Wayne County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. May 1, 2011Flash Flood$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The record high level of Lake Wappapello exceeded the height of the emergency spillway at Wappapello Dam. The uncontrolled flow of water over the spillway berm washed out a 400-foot section of Highway T, taking out millions of dollars of communications infrastructure. County Road 404 was washed out. At least two homes along County Road 404 were inundated with at least a foot of water and were accessible only by boat. Five homes were directly affected by the spillway breach.

2. Mar 18, 2008Flood$9.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The hardest hit community during this historic flood was Piedmont. Between 200 and 300 homes and businesses were flooded in the town of about 2,000 residents. Severe flash flooding of McKenzie Creek inundated over one-third of the town. All buildings in southern Piedmont were flooded, along with homes within two blocks on either side of Main Street. All major roads were closed leading into Piedmont. A mandatory evacuation order was issued for the entire town of Piedmont. Three law enforcement agencies rushed boats into the area to help with evacuations. Hundreds of people were evacuated, including some by boat. Shelters were opened at a church and a school for evacuees. Vehicles…

3. Mar 14, 2025Wildfire, Wayne$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Persimmon Ridge Fire, located about 4 miles southeast of Piedmont in the Mark Twain National Forest, was reported by personnel from the Missouri Department of Conservation. Fanned by south southeast winds gusting 35-50mph through the evening, the fire consumed 93.1 acres before being fully extinguished. In addition to the strong winds, the response to the fire was complicated by a series of tornadic storms that swept through southeast Missouri in the late evening. One deadly EF-3 tornado passed just a mile northwest of the fire.

4. Mar 14, 2025Tornado$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-3 tornado touched down 4 miles northeast of Garwood in Reynolds County and proceeded northeast into northwest Wayne County southwest of Gads Hill. Thousands of trees were uprooted or snapped along its path through northwest Wayne County. Significant damage occurred in Gads Hill, where three houses and several manufactured homes and camper/trailer homes were destroyed or sustained significant damage. The estimated peak wind was 155 mph. Three people were killed when their homes were destroyed. The tornado continued to produce extensive tree damage as it progressed northeast to the Iron County line just southwest of Des Arc. The tornado passed through Iron County and into…

5. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Wayne$3.0 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…

6. Mar 14, 2025Tornado$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-3 tornado touched down just northeast of Eastwood in Carter County and moved quickly northeast to the Wayne County line just southwest of Leeper. The tornado destroyed 3 homes in Leeper, including completely wiping the slab clean on one. A nearby house had its roof mostly removed and another had some broken windows. Three manufactured homes and one barn were destroyed, as well. Two people died when their camper home was thrown into the Black river. The tornado did extensive tree damage with thousands either snapped or uprooted along its path. It continued northeast from Leeper until it dissipated at County Road 361 just west of Maddox Lake. The estimated peak wind was 165…

7. Mar 14, 2025Tornado$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-2 tornado touched down northeast of Greenville and moved northeast doing profound and extreme tree damage along its path. Thousands of trees were snapped or uprooted. The tornado directly impacted the River Valley Campground on Hidden Valley Road near the Castor River, killing one person and severely injuring another. The most severe structural damage occurred near the campground where a home lost its roof and had most of its exterior walls collapsed in. Several vehicles were tossed 50 to 100 feet. Another nearby home also suffered heavy damage. Numerous outbuildings were destroyed and a wooden power pole was snapped. The estimated peak wind was 134 mph. From the campground…

8. May 1, 2017Flood$1.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Record flooding occurred on the St. Francis River as the month began. The river crested at 37.05 feet on the Patterson river gage on the evening of April 30th. The old record was 35.77 feet in December of 1982. Numerous roads were closed, including Business Route 67 in Greenville and Route 34 at the St. Francis River Bridge. The record river flooding affected Lake Wappapello, which is formed by a dam on the St. Francis River near the town of Wappapello. Water poured over the emergency spillway of the dam. Mandatory evacuations were considered for areas below the dam. The lake levels in Lake Wappapello came close to the record set in 2011, but they did not reach it. Highway T just…

9. Feb 11, 2008Winter Storm, Wayne$1.0 million
   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…

10. Apr 24, 2011Flood$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Widespread heavy rainfall from 13 to 18 inches with locally higher amounts occurred during the last week of April. At the Cape Girardeau airport, a rainfall total of 16.45 inches was measured from April 22-30. At the Poplar Bluff airport, a rainfall total of 17.64 inches was measured from April 22-30. A co-operative observer in Marble Hill measured a five-day total of 12.97 inches, which was representative of other places around southeast Missouri. This excessive rainfall caused most creeks and small rivers to flood for an extended period of time. Numerous roads were flooded and closed, including some major state highways in each county. A number of road washouts were reported…

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

110°F3 times, most recently Jul 17, 1980

All-time low

−19°FJan 24, 1963

Warmest night

79°FJul 1, 2023

Coldest day

1°FJan 11, 1982

Wettest day

8.10 in2 times, most recently Mar 19, 2008

Snowiest day

12.0 inFeb 16, 1993

Hottest year

1954mean 59.3°F

Coldest year

1979mean 53.7°F

Wettest year

198267.63 in

Driest year

195326.12 in

Snowiest season

24.9 in1977-78

Station Clearwater Dam (USC00231674), 660 ft elevation, 14.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1946 to October 27, 2026; 85.6% 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 USC00231674.
• 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.