McDonough County, Illinois

What hazards hit McDonough County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 256 since 1969. 51% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1969 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 McDonough County had?

NOAA records 44 tornadoes in McDonough County from 1957 to 2026, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 2 injuries recorded in the county. That is 21st of 102 Illinois counties and 278th of 3,080 U.S. counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. 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 44 tornadoes whose track touched McDonough County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 44, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

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 McDonough County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 20, 2025 thunderstorm wind ($10,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

The Emergency Manager reported that apartment roof was heavily damaged with the middle section of the roof removed on both sides. In coordination with Emergency Management and reviewing photos of the damage and areas around it, this was determined to be from straight line winds with a speed of 80 mph. the time of the event was estimated using radar.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1252014)

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 McDonough 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?

51% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1969 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 McDonough County

FEMA's register lists 11 declarations that include McDonough County: 6 major disasters, 5 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for snowstorm (4) and severe storm (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 McDonough County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 78 flood or flash flood records for McDonough County from 1997 to 2026, on 63 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), McDonough County ranks 2181st of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $133,000 on 16 claims filed in McDonough County; the most in one year was 3 in 1982. 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 McDonough County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates McDonough County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $10.1 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 McDonough County

1. McDonough County 786
2. Fulton County 758
3. Hancock County 710
4. Warren County 487
5. Henderson County 410
6. Schuyler County 326

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