Livingston County, Illinois

What hazards hit Livingston County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 203 since 1958. 44% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1958 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 Livingston County had?

NOAA records 58 tornadoes in Livingston County from 1950 to 2026, the strongest rated EF3, with 1 death and 17 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 54 tornadoes whose track touched Livingston County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 58: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 5 people, 1 of them in Livingston 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 Livingston County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 22, 2016 tornado (4 injuries).

The tornado started just under two tenths of a mile north of the intersection of E 2000 N Rd and County Highway 13. As it moved southeast and crossed N 900 E Rd, there were numerous trees snapped and the path width was approximately 250 ft. At a house near E 1900 N Rd, there were other trees snapped. When the tornado crossed E 1800 N Rd, it strengthened to EF-2 and a barn was totally destroyed, and electrical transmission lines were broken. As it moved southeast past the intersection of Rt 116 and Interstate 55, a small retail building had the exterior walls collapsed. At a mobile home park off S. Ladd St, a mobile home was pushed off its foundation and destroyed. Near the intersection of N 1725 E Rd and E 1550 N Rd, the tornado was 1/4 mile in width and there were 3 snapped power poles and a silo in a field. Peak winds were estimated at 125 mph, and max width was 440 yards. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 648258)

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

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 Livingston 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?

44% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1958 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 Livingston County

FEMA's register lists 11 declarations that include Livingston County: 7 major disasters, 4 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for snowstorm (3) and biological (2).

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 Livingston County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 47 flood or flash flood records for Livingston County from 1998 to 2026, on 39 days, with 2 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Livingston County ranks 782nd of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $2.0 million on 282 claims filed in Livingston County; the most in one year was 158 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 Livingston County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Livingston County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $32.8 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 Livingston County

1. McLean County 1,003
2. LaSalle County 935
3. Kankakee County 698
4. Woodford County 588
5. Livingston County 563
6. Grundy County 495
7. Ford County 380

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 Livingston CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Livingston County's FEMA declarations (CSV)11 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis