Gallatin County, Illinois
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 17059 · population 4,943 · 323 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 774 records for Gallatin County, Illinois from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 715 days; the most frequent are floods and flash floods (171 records). 533 of them are forecast-zone records, which the National Weather Service files once per zone: a county covered by several zones receives each one, so a single storm can add several records on the same day. The deadliest single record is the July 18, 1999 heat, filed for the forecast zone Gallatin, which covers the county: 1 death. FEMA has issued 11 declarations naming the county since 1973, 9 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Storms and Flooding” on June 7, 2011.
The record, 1950 to 2026
Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $100,000
- $100,000 or more
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more, or a death
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
- 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
- Storm records
- 774on 715 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 113 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $21Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 12strongest EF4
- FEMA declarations
- 11latest 2020
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.
What hazards hit Gallatin County most?
The most frequent records are floods and flash floods: 171 since 1996. The rank column places the county among Illinois's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floods | 171 | 164 | 1996-2025 | 0 | 0 | $4.4M | 5 of 102 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 113 | 111 | 1997-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 7 of 102 |
| Winter storms | 111 | 111 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 0 | $922K | 10 of 102 |
| Heat | 85 | 85 | 1997-2025 | 1 | 0 | – | 7 of 102 |
| Extreme cold | 76 | 76 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 0 | $34K | 7 of 102 |
| High wind and dust storms | 68 | 68 | 1996-2025 | 0 | 0 | $2.2M | 8 of 102 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 65 | 61 | 1978-2024 | 0 | 0 | $6.2M | 78 of 102 |
| Hail | 32 | 25 | 1973-2026 | 0 | 0 | $4K | 97 of 102 |
| Drought | 29 | 29 | 1998-2025 | 0 | 0 | $4.9M | 10 of 102 |
| Tornadoes | 12 | 10 | 1963-2025 | 0 | 13 | $2.4M | 94 of 102 |
| Heavy rain | 9 | 9 | 2011-2015 | 0 | 0 | – | 11 of 102 |
| Lightning | 2 | 2 | 2011-2020 | 0 | 0 | $154K | 34 of 102 |
| Wildfires | 1 | 1 | 2020-2020 | 0 | 0 | $11K | 4 of 102 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.
How many tornadoes has Gallatin County had?
NOAA records 12 tornadoes in Gallatin County from 1963 to 2025, the strongest rated EF4, with 0 deaths and 13 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.
Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 14 tornadoes whose track touched Gallatin County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 12: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 8 people, 0 of them in Gallatin County.
| Date | Tornado | Rating | Path | Killed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-02-29 04:51, as SPC files it | Harrisburg | EF4 | 26.09 mi | 8 |
| 1963-03-16 14:30, as SPC files it | Equality | F3 | 0.3 mi | 0 |
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Illinois.
Every tornado record filed for Gallatin County (12)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-05-16 | Kedron, Gallatin County | EF2 9.6 mi x 250 yd | 0 | 0 | $35K |
| 2024-04-02 | Cottonwood, Gallatin County | EF1 7.06 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $103K |
| 2024-04-02 | Ridgway, Gallatin County | EF1 0.98 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $75K |
| 2024-04-02 | Inman, Gallatin County | EF1 1.96 mi x 75 yd | 0 | 0 | $75K |
| 2012-02-29 | Equality, Gallatin County | EF4 10.16 mi x 300 yd | 0 | 13 | $1.3M |
| 2011-05-23 | Equality, Gallatin County | EF1 11.84 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 0 | $328K |
| 2002-04-24 | Equality, Gallatin County | F0 0.1 mi x 20 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1998-11-10 | Junction, Gallatin County | F0 0.2 mi x 0 yd | 0 | 0 | $36K |
| 1989-04-03 | Gallatin County | F0 0.2 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $30 step |
| 1975-01-10 | Gallatin County | F1 | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
| 1972-04-21 | Gallatin County | F1 | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1963-03-16 | Gallatin County | F3 0.3 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.
When was the last damaging storm in Gallatin County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the May 16, 2025 tornado ($35,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
An EF-2 tornado, with estimated peak winds of 115mph for the Gallatin County portion of the tornado and the tornado as a whole, began in far southeast Saline County and then crossed into southern Gallatin County along a 10 mile path. The most severe damage occurred near the start of the path along Gape Hollow Road, Forest Road, and Barrett Cemetery Roads, where several trees were snapped and wooden power poles were broken. The tornado then weakened to EF-0 intensity as it moved east across IL-1 near the Gibsonia community. The tornado lifted shy of of the Ohio River at Jester Road. This was the third tornado to be produced by the supercell that had developed the Williamson County EF-4 tornado earlier in the evening.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1274306)
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-27 | HailCottonwood, Gallatin County | 1.50 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-02-19 | Dense FogGallatin County · forecast zone Gallatin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-15 | Dense FogGallatin County · forecast zone Gallatin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-31 | Cold/Wind ChillGallatin County · forecast zone Gallatin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-25 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillGallatin County · forecast zone Gallatin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-24 | Winter StormGallatin County · forecast zone Gallatin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-23 | Cold/Wind ChillGallatin County · forecast zone Gallatin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-21 | Winter WeatherGallatin County · forecast zone Gallatin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-11-23 | Dense FogGallatin County · forecast zone Gallatin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-11-22 | Dense FogGallatin County · forecast zone Gallatin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-09-23 | Dense FogGallatin County · forecast zone Gallatin | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-09-14 | DroughtGallatin County · forecast zone Gallatin | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.
The deadliest and costliest records
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-07-18 | HeatGallatin County · forecast zone Gallatin Prolonged heat and humidity during the latter half of July took its toll on the unprepared. Four fatalities were blamed on the heat, including two in Wayne County. Near Fairfield, a 78-year-old man died after driving his riding lawn mower to a trucking firm to gather landscape rocks. The man was found near a pile of ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2012-02-29 | TornadoEquality, Gallatin County The tornado crossed into Gallatin County from Saline County in the vicinity of Illinois Highway 142. The tornado moved east-northeast through very sparsely populated farm country before striking Ridgway directly. In Ridgway, the tornado damaged about 140 homes and businesses, causing one critical injury and about a ... | EF4 10.16 mi x 300 yd | 0 | 13 | $1.3M |
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-04-19 | Thunderstorm WindRidgway, Gallatin County | 78 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $2.6M |
| 2021-06-12 | Thunderstorm WindCottonwood, Gallatin County | 61 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1.7M |
| 2008-03-18 | FloodRidgway, Gallatin County | 0 | 0 | $1.6M | |
| 2012-02-29 | TornadoEquality, Gallatin County | EF4 10.16 mi x 300 yd | 0 | 13 | $1.3M |
| 2011-05-25 | Thunderstorm WindEquality, Gallatin County | 78 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $525K |
| 2011-05-01 | FloodShawneetown, Gallatin County | 0 | 0 | $525K | |
| 2005-01-05 | FloodGallatin County · forecast zone Gallatin | 0 | 0 | $453K | |
| 2004-05-27 | Thunderstorm WindCountywide, Gallatin County | 90 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $391K |
Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $25K, in the dollars of the day) holds: March 16, 1963 (tornado, Gallatin County); April 21, 1972 (tornado, Gallatin County).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.
Is it getting more frequent?
Records per decade for Gallatin County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floods | – | – | – | – | 24 | 59 | 65 | 23 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | – | – | – | – | 5 | 18 | 60 z | 30 |
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 10 | 30 | 50 | 21 |
| Heat | – | – | – | – | 6 | 13 | 38 | 28 |
| Extreme cold | – | – | – | – | 3 | 26 | 25 | 22 |
| High wind and dust storms | – | – | – | – | 4 | 14 | 31 | 19 |
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds in the 2010s: 60 records against 18 in the decade before, 59 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the Gallatin County days with a record above.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).
What time of year?
Records by month in Gallatin County. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 99 · Feb 98 · Mar 72 · Apr 92 · May 54 · Jun 53 · Jul 78 · Aug 43 · Sep 22 · Oct 34 · Nov 47 · Dec 82 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Gallatin County
FEMA's register lists 11 declarations that include Gallatin County: 8 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (5) and biological (2).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-03-26 | DR-4489 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3435 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2011-06-07 | DR-1991 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 2009-07-02 | DR-1850 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes |
| 2009-03-02 | DR-1826 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 2005-09-07 | EM-3230 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 2005-02-01 | EM-3199 | Snowstorm | Record/Near Record Snow |
| 2002-05-21 | DR-1416 | Tornado | Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding |
| 1997-03-21 | DR-1170 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 1996-05-06 | DR-1112 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 1973-04-26 | DR-373 | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.
How many floods has Gallatin County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 171 flood or flash flood records for Gallatin County from 1996 to 2025, on 164 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Gallatin County ranks 1689th of 2,942 U.S. counties.
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $870,000 on 47 claims filed in Gallatin County; the most in one year was 22 in 2011. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1978: 1 · 1979: 2 · 1982: 2 · 1983: 1 · 1991: 1 · 1997: 12 · 2005: 3 · 2006: 1 · 2008: 1 · 2011: 22 · 2026: 1; the other years: 0.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.
FEMA's modeled risk for Gallatin County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Gallatin County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $6.9 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | $366K | 6.1 modeled event-days a year |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | $515K | 4.1 a year (modeled) |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | $1.7M | once in about 126 years (modeled) |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | $624K | 9.5 modeled event-days a year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | $50K | about once a year (modeled) |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | $36K | 7.7 a year (modeled) |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | $475K | once in about 4 years (modeled) |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Low | $2.7M | 5.7 a year (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Gallatin County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.
Next
- Tornadoes in IllinoisEvery Illinois tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
- Floods in IllinoisThe state's floods and flash floods, by county, year and month
- The Illinois recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
- FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Gallatin CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Gallatin County's FEMA declarations (CSV)11 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis