States › Missouri › Ray County

Ray County, Missouri

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 29177 · 23,008 residents (2021) · 569 sq mi · dominant hazard Hail

Hail · 116Tornado · 34Flood · 58Wind · 114Winter · 42

Ray County within Missouri. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Ray County, Missouri, has 416 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them hail.

That is 73.1 events per 100 square miles, below the Missouri figure of 106.7, and 180.8 per 10,000 residents against 118.9 statewide.

13 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 3 deaths and 21 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $7.9M.

FEMA has designated the county in 33 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding (major disaster, 1 Sep 2021).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 191 claims since 1978, of which 162 were paid, totalling $2.2M (about $13K per paid claim). FEMA counts 73 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($13M a year across 18 hazards).

13events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

416events since 19503 deaths, 21 injuries recorded

33disaster declarationslast 1 Sep 2021

191NFIP flood claims$2.2M paid

Compared with Missouri and the United States

Measure	Ray County	Missouri	US
Recorded events since 1950	416	73,339	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	73.1	106.7	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	180.8	118.9	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	13	1,920	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	3	1,009	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$7.9M	$12B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	8.3	8.3	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$13K	$23K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	8.2	51.0	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Hail: 2Tornado: 2

Hail: 6Tornado: 13Wind: 5

Hail: 6Tornado: 6Wind: 8

Hail: 3Wind: 7

Hail: 20Flood: 17Wind: 14Winter: 4Heat: 1Cold: 1Lightning: 2

Hail: 42Tornado: 5Flood: 27Wind: 36Winter: 17Heat: 12Cold: 3Drought: 1Other: 2

Hail: 28Tornado: 6Flood: 11Wind: 16Winter: 17Heat: 1Cold: 1Drought: 12Other: 1

Hail: 9Tornado: 2Flood: 3Wind: 28Winter: 4Heat: 1Cold: 6Drought: 8

41950s241960s201970s101980s591990s1452000s932010s612020s

Recorded events in Ray County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterHeatColdDroughtLightningOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 209 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 153 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Hail116

Wind114

Flood58

Winter42

Tornado34

Drought21

Heat15

Cold11

Other3

Lightning2

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Hail	116	—	0.6%	detail
■ Wind	114	—	0.5%	detail
■ Flood	58	1	0.5%	detail
■ Winter	42	—	0.6%	detail
■ Tornado	34	2	1.1%	detail
■ Drought	21	—	0.8%
■ Heat	15	—	0.4%
■ Cold	11	—	0.7%
■ Other	3	—	0.2%
■ Lightning	2	—	0.7%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
24 Jan 1967	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	2	18	County
4 Jun 2001	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
7 May 1961	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$25K	—	—	2	County
4 May 1977	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$2.5M	—	—	1	County
11 Aug 1993	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	$500K	—	—	—	County
12 Mar 2006	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$400K	—	—	—	County
30 Jan 2002	Ice Storm	Winter	—	$300K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
17 Jul 1958	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	—	County
21 Apr 1967	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	—	—	County
29 Nov 1975	Tornado	Tornado	F0	$250K	—	—	—	County
14 Oct 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	92 mph	$200K	—	—	—	County
11 Sep 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	75 mph	$200K	—	—	—	County
4 Oct 1998	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$100K	—	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
1 Sep 2021	DR-4612	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
26 Mar 2020	DR-4490	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3482	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
9 Jul 2019	DR-4451	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
20 May 2019	DR-4435	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Public assistance
7 Aug 2015	DR-4238	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Public assistance
12 Aug 2011	DR-4012	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Public assistance
30 Jun 2011	EM-3325	Emergency	Flood	Flooding	Public assistance
23 Mar 2011	DR-1961	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm	Public assistance
3 Feb 2011	EM-3317	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
17 Aug 2010	DR-1934	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes	Public assistance
19 Jun 2009	DR-1847	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
30 Jan 2009	EM-3303	Emergency	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
13 Nov 2008	DR-1809	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And A Tornado	Public assistance
25 Jun 2008	DR-1773	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
12 Dec 2007	EM-3281	Emergency	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storms	Public assistance
11 Jun 2007	DR-1708	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
16 Mar 2006	DR-1631	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding	Public assistance
10 Sep 2005	EM-3232	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
11 Jun 2004	DR-1524	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance
6 May 2003	DR-1463	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Individual assistance
6 May 2002	DR-1412	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding	Public assistance
6 Feb 2002	DR-1403	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Ice Storm	Individual assistance, Public assistance
14 Oct 1998	DR-1253	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
2 Jun 1995	DR-1054	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Hail, Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
9 Jul 1993	DR-995	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
14 Sep 1977	DR-538	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
7 May 1977	DR-535	Major disaster	Tornado	Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
24 Sep 1976	EM-3017	Emergency	Drought	Drought	Public assistance
10 Jun 1974	DR-439	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
1 Nov 1973	DR-407	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
19 Apr 1973	DR-372	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Heavy Rains, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
27 Jul 1965	DR-203	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Ray County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978191

Paid claims162

Total paid$2.2M

Average paid claim$13K

Repetitive-loss properties61 severe

Residential policies in force730.7% of 10,584 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2022	1	0	$0	—
2021	2	2	$74,260	$37,130
2020	2	1	$3,464	$3,464
2018	1	0	$0	—
2015	2	2	$6,781	$3,390
2013	1	0	$0	—
2011	1	1	$30,466	$30,466
2007	2	2	$36,736	$18,368
2005	3	2	$6,490	$3,245
2002	1	1	$1,527	$1,527
2001	1	0	$0	—
2000	1	1	$5,509	$5,509
1998	23	17	$151,519	$8,913
1996	3	3	$31,106	$10,369
1995	5	4	$101,164	$25,291
1993	136	122	$1,672,204	$13,707
1992	1	0	$0	—
1990	3	2	$30,110	$15,055
1985	1	1	$4,702	$4,702
1978	1	1	$1,965	$1,965

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Lowscore 44.4 of 100

Expected annual loss$13MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Moderate

Community resilienceRelatively High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$6,033,496
Cold wave	Relatively Moderate	$3,101,749
Tornado	Relatively Low	$1,546,939
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$894,587
Hail	Relatively Low	$408,179
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$402,332
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$380,316
Lightning	Relatively Low	$175,833
Ice storm	Relatively Moderate	$141,045
Earthquake	Very Low	$107,891
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$99,362
Wildfire	Very Low	$60,076
Landslide	Relatively Low	$15,260

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

No HURDAT2 track at tropical-storm strength passes within 100 miles of the county's centre point (through the 2025 season).

ZIP codes with flood claims

64035 109
64077 45
64062 12
64036 10
64085 7
64017 5

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Ray County, MO?

NCEI records 116 hail events in Ray County since 1950, in 43 different years; that is about 1.5 recorded events a year. 33 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Ray County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 34 tornadoes in Ray County since 1950, 12 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 2.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Ray County?

1 Sep 2021: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding, a major disaster declaration for severe storm. The county appears in 33 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Ray County, and how much was paid?

191 NFIP claims since 1978, 162 of them paid, for $2.2M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Ray County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Low" for overall risk, "Very Low" for expected annual loss, "Relatively Moderate" for social vulnerability and "Relatively High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Ray County compare with the rest of Missouri?

73.1 recorded events per 100 square miles against 106.7 statewide, and 8.3 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.3. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 29 Sep 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 30 Sep 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.