LaSalle County, Illinois

What hazards hit LaSalle County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 403 since 1960. 47% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1960 fell in June and July. 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.

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 LaSalle County had?

NOAA records 67 tornadoes in LaSalle County from 1955 to 2026, the strongest rated EF3, with 10 deaths and 56 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 66 tornadoes whose track touched LaSalle County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 67: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 13 people, 10 of them in LaSalle County.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Illinois.

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 LaSalle County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 11, 2026 tornado (7 injuries).

A tornado which touched down near Long Point in Livingston County, moved northeast and crossed into LaSalle County just east of Prairie Grove Road and was likely at peak intensity as it crossed into LaSalle County as well as at its maximum width of 600 yards. The tornado heavily damaged several houses along E 12th Street and Sunbury Drive. Only the inner-most walls of a one-story house on E 12th Street remained standing. Two people in the house were both injured, a woman who suffered lacerations across her body and a man who suffered leg or ankle injuries and was rescued by police officers. A total of 7 people were injured in this area, 4 of whom were transported to a local hospital. The tornado crossed Route 18 and moved generally north along Airport Road. Just north of Route 18, a garage and a farm outbuilding were destroyed and a house suffered minor roof damage. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1342023)

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

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: 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 LaSalle 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).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

47% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1960 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for LaSalle County

FEMA's register lists 20 declarations that include LaSalle County: 14 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (6) and snowstorm (5).

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 LaSalle County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 81 flood or flash flood records for LaSalle County from 1996 to 2025, on 63 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), LaSalle County ranks 426th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $12.7 million on 680 claims filed in LaSalle County; the most in one year was 111 in 2008. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

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 LaSalle County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates LaSalle County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $60.5 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.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with LaSalle County

1. LaSalle County 935
2. Bureau County 832
3. DeKalb County 654
4. Woodford County 588
5. Livingston County 563
6. Lee County 539
7. Kendall County 507
8. Grundy County 495
9. Marshall County 397
10. Putnam County 373

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
• Severe thunderstorm wind in IllinoisThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, 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 LaSalle CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download LaSalle County's FEMA declarations (CSV)20 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis