Missouri, 1996

Drought in Missouri, August 15 to 31, 1996

August 15 to 31, 1996 · NWS PAH · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

11 inches of rain fell at Paducah, KY during the month. This was the driest August on record, and the second driest month.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 10 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
10

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS PAH wrote it up.

Only 0.11 inches of rain fell at Paducah, KY during the month. This was the driest August on record, and the second driest month. The drought severity index showed extreme drought over parts of southeast Missouri the last week of August. River levels dropped below normal, but no serious navigation problems were reported along the Mississippi River.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Bollinger

When
August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
Where
Bollinger forecast zone
Coordinates
37.322, -90.026 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Cape Girardeau

When
August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
Where
Cape Girardeau forecast zone
Coordinates
37.384, -89.684 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Wayne

When
August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
Where
Wayne forecast zone
Coordinates
37.113, -90.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Carter

When
August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
Where
Carter forecast zone
Coordinates
36.941, -90.962 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Ripley

When
August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
Where
Ripley forecast zone
Coordinates
36.653, -90.864 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Butler

When
August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
Where
Butler forecast zone
Coordinates
36.716, -90.407 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Stoddard

When
August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
Where
Stoddard forecast zone
Coordinates
36.856, -89.944 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Scott

When
August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
Where
Scott forecast zone
Coordinates
37.053, -89.568 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Mississippi

When
August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
Where
Mississippi forecast zone
Coordinates
36.828, -89.291 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, New Madrid

When
August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
Where
New Madrid forecast zone
Coordinates
36.595, -89.652 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Drought
A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Missouri in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, August 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5568172, 5568173, 5568174, 5568175, 5568176, 5568177, 5568178, 5568179, 5568180, 5568181.