Ripley County

Every recorded tornado

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

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jan 26, 2009Winter Storm, Ripley$14.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This prolonged, major winter storm was termed the worst in decades for southeast Missouri. The storm dumped 6 to 10 inches of sleet and snow along and north of a line from Van Buren through Greenville to Cape Girardeau. This resulted in very difficult driving conditions along with at least two dozen roof collapses. South of that line, at least one inch of ice accumulated. Locally 1.5 to 2 inches of ice accumulated south of a line from Poplar Bluff to Dexter to Benton. This resulted in catastrophic damage to trees, power lines, and utility poles in places such as Dexter, Sikeston, Charleston, and New Madrid. A utility company serving much of the region reported this was the most…

2. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Ripley$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Frequent wind gusts from 60 to 75 mph caused widespread damage in parts of southeast Missouri. The low pressure center that was the remnant of Hurricane Ike raced northeast at 40 to 50 mph across Missouri and Illinois. The center passed between Carbondale and St. Louis on its way toward the northeastern states. The rapid speed of the low pressure system contributed to this high wind event.||Extensive tree damage occurred. A very large number of trees were uprooted, and large limbs were broken. Some trees fell on homes, businesses, and public buildings. Downed trees and limbs landed on many vehicles. Numerous streets and highways were blocked. More than half the streets in some…

3. May 1, 2017Flood$4.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Current River rose over six feet above the record flood level, set in 1904. Catastrophic flood damage occurred in Doniphan and surrounding riverbank areas. At the Doniphan river gage, the river crested at 33.13 feet about mid-morning on May 1. The old record crest was 26.80 feet set in March of 1904. The Highway 160 bridge over the Current River was closed. Much of the city of Doniphan was flooded, including about 40 businesses. Of those 40 businesses, 35 received major damage and two were destroyed. The others had minor damage. Approximately 15 homes were destroyed, another 37 homes received major damage, and 9 received minor damage. The Ripley County and Doniphan city…

4. Mar 14, 2025Tornado$1.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A long track EF-4 tornado in Arkansas moved northeast into Ripley County to the southeast of Poynor. It produced EF-2 damage as it continued northeast passing to the southeast of Doniphan and then it made a turn toward the east as it approached U.S. 160. It passed near Fairdealing and continued east into Butler county just north of U.S. 160. The tornado did mainly roof damage to several homes, destroyed a few barns, and several wooden power poles were snapped or leaning. Hundreds of trees were damaged along its path. One person suffered minor injuries in a manufactured home that rolled to the east of Poynor. The estimated peak wind was 125 mph. The total path length of this…

5. May 8, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This intense macroburst was centered along U.S. Highway 160 over western and central Ripley County, including the city of Doniphan. The average path width was about 5.5 miles, averaging from two miles north of Highway 160 to about three miles south. Peak wind gusts near 90 mph caused extensive tree damage, in addition to structural damage in the city of Doniphan. The Ripley County courthouse, a nearby commercial business, and the chamber of commerce building lost portions of their roofs. Rain caused water damage to all three buildings. A museum lost metal roofing. Two houses in the city were damaged by a falling tree. Doors were blown off buildings and blown up to 50 yards.…

6. Mar 19, 2008Flood$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Major flooding of the Current River occurred. At the Doniphan gage, the river crested at 24.11 feet on March 19 at 1 P.M. CDT. Flood stage there is 13 feet, and major flooding begins at 22 feet. This flood crest ranked as the fifth highest in over 100 years of records. More than 15 businesses in Doniphan were closed, and the city hall and police stations were inaccessible due to high water. Several homes were damaged in town. Three people were stuck on the roof of their mobile home in Doniphan. Rescue efforts were hampered by a bridge which was too low to the water for boats to pass. People were evacuated by boat from houses in the downtown area.

7. May 26, 2024Tornado$575,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A long track EF-2 tornado began in southeastern Oregon County before crossing over into Ripley County south of Gatewood. A garage was pulled off of a cabin near the Fourche Creek Conservation area. The track then turned northeastward, then reverted to an eastward direction south of Doniphan. Afterwards, the track continued northeastward towards Fairdealing. Wind appears to have caught the overhang of the roof of a home and mostly removed it, pulling down some exterior walls in the process. The tornado crossed into Butler County just north of US-160E. Several homes sustained gutter and shingle damage along the path. Hundreds of trees were uprooted and snapped along the tornado…

8. Feb 11, 2008Winter Storm, Ripley$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Low pressure developed over the southern Plains, spreading widespread heavy precipitation across southeast Missouri. At the same time, high pressure over the upper Ohio Valley produced a cold easterly wind flow. The result was a crippling ice storm. Around one inch of ice caused extensive damage across much of southeast Missouri. The hardest hit areas extended from Greenville (Wayne County) through Marble Hill (Bollinger County) to Jackson (Cape Girardeau County). North of a Marble Hill to Jackson line, four to six inches of sleet and snow fell, along with up to one-half inch of freezing rain. Thunder accompanied the wintry precipitation at times. Numerous trees and power lines…

9. Apr 28, 2026Thunderstorm Wind$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Destructive straight line winds impacted much of southeastern Ripley County, Missouri on the afternoon of Tuesday April 28, 2026 as a surging portion of a storm line created a macroburst, tracking approximately 10mi and expanding to its widest width near Naylor-Hemenway at 3.5mi. ||The damage swath began just southeast of Doniphan where a home suffered roof, siding, and fascia damage. Moving east-southeast, damaging wind impacted the Oxly community and locations near and south of the Naylor community. In Oxly, dozens of trees were snapped or uprooted, causing damage to outbuildings and downing power lines. To the south and west from Naylor to Hemenway, a grain bin rolled hundreds…

10. Apr 10, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$350,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Approximately 200 trees were blown down. One barn was destroyed, with debris blown into trees. Four vehicles and a tractor that were in the barn were damaged. A home sustained shingle damage and other minor damage. One calf was killed and another injured. The damage was caused by a microburst with peak winds near 100 mph. The damage swath was one-half mile wide by 1 and 3/4 miles long.

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

113°F3 times, most recently Jun 20, 1936

All-time low

−25°FFeb 12, 1899

Warmest night

88°FJul 15, 1954

Coldest day

5°FFeb 12, 1899

Wettest day

7.52 inSep 23, 2006

Snowiest day

25.0 inJan 22, 1918

Hottest year

1921mean 62.5°F

Coldest year

1904mean 56.5°F

Wettest year

194572.64 in

Driest year

196329.85 in

Snowiest season

30.5 in1984-85

Station Corning (USC00031632), 246 ft elevation, 18.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 26, 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 USC00031632.
• 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.