Washington County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Washington County: 6.
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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Apr 2, 2025Tornado$685,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado then entered Washington County and crossed West State Highway 8 east of Berryman. The tornado continued northeast, damaging mobile homes and snapping trees around Cape Lakewood before approaching State Highway 185 and the town of Latty. Once there, the tornado strengthened and caused significant damage to homes in the northwest part of town. This damage was the worst observed, with winds estimated as strong as 165 mph. The tornado continued northeast into rural areas northwest of Old Mines before lifting at 3:39 PM. In Washington County the tornado had a path length of 19.63 miles with a maximum path width of 200 yards. It was rated an EF3.

2. Dec 1, 2006Winter Storm, Washington$215,000
   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. Nov 30, 2006Winter Storm, Washington$100,000
   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…

4. Apr 29, 2025Tornado$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A brief tornado touched down just west of Bates Creek Camp near Potosi during the afternoon. Here, the tornado caused building and tree damage. Most notably it destroyed the garage of a home in Bates Creek Camp. The tornado then moved northeast into southern Potosi, causing tree damage along the way. It then lifted near Washington County Memorial Hospital where it caused minor tree damage. The tornado was rated EF-1 with a path length of 4.24 miles and a maximum path width of 150 yards.

5. Jul 9, 2026Flash Flood$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rain began at about 10PM on the 9th, but heavy rain continued through most of the night. Flash flooding began shortly after midnight, peaking just before dawn. By morning, a swath of 5 to 7 inches of rain had fallen across the southern portion of the county from Courtois to Belgrade. Most creeks and rivers in this area overflowed their banks. Water was reported over the road in numerous locations along Highway C.

6. May 14, 2022Hail$15,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Large hail up to golf ball sized fell across the southern portions of Washington County. A number of cars and campers sustained hail damage.

7. Aug 31, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous trees, tree limbs and several power lines across eastern portions of Washington County. One tree was blown down at the intersection of Highways 21 and 47, just south of Old Mines. Another tree was blown down at the intersection of Highway 21 and State Highway E. On the east side of Ironton, a tree was blown down at the intersection of Scout Camp Road and Nursing Home Road.

8. Jul 28, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds blew down a large tree branch onto the roof of a house. The roof sustained minor damage.

9. Jun 8, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$5,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds blew down several large trees in Richwoods.

10. Jul 4, 2026Thunderstorm Wind$2,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Strong winds occurred in the wake of thunderstorms which moved west to east across the county. Strong winds behind the initial storms brought multiple tree limbs down primarily west of Potosi in the area around Hwy AA through MO 185.

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, 5.0 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.