Lightning Risk in Missouri

All Missouri counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index lightning score

Lightning risk — electrical discharges from storms that ignite fires and cause casualties — is rated for 115 of 115 Missouri counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. St. Louis County carries the state's highest lightning score at 99.3, with $5M in expected annual lightning losses.

11 Missouri counties are rated High or Very High for lightning, and expected annual losses from lightning total roughly $43M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Lightning

#CountyLightning ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 St. Louis County
99.3
Very High 52.97 / yr $5M
2 Greene County
95.3
High 57.32 / yr $2M
3 Boone County
92.5
High 49.82 / yr $2M
4 Jefferson County
91.2
High 54.07 / yr $2M
5 St. Charles County
89.7
High 50.98 / yr $2M
6 St. Louis City
88.9
High 53.18 / yr $874K
7 Jasper County
88.5
High 55.51 / yr $1M
8 Jackson County
87.5
High 50.42 / yr $1M
9 Shelby County
86.0
High 47.43 / yr $1M
10 Taney County
85.6
High 58.40 / yr $762K
11 Dallas County
83.6
High 54.65 / yr $690K
12 Pemiscot County
81.4
Medium 58.00 / yr $495K
13 Benton County
81.1
Medium 52.21 / yr $495K
14 Buchanan County
78.0
Medium 48.38 / yr $702K
15 Howell County
77.1
Medium 56.55 / yr $509K
16 Clay County
75.9
Medium 48.91 / yr $845K
17 Macon County
75.4
Medium 47.48 / yr $551K
18 Barry County
74.3
Medium 57.54 / yr $510K
19 Laclede County
73.8
Medium 54.94 / yr $519K
20 Cole County
73.7
Medium 52.61 / yr $748K
21 Polk County
73.3
Medium 55.06 / yr $475K
22 Camden County
73.1
Medium 53.51 / yr $459K
23 Christian County
72.1
Medium 58.05 / yr $755K
24 Callaway County
71.9
Medium 50.70 / yr $504K
25 St. Francois County
70.5
Medium 54.58 / yr $463K
26 Stone County
68.6
Medium 58.15 / yr $388K
27 Franklin County
68.4
Medium 52.25 / yr $546K
28 Pulaski County
67.3
Medium 54.21 / yr $604K
29 Webster County
66.7
Medium 56.50 / yr $524K
30 Nodaway County
66.3
Medium 46.87 / yr $501K
31 Monroe County
64.9
Medium 48.04 / yr $376K
32 Cass County
64.6
Medium 51.33 / yr $527K
33 Butler County
64.4
Medium 57.58 / yr $368K
34 Morgan County
63.9
Medium 51.99 / yr $245K
35 Dunklin County
63.5
Medium 57.68 / yr $280K
36 Platte County
62.8
Medium 49.04 / yr $594K
37 Scott County
62.1
Medium 56.77 / yr $318K
38 Lincoln County
61.9
Medium 49.98 / yr $434K
39 Cape Girardeau County
61.4
Medium 56.44 / yr $412K
40 Newton County
60.1
Medium 56.17 / yr $314K
41 Carter County
59.8
Medium 57.88 / yr $198K
42 Phelps County
59.6
Medium 53.89 / yr $348K
43 Audrain County
59.1
Medium 49.39 / yr $252K
44 Texas County
58.3
Medium 55.13 / yr $227K
45 Henry County
57.5
Medium 51.53 / yr $241K
46 Lawrence County
56.9
Medium 56.78 / yr $260K
47 Wright County
56.8
Medium 55.65 / yr $205K
48 Stoddard County
56.7
Medium 56.65 / yr $261K
49 Marion County
55.6
Low 47.81 / yr $315K
50 Pike County
55.6
Low 49.49 / yr $293K
51 Miller County
51.9
Low 53.26 / yr $243K
52 Iron County
51.5
Low 55.54 / yr $199K
53 Linn County
50.7
Low 48.71 / yr $195K
54 Scotland County
50.6
Low 45.60 / yr $139K
55 Johnson County
48.6
Low 49.99 / yr $299K
56 Randolph County
48.0
Low 48.30 / yr $237K
57 Pettis County
46.3
Low 50.57 / yr $209K
58 Adair County
45.3
Low 47.00 / yr $238K
59 Clark County
44.7
Low 46.15 / yr $168K
60 Washington County
43.9
Low 53.92 / yr $140K
61 Ripley County
43.4
Low 58.50 / yr $138K
62 Ray County
43.4
Low 48.79 / yr $176K
63 New Madrid County
42.9
Low 57.55 / yr $167K
64 Lewis County
41.4
Low 47.29 / yr $151K
65 Montgomery County
41.3
Low 49.66 / yr $137K
66 Wayne County
40.9
Low 56.41 / yr $98K
67 Knox County
40.9
Low 46.73 / yr $130K
68 Ozark County
39.1
Low 57.23 / yr $91K
69 Crawford County
39.0
Low 52.91 / yr $155K
70 Moniteau County
38.8
Low 51.50 / yr $148K
71 Mississippi County
38.2
Low 56.08 / yr $122K
72 Chariton County
37.9
Low 48.26 / yr $131K
73 McDonald County
36.5
Low 56.81 / yr $150K
74 Oregon County
35.8
Low 57.37 / yr $96K
75 Cedar County
35.7
Low 54.76 / yr $116K
76 Dent County
35.2
Low 54.30 / yr $126K
77 Livingston County
35.1
Low 48.49 / yr $158K
78 Hickory County
34.9
Low 53.19 / yr $90K
79 Shannon County
34.5
Low 56.85 / yr $81K
80 Madison County
33.4
Low 56.28 / yr $113K
81 Grundy County
33.3
Low 47.84 / yr $104K
82 St. Clair County
33.1
Low 53.40 / yr $87K
83 Douglas County
32.9
Low 56.97 / yr $98K
84 Lafayette County
32.8
Low 49.15 / yr $141K
85 Warren County
30.9
Low 50.39 / yr $167K
86 Perry County
30.8
Low 54.40 / yr $142K
87 Vernon County
30.4
Low 54.57 / yr $107K
88 Ste. Genevieve County
29.7
Low 54.27 / yr $133K
89 Saline County
29.5
Low 48.79 / yr $98K
90 Daviess County
29.1
Low 48.27 / yr $79K
91 Carroll County
27.2
Low 48.60 / yr $88K
92 Clinton County
26.8
Low 48.05 / yr $114K
93 Sullivan County
26.5
Low 47.26 / yr $85K
94 Osage County
25.1
Low 52.21 / yr $97K
95 Howard County
23.9
Low 49.31 / yr $99K
96 Putnam County
23.4
Very Low 46.30 / yr $65K
97 Caldwell County
23.1
Very Low 48.27 / yr $67K
98 Reynolds County
22.9
Very Low 56.41 / yr $67K
99 Gasconade County
22.9
Very Low 51.53 / yr $91K
100 Dade County
22.3
Very Low 55.56 / yr $63K
101 Andrew County
21.8
Very Low 47.81 / yr $110K
102 Ralls County
20.9
Very Low 48.41 / yr $103K
103 Harrison County
20.8
Very Low 46.60 / yr $54K
104 Cooper County
20.5
Very Low 50.00 / yr $108K
105 Maries County
20.0
Very Low 53.13 / yr $69K
106 Barton County
18.7
Very Low 54.77 / yr $54K
107 Gentry County
18.0
Very Low 46.61 / yr $49K
108 Bollinger County
17.7
Very Low 56.40 / yr $66K
109 Bates County
16.7
Very Low 52.23 / yr $51K
110 Schuyler County
14.1
Very Low 46.08 / yr $37K
111 Atchison County
13.8
Very Low 47.53 / yr $43K
112 DeKalb County
13.3
Very Low 47.34 / yr $57K
113 Holt County
11.5
Very Low 48.17 / yr $41K
114 Mercer County
9.4
Very Low 46.67 / yr $23K
115 Worth County
4.8
Very Low 46.08 / yr $16K

115 Missouri counties with measurable lightning risk. See the national lightning ranking or all Missouri counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Missouri county has the highest lightning risk?

St. Louis County has the highest FEMA lightning risk score in Missouri at 99.3 (Very High), with $5M in expected annual losses and about 52.97 events per year.

How many Missouri counties face significant lightning risk?

115 Missouri counties record measurable lightning risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 11 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in Missouri

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