St. Francois County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within St. Francois County: 13.
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.

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. Dec 1, 2006Winter Storm, St. Francois$895,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A major winter storm hit Central, Northeast, East Central and parts of Southeast Missouri from November 30 through Dcember 1. Over a foot of snow fell across parts of Central Missouri while a major ice storm hit parts of East Central and Southeast Missouri, including the St. Louis area. Ice accumulations of 1 inch or more downed trees and power lines resulting in at least 300,000 electric customers losing service for up to a week. Downed limbs and trees damaged homes and automobiles across the area as well. Many rural schools were closed for several days due to slick roads and power outages. The National Guard was called out to several counties to assist with debris removal and…

2. Nov 30, 2006Winter Storm, St. Francois$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A major winter storm hit Central, Northeast, East Central and parts of Southeast Missouri from November 30 through Dcember 1. Over a foot of snow fell across parts of Central Missouri while a major ice storm hit parts of East Central and Southeast Missouri, including the St. Louis area. Ice accumulations of 1 inch or more downed trees and power lines resulting in at least 300,000 electric customers losing service for up to a week. Downed limbs and trees damaged homes and automobiles across the area as well. Many rural schools were closed for several days due to slick roads and power outages. The National Guard was called out to several counties to assist with debris removal and…

3. May 11, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A sudden severe thunderstorms downed trees, billboards, power lines, traffic lights and damaged vehicles across the northwest part of Farmington. Fourteen new cars and trucks were damaged at an automobile dealership by the storm. Residents reported broken windows, damaged roofs, and siding.

4. Dec 28, 2015Flash Flood$275,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Between 4 and 6 inches of rain fell over St. Francois County in a 48 hour period. The heaviest rain fell in the early morning hours of December 28th causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded including Highway 221 over the St. Francis River and Route F from Old Jackson Road to Wolf Creek Bridge. Around 10 structures were damaged by the flash flooding. Damage was estimated around $275,000.

5. Jul 12, 2023Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread wind damage in Desloge, Park Hills and Leadington areas. Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down. One tree was blown down onto a house briefly trapping 5 occupants in the home. No one was injured. Otherwise, the home will need extensive repairs before family can return to it.

6. Apr 4, 2025Flash Flood$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Multiple water rescues were reported in St. Francois County, one in Blackwell and another in an unnamed location in northern St. Francois County. Near Libertyville, an estimated 3 feet of water was running swiftly across Highway DD into a small lake across the street. The lake was reportedly spilling onto the road.

7. May 19, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread wind damage occurred across St. Francois County. In Iron Mountain, a large tree was snapped. On Highway M, about a mile southwest of Frankclay, a large was blown over onto the highway. In Park Hills and Bonne Terre, large trees were blown over onto houses causing moderate roof damage. Otherwise, numerous tree limbs as well as several large trees and power poles were blown down in Farmington, Desloge and Leadwood. No injuries were reported.

8. May 6, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Amateur radio spotters reported numerous trees and power lines down. Some cars were damaged by downed trees.

9. Jul 8, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds caused widespread damage in and around French Village. Several garages were damaged and numerous trees and tree limbs were blown down.

10. May 19, 2025Tornado$30,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A tornado touched down in Iron Mountain causing tree damage and minor roof damage before moving northeast. From there, the tornado moved northeast causing similar damage on Highway N and severely damaging a home's roof on Lake Avalon Road. The tornado dissipated shortly after.

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

112°FJul 23, 1901

All-time low

−28°FFeb 13, 1899

Warmest night

80°FJul 12, 2011

Coldest day

−6°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

5.58 inAug 13, 1950

Snowiest day

10.8 inJan 3, 1996

Hottest year

2012mean 58.2°F

Coldest year

1898mean 50.5°F

Wettest year

189861.61 in

Driest year

190126.19 in

Station Potosi 4 Sw (USC00236826), 1,175 ft elevation, 19.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 27, 2026; 90.9% 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 USC00236826.
• 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.