Stone County, Missouri: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Stone County, Missouri has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 76.7 out of 100, higher than about 76% of US counties, with strong winds, ice storms and landslides scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $30 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 22 federal disaster declarations that included Stone County since 1973, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4317-MO (Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding, declared 2 June 2017). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 30 tornadoes touching Stone County from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for Missouri All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 31,002 Buildings worth $8.7 billion Area 516 sq mi Risk rank in Missouri 21 of 115 FIPS 29209
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strong wind | Very High | 99.4 | $9.7 million | about 6 a year | 226 |
| Ice storm | Relatively High | 94.0 | $1.2 million | about 1.6 a year | 109 |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | 89.7 | $45,260 | about 1.1 a year | — |
| Heat wave | Relatively Moderate | 81.4 | $1.3 million | about 13 a year | 195 |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Moderate | 74.7 | $13 million | about 2.6 a year | 74 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | 72.2 | $118,090 | about 11 a year | 206 |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 69.1 | $2.0 million | about once every 2.5 years | 26 |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | 68.6 | $387,596 | about 58 a year | 155,449 strikes |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 66.3 | $531,433 | about once every 515 years | — |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | 64.1 | $93,242 | about once every 775 years | — |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 62.6 | $342,399 | about 7.5 a year | 284 |
| Cold wave | Relatively Low | 59.4 | $1.1 million | about 2.1 a year | 39 |
| Drought | Relatively Low | 49.8 | $116,657 | about 4.4 a year | 203 |
| Hurricane | Very Low | 39.3 | $23,076 | about once every 87 years | 4 |
| Avalanche | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Coastal flooding | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Tsunami | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Volcanic activity | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
Score: FEMA's percentile among US counties that face the hazard (higher = more risk). Expected loss: FEMA's modelled average yearly loss to buildings, people (as a statistical value) and crops. How often: FEMA's annualised frequency of the hazard in the county; for some hazards it counts event-days, so it is a rough guide, not a forecast. "Not Applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard here.
Federal disaster declarations 22
Most common: Severe Storm 13, Flood 4, Severe Ice Storm 3, Hurricane 1.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2 | Drought, Severe Storm |
| 1990s | 2 | Severe Storm, Flood |
| 2000s | 12 | Severe Storm ×8, Severe Ice Storm ×3, Hurricane |
| 2010s | 6 | Flood ×3, Severe Storm ×3 |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Stone County
- Severe Winter Storm (2011, EM-3317-MO): 115 Missouri counties designated.
- Severe Winter Storm (2009, EM-3303-MO): 115 Missouri counties designated.
- Severe Winter Storms (2007, EM-3281-MO): 115 Missouri counties designated.
Named storms in its declarations: Hurricane Katrina (2005).
Not counted above: 2 COVID-19 ("Biological") declarations — in 2020 every US county was included. Missouri also had 4 statewide declarations with no county list.
Tornado record since 1950 30
| Tornadoes touching the county | 30 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F2 ×5 |
| Peak month | March (5) |
| Deadliest | 29 Feb 2012, EF2, 24.3 mi path, 0 killed, 47 injured |
| Longest path | 29 Feb 2012, EF2, 24.3 mi path, 0 killed, 47 injured |
| Most recent | 4 Nov 2024, EF0, 1.4 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 0 / 59 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 10 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 5 |
Deaths and injuries are for each tornado's whole path, which can run beyond this county. F-scale ratings before February 2007, Enhanced Fujita (EF) after.
How Stone County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stone County (this page) | — | Relatively Low | 76.7 | Strong wind |
| Barry County | 34 km | Relatively Low | 75.1 | Ice storm |
| Christian County | 34 km | Relatively Low | 66.5 | Ice storm |
| Taney County | 38 km | Relatively Moderate | 84.0 | Ice storm |
| Carroll County, AR | 46 km | Relatively Low | 64.6 | Ice storm |
| Lawrence County | 52 km | Relatively Low | 66.2 | Strong wind |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in Missouri, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively High 63.9 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Relatively Low 31.8 |
| Community risk factor | 1.27 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $30 million |
FEMA scales expected losses up where social vulnerability is high (people who may find it harder to prepare, evacuate or recover) and down where community resilience is high. A factor above 1 raises the risk score. For social vulnerability a high rating is worse; for resilience a high rating is better.
Prepare for Stone County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for Missouri · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Strong wind: Power outages now
- Ice storm: Power outages now · Carbon monoxide in winter
- Landslide: Landslides recorded
- Your property's flood zone: FEMA Flood Map Service Center ↗ — this page cannot tell you that.
- Official preparedness guidance: Ready.gov ↗ and your county emergency management office.
What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index rates a whole county against every other US county; it is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not a substitute for a local risk assessment or the risk to one home. Declarations are presidential disaster, emergency and fire management declarations that named this county; state declarations and SBA or USDA designations are not included. Tornadoes are counted when the county is one of up to four listed on the track; 670 tornadoes that crossed a state line carry no county list in NOAA's file and are left out.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties - v1.20.0 (December 2025). Retrieved from https://services.arcgis.com/XG15cJAlne2vxtgt/ArcGIS/rest/services/National_Risk_Index_Counties/FeatureServer/0/query on November 2, 2026, 1:20 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets 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).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2, retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v2/DisasterDeclarationsSummaries on November 2, 2026, 1:21 PM EST. 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).
Tornado records: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Severe Weather Database, tornadoes 1950–2025 (https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/1950-2025_actual_tornadoes.csv, downloaded 2 November 2026). Public domain; not endorsed by NOAA. Compiled by Global Incident Tracker.
Questions about Stone County
What natural disasters is Stone County, Missouri most at risk from?
Stone County, Missouri has a Relatively Low natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 76.7 out of 100, higher than about 76% of US counties, with strong winds, ice storms and landslides scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $30 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Stone County had?
OpenFEMA lists 22 federal disaster declarations that included Stone County since 1973, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is DR-4317-MO (Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds and Flooding, declared 2 June 2017). Another 4 Missouri declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Stone County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 30 tornadoes touching Stone County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 29 Feb 2012, EF2, 24.3 mi path, 0 killed, 47 injured (deaths and injuries are for the whole path).
Is the National Risk Index a flood zone map?
No. The National Risk Index is a planning-level estimate for a whole county, built for nationwide comparison. It does not tell you the flood zone or the risk of a single property: for that, look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) and ask your local floodplain manager.