Storm risk in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri

FEMA's overall hazard score for Cape Girardeau County is 85.69 (Relatively Moderate), 451st of 3,144 counties. Hail scores 73.25 (Relatively Moderate), strong wind 75.32 (Relatively Moderate) and tornado 77.64 (Relatively Moderate). Expected hail loss is $38 per $1 million of buildings a year; NOAA logged 31 hail reports in Cape Girardeau County from 2014 to June 2026.

FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026. NOAA hail reports 2014 to June 2026.

Cape Girardeau County: expected yearly loss per $1 million of buildings for hail, strong wind and tornado, on a log scale, against all U.S. counties and the counties of MO$0.1$1$10$100$1,000Hail: $38 per $1 million, 1,171st of 3,126 rated counties$38Hail1,171st of 3,126 countiesStrong wind: $38 per $1 million, 1,038th of 3,121 rated counties$38Strong wind1,038th of 3,121 countiesTornado: $208 per $1 million, 1,511th of 3,144 rated counties$208Tornado1,511th of 3,144 counties
  • Cape Girardeau County, coloured by its FEMA rating
  • all U.S. counties
  • each county in the state
  • U.S. median
  • state median

Expected yearly loss per $1 million of buildings, log scale. Dot colour is FEMA’s rating band. The tornado lane counts everything exposed, not only buildings.

How FEMA rates Cape Girardeau County

HazardRatingScore (0 to 100)Rank in U.S.Rank in MO
OverallRelatively Moderate 85.69451 of 3,14410 of 115
HailRelatively Moderate 73.25842 of 3,12619 of 115
Strong windRelatively Moderate 75.32777 of 3,12631 of 115
TornadoRelatively Moderate 77.64704 of 3,12627 of 115

Expected yearly loss, in dollars

HazardThis county, total a yearPer $1M of buildingsState median countyU.S. median countyRank per $1M, U.S.Rank per $1M, state
Hail$749,654$38 $52$22 1,171 of 3,12672 of 115
Strong wind$748,959$38 $40$20 1,038 of 3,12159 of 115
Tornado$4,107,255$208 $381$199 1,511 of 3,144100 of 115

Rank 1 is the highest. Overall, hail and wind losses count buildings; the tornado row counts everything FEMA exposes, so it overstates building damage. Expected annual loss is an average over many years for the whole county, not a forecast for one roof.

What stands out in Cape Girardeau County

  • FEMA expects hail in Cape Girardeau County to cost $38 per $1 million of buildings a year: 1.70 times the U.S. median and 0.74 times the MO county median, ranked 1,171st of 3,126 counties nationally and 72nd of 115 in Missouri.
  • FEMA expects strong wind in Cape Girardeau County to cost $38 per $1 million of buildings a year: 1.86 times the U.S. median and 0.94 times the MO county median, ranked 1,038th of 3,121 counties nationally and 59th of 115 in Missouri.
  • FEMA expects tornado in Cape Girardeau County to cost $208 per $1 million of buildings a year: 1.05 times the U.S. median and 0.55 times the MO county median, ranked 1,511th of 3,144 counties nationally and 100th of 115 in Missouri.
  • Applying FEMA's estimate to a $208,300 home, the average yearly loss in Cape Girardeau County is about $7.92 for hail and $7.91 for wind before any deductible; at the U.S. median county rates it would be $4.65 and $4.24.
  • If the next years look like 2014 to 2025, a roof kept 20 years in Cape Girardeau County meets about 20.0 hail days of 1 inch or more; the median county in NOAA's file (1,275 counties) would give 35.0.
  • Built in 1982, the median home in Cape Girardeau County is 44 years old, so an original roof has outlived a 3-tab shingle (15 to 20 years) and an architectural one (25 to 30 years); 76.6% of its 35,892 homes are at least 26 years old.
  • March to June holds 20 of the 31 hail reports in Cape Girardeau County (65 percent); the quietest month is January, with 0 reports.

What hail and wind cost a home here in an average year

Enter a home value. The calculator applies Cape Girardeau County’s own loss rate: the county’s expected yearly loss divided by the value of its buildings. It starts at the Census median home value for the county.

$7.92hail, a year; $4.65 at the U.S. median county rate
$7.91strong wind, a year; $4.24 at the U.S. median county rate
$317hail and wind together over 20 years, at today’s rate

Formula: home value × Cape Girardeau County yearly loss ÷ building value. Hail: $749,654 ÷ $19,713,092,699 = 0.0000380. Wind: $748,959 ÷ $19,713,092,699 = 0.0000380. This is FEMA’s estimate of average damage to buildings and does not account for your deductible. Tornado is left out because FEMA’s tornado loss counts people and other exposure, not only buildings.

Read this as a yardstick. The rate is an average over every building in the county, from sheds to office towers, and over many years. Real losses come in rare, large storms; a roof with no damage in 19 years can need full replacement in the 20th. The figure is not a quote and not a prediction for one address.

Cape Girardeau County in plain numbers

  • Cape Girardeau County scores 85.69 in FEMA's overall hazard index (Relatively Moderate): 451st of 3,144 rated counties and 10th of 115 in Missouri.
  • Hail scores 73.25 (Relatively Moderate). FEMA expects $749,654 of hail damage to buildings in Cape Girardeau County a year, which is $38 per $1 million of buildings, 1.70 times the U.S. median.
  • Strong wind scores 75.32 (Relatively Moderate) with $748,959 of expected yearly building loss in Cape Girardeau County: $38 per $1 million of buildings, 1.86 times the U.S. median.
  • Tornado scores 77.64 (Relatively Moderate) and FEMA's expected yearly tornado loss is $4,107,255, counting everything exposed, or $208 per $1 million of buildings in Cape Girardeau County.
  • FEMA's own event record for Cape Girardeau County averages 3.46 hail events and 4.03 strong-wind events a year.
  • NOAA logged 31 hail reports in Cape Girardeau County between 2014 and June 2026, on 13 days with stones of 1 inch or more; the largest was 2 inches.
  • In Cape Girardeau County, FEMA counts buildings worth 19.71 billion dollars and 81,676 residents.
  • Social vulnerability is Relatively Low in Cape Girardeau County.
  • Community resilience there is Very High, for 81,676 residents.
  • 1 city in Cape Girardeau County is covered on this site: Cape Girardeau. 11 Census ZIP areas have more than half of their land in the county.
  • Our guide range for a 2,000 sq ft asphalt roof in Cape Girardeau is $6,160 to $13,640.
  • Cape Girardeau County ranks 84 of the 194 counties with a page here for hail loss per $1 million of buildings, 29 for wind and 104 for tornado.
  • In Cape Girardeau County, April is the busiest month with 11 of the 31 reports (35 percent), against 0 reports in October.
  • Cape Girardeau County's worst year was 2017, with 3 hail days at 1 inch or more and 6 reports. At the 2014 to 2025 pace that is 1.00 such days a year, one about every 12.0 months.
  • The median home in Cape Girardeau County was built in 1982; 47.5% of its 35,892 housing units date from before 1980, 76.6% from before 2000 and 10.9% from 2010 on.
  • Census puts the median home value in Cape Girardeau County at $208,300, and 66.0% of homes are lived in by their owners.
  • 1,504 single-family building permits were issued in Cape Girardeau County from 2014 to 2025, about 41.9 per 1,000 homes, peaking in 2017.
  • NOAA lists 9 tornado tracks in Cape Girardeau County since 2014; the strongest was an EF2 on January 11, 2020 near Jackson, 9.13 miles long.
  • The fastest gust in NOAA's records for Cape Girardeau County is 100 mph on March 14, 2025 at Jackson.
  • The nearest county with a page here is Cole County, 163 miles from the centre of Cape Girardeau County; its hail score is 48.25.
  • Across counties the median is one roofing firm for every 5,189 homes; Census counted 3 roofing contractor establishments in Cape Girardeau County in 2023, one for every 11,964 homes.
  • FEMA has named Cape Girardeau County in 7 disaster declarations since 2014, the latest 43 days before its data end, and 3 of them were storm-type.

The hail record of Cape Girardeau County, year by year

NOAA logged 31 reports in Cape Girardeau County; hail of 1 inch or more fell on 13 days. That is 1.0 such days a year; the median county in NOAA’s file has 1.8.

Cape Girardeau County: NOAA hail reports per year, 2014 to June 2026, with the number of days that had hail of 1 inch or more01234562014: 5 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 2 inch142015: 2 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1 inch152016: 2 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1 inch162017: 6 reports, 3 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch172018: 4 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch182019: 2 reports, 2 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch192020: 3 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1 inch202021: 0 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0 inch212022: 0 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0 inch222023: 3 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1 inch232024: 1 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1 inch242025: 2 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0.88 inch252026: 1 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1 inch26*
  • reports
  • days with hail of 1 inch or more
  • * 2026 runs to June only
Cape Girardeau County: NOAA hail reports by calendar month, 2014 to June 2026January: 0 reports0JanFebruary: 3 reports3FebMarch: 4 reports4MarApril: 11 reports11AprMay: 3 reports3MayJune: 2 reports2JunJuly: 3 reports3JulAugust: 3 reports3AugSeptember: 1 reports1SepOctober: 0 reports0OctNovember: 1 reports1NovDecember: 0 reports0Dec

Reports by calendar month, all years together. Peak: April, 11 reports.

The same numbers as a table (years with at least one report)
YearReportsDays, 1 inch or moreDays, 1.75 inch or moreLargest stoneDamage reported
20145112 in–
20152101 in–
20162101 in–
20176311.75 in–
20184111.75 in–
20192221.75 in–
20203101 in–
20233101 in–
20241101 in–
20252000.88 in–
2026 (to June)1101 in–

Biggest hail days in Cape Girardeau County

DateLargest stoneReports that dayDamage reportedNear
August 19, 20142 in2none recordedJackson
April 3, 20181.75 in2none recordedAllenville
February 28, 20171.75 in1none recordedPocahontas
June 26, 20191.75 in1none recordedJackson
August 6, 20191.75 in1none recordedDelta

Where large hail was reported

FEMA scores the county as a whole. NOAA’s reports show where inside Cape Girardeau County the big stones fell.

Reported hail locations, Cape Girardeau County

1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail2 in hail Cape Girardeau
  • 101 to 1.74 in
  • 51.75 to 2.74 in, golf ball to tennis ball
  • 02.75 in and up, baseball

Largest plotted stone: 2 in. Bigger dots are bigger stones.

15 reports of 1 inch or larger have coordinates. Each dot is a reported location, not a storm path.

Sources: NOAA, Census county outline

Wind and tornado records for Cape Girardeau County

Fastest gusts in Cape Girardeau County

DateGustNear
March 14, 2025100 mphJackson
April 27, 201496 mphMarquette
March 7, 201785 mphMarquette
April 2, 202485 mphGordonville

Strongest tornado tracks in Cape Girardeau County

DateScaleLengthInjured / killedNear
May 16, 2025EF21.39 mi0 / 0Burfordville
January 11, 2020EF29.13 mi0 / 0Jackson
May 20, 2025EF11.68 mi0 / 0Cape Girardeau
April 5, 2023EF10.88 mi0 / 0Kurreville

9 tornado tracks in all since 2014; the strongest 4 are listed.

How old the roofs are

Census counts homes by the decade they were built. Under each bar is the number of hail days of 1 inch or more that an original roof from that decade has met, at Cape Girardeau County’s 2014 to 2025 pace of 1.00 such days a year. Most roofs have been replaced since; the row shows what a roof that never was would have taken.

Cape Girardeau County: share of homes by decade built, with the hail days at 1 inch or more that an original roof from each decade has met at the county's 2014 to 2025 ratepre-1940: 9.6% of homes9.6%<1940911940s: 3.4% of homes3.4%1940s811950s: 7.4% of homes7.4%1950s711960s: 10.1% of homes10.1%1960s611970s: 17.0% of homes17%1970s511980s: 12.5% of homes12.5%1980s411990s: 16.6% of homes16.6%1990s312000s: 12.5% of homes12.5%2000s212010s: 9.6% of homes9.6%2010s112020+: 1.3% of homes1.3%2020+3

Bars: share of 35,892 housing units by decade built. Figures under the decade: hail days met by an original roof, at the county’s 2014 to 2025 pace. The pace of earlier years is unknown.

Median year built1982
Built before 198047.5%
Built before 200076.6%
Built since 201010.9%
Owner-occupied66.0%
Median home value$208,300
Single-family permits, 2014 to 20251,504
Permits per 1,000 homes41.9

Asphalt shingles are rated 15 to 20 years (3-tab) and 25 to 30 years (architectural). Source: Census ACS 2019 to 2023 and Building Permits Survey.

Roofers and past disasters in Cape Girardeau County

Roofing firms in Cape Girardeau County

Roofing contractor establishments, 20233
Change since 2016-6 (-67%)
Homes per roofing firm11,964
Median across counties5,189
Employees, 202320

Source for Cape Girardeau County: Census County Business Patterns, NAICS 238160.

FEMA disaster declarations naming Cape Girardeau County since 2014

Declarations naming Cape Girardeau County7
Storm / flood / winter / fire3 / 4 / 0 / 0
Median MO county5
Rank among 70 MO counties14
Days from the latest to the data cutoff43

Source for Cape Girardeau County: OpenFEMA, data to 2026-09-15. Declaration list for Cape Girardeau County.

Nearby counties

The closest counties that have a risk page, by distance between county centres. Loss is per $1 million of buildings; the columns marked "times here" divide the neighbour's loss by Cape Girardeau County's.

CountyMilesOverallHail lossHail, times hereWind lossWind, times hereNOAA hail reports
Cole County, MO163 Relatively Low $160.42$230.6124
Boone County, MO182 Relatively Moderate $140.36$8.540.2233
Greene County, MO203 Relatively Moderate $401.04$200.52194
Jasper County, MO258 Relatively Moderate $671.77$240.63103
Buchanan County, MO324 Relatively Low $822.14$210.5526

All 194 counties, with a filter by state and sorting

Cities and ZIP areas in Cape Girardeau County

1 city in this county is on PickARoofer. ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are Census shapes that approximate ZIP codes; where we have a city’s ZIPs, the share is the part of each area’s land that lies in this county. 11 such areas have more than half their land here.

CityZIP areas (share of land in the county)Pages
Cape Girardeau 63701 (100%), 63703 (100%) Roofers

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Questions

How high is storm risk in Cape Girardeau County?

FEMA's National Risk Index gives Cape Girardeau County an overall score of 85.69 (Relatively Moderate), 451st of 3,144. Hail scores 73.25 (Relatively Moderate), strong wind 75.32 (Relatively Moderate) and tornado 77.64 (Relatively Moderate).

In Cape Girardeau County, how many hail reports has NOAA logged?

A report is one entry for one storm in one county, so counts follow where people live as well as where hail fell. NOAA has 31 for Cape Girardeau County between 2014 and June 2026, on 13 days with hail of 1 inch or more; the largest stone was 2 inches.

What do hail and wind cost a home in Cape Girardeau County each year, on average?

Applying FEMA's county rates to its median home value of $208,300: FEMA's estimate is about $7.92 a year for hail and $7.91 for wind, before any deductible, against $4.65 and $4.24 at the U.S. median county rates. This is an average over many years and all buildings, not a prediction for one roof; one bad storm costs far more than the average year.

How does Cape Girardeau County compare with the rest of Missouri?

Per $1 million of buildings Cape Girardeau County loses $38 to hail a year, against $52 in the median county of the state. Among 115 rated counties it is 19th for hail, 31st for strong wind and 27th for tornado.

How old are the roofs in Cape Girardeau County?

The median home was built in 1982, 44 years ago, and 76.6% of the 35,892 housing units in Cape Girardeau County date from before 2000. Asphalt shingles are rated 15 to 20 years (3-tab) or 25 to 30 years (architectural), so an original roof of either kind is past its rated life. The Census does not record when a roof was replaced.

What does expected annual loss mean?

It is FEMA's estimate of the average yearly loss from a hazard, in dollars, summed over the county. It is built for comparing counties at planning level, not for pricing one house.

Does a high rating mean my roof will be damaged?

No. The index compares counties and cannot say what will happen on your street. After a storm, a roof inspection is the only way to know.

Sources for Cape Girardeau County: FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026; NOAA Storm Events Database hail reports for Cape Girardeau County; Census Bureau ZCTA-to-county relationship file (2020); Census ACS and Building Permits Survey, homes in Cape Girardeau County; Census County Business Patterns, roofing firms in Cape Girardeau County; OpenFEMA, declarations naming Cape Girardeau County. Planning-level information about Cape Girardeau County, not an inspection and not insurance advice.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset 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).