States › Missouri › St. Clair County

St. Clair 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 29185 · 9,376 residents (2021) · 675 sq mi · dominant hazard Hail

Hail · 163Tornado · 25Flood · 72Wind · 155Winter · 50

St. Clair 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 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

St. Clair County, Missouri, has 531 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them hail.

That is 78.7 events per 100 square miles, below the Missouri figure of 106.7, and 566.3 per 10,000 residents against 118.9 statewide.

21 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 2 deaths and 4 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $35M and crop damage at $25M.

FEMA has designated the county in 24 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding (major disaster, 21 Sep 2023).

OpenFEMA lists no National Flood Insurance Program claims in the county.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Very Low" and its expected annual loss as "Very Low" ($6.1M a year across 18 hazards).

1 tropical storm or hurricane track in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

21events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

531events since 19502 deaths, 4 injuries recorded

24disaster declarationslast 21 Sep 2023

0NFIP flood claims$0 paid

Compared with Missouri and the United States

Measure	St. Clair County	Missouri	US
Recorded events since 1950	531	73,339	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	78.7	106.7	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	566.3	118.9	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	21	1,920	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	2	1,009	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$35M	$12B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	0.0	8.3	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	—	$23K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	—	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: 1Wind: 1

Hail: 3Tornado: 1Wind: 2

Hail: 2Tornado: 6Wind: 5

Hail: 4Tornado: 2Wind: 8

Hail: 26Tornado: 2Flood: 10Wind: 18Winter: 3Heat: 2Drought: 1Wildfire: 1Lightning: 1

Hail: 71Tornado: 6Flood: 31Wind: 49Winter: 18Heat: 4Cold: 3Drought: 6Wildfire: 1Lightning: 1Other: 1

Hail: 38Tornado: 5Flood: 13Wind: 36Winter: 8Heat: 3Cold: 1Drought: 6Other: 6

Hail: 18Tornado: 3Flood: 18Wind: 36Winter: 21Cold: 6Drought: 18Other: 5

21950s61960s131970s141980s641990s1912000s1162010s1252020s

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

Trend: 296 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 185 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

Hail163

Wind155

Flood72

Winter50

Drought31

Tornado25

Other12

Cold10

Heat9

Wildfire2

Lightning2

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Hail	163	—	0.8%	detail
■ Wind	155	—	0.7%	detail
■ Flood	72	2	0.7%	detail
■ Winter	50	—	0.8%	detail
■ Drought	31	—	1.2%
■ Tornado	25	—	0.8%	detail
■ Other	12	—	0.9%
■ Cold	10	—	0.6%
■ Heat	9	—	0.2%
■ Wildfire	2	—	1.9%
■ 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
25 Jul 2001	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	2	—	County
15 Mar 1982	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$25M	—	—	—	County
1 Dec 2023	Drought	Drought	—	—	$12M	—	—	Forecast zone
26 May 2004	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$500K	—	—	1	County
4 May 1999	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$50K	—	—	1	County
27 Jul 1972	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$25K	—	—	1	County
29 Jan 2023	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	—	1	Forecast zone
7 Apr 2007	Frost/Freeze	Cold	—	—	$7.7M	—	—	Forecast zone
1 Aug 2012	Drought	Drought	—	$215K	$3.4M	—	—	Forecast zone
1 Nov 2025	Drought	Drought	—	$2.8M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
1 Nov 2024	Drought	Drought	—	—	$2.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
1 Nov 2022	Drought	Drought	—	$1.5M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
30 Nov 2006	Winter Storm	Winter	—	$1.2M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
24 May 2015	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$400K	—	—	—	County
20 Apr 1973	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	—	County
26 Apr 2026	Hail	Hail	3.00 in	$250K	—	—	—	County
14 Jun 2001	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$200K	—	—	—	County
30 Jan 2002	Ice Storm	Winter	—	$200K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
29 Jan 2013	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$200K	—	—	—	County
12 Mar 2006	Tornado	Tornado	F0	$150K	—	—	—	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
21 Sep 2023	DR-4741	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
21 Jan 2016	DR-4250	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Public assistance
2 Jan 2016	EM-3374	Emergency	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, 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
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
30 Jan 2009	EM-3303	Emergency	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
19 Mar 2008	DR-1749	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
27 Dec 2007	DR-1736	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storms	Public assistance
12 Dec 2007	EM-3281	Emergency	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storms	Public assistance
15 Jan 2007	DR-1676	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
16 Mar 2006	DR-1631	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes And Flooding	Individual assistance, 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 Feb 2002	DR-1403	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Ice Storm	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 Oct 1986	DR-779	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Public assistance
24 Sep 1976	EM-3017	Emergency	Drought	Drought	Public assistance
19 Apr 1973	DR-372	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Heavy Rains, Tornadoes & 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

OpenFEMA lists no NFIP claims with this county's code.

National Risk Index

Overall riskVery Lowscore 25.6 of 100

Expected annual loss$6.1MVery Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceRelatively Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$2,985,220
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$698,607
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$621,201
Tornado	Relatively Low	$509,870
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$361,973
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$297,507
Ice storm	Relatively Moderate	$147,196
Hail	Relatively Low	$146,182
Earthquake	Very Low	$119,980
Lightning	Relatively Low	$87,478
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$79,589
Wildfire	Very Low	$39,609
Hurricane	Very Low	$4,382
Landslide	Very Low	$268

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

Tracks within 100 miles1

Tracks within 50 miles0

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1902	86 mi	40 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in St. Clair County, MO?

NCEI records 163 hail events in St. Clair County since 1950, in 40 different years; that is about 2.1 recorded events a year. 34 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has St. Clair County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 25 tornadoes in St. Clair County since 1950, 4 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for St. Clair County?

21 Sep 2023: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding, a major disaster declaration for severe storm. The county appears in 24 declarations since 1953.

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

OpenFEMA lists no NFIP claims in the county.

Is St. Clair County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

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

How does St. Clair County compare with the rest of Missouri?

78.7 recorded events per 100 square miles against 106.7 statewide, and 0.0 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 1 Oct 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 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.