, 1958

Hottest year

2012mean 57.7°F

Coldest year

1982mean 51.1°F

Wettest year

199361.45 in

Driest year

195621.82 in

Snowiest season

48.4 in1977-78

Station Salisbury (USC00237514), 730 ft elevation, 19.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1946 to October 25, 2026; 96.8% 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 USC00237514.
• 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.