Rock Island County, Illinois

What hazards hit Rock Island County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 306 since 1955. 54% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955 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 Rock Island County had?

NOAA records 41 tornadoes in Rock Island County from 1959 to 2025, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 17 injuries recorded in the county. That is 6th of 102 Illinois counties and 136th 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 40 tornadoes whose track touched Rock Island County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 41: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); 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 Rock Island County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 20, 2025 tornado ($1,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

An EF-0 tornado with maximum winds of 85 mph and a maximum width of 50 yards resulted in several trees being snapped and uprooted throughout the Cordova Cemetery, with many large branches snapped as well. As the tornado continued north, more damage to large tree branches was noted, along with an outdoor swing set and large farm irrigator damaged.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1251996)

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 Rock Island 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?

54% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955 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 Rock Island County

FEMA's register lists 15 declarations that include Rock Island County: 13 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (9) 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 Rock Island County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 120 flood or flash flood records for Rock Island County from 1997 to 2026, on 91 days, with 2 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Rock Island County ranks 181st of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $20.2 million on 2,132 claims filed in Rock Island County; the most in one year was 397 in 1979. 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 Rock Island County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Rock Island County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $45.4 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 Rock Island County

1. Scott County, IA 1,273
2. Henry County 905
3. Rock Island County 872
4. Clinton County, IA 833
5. Whiteside County 794
6. Muscatine County, IA 726
7. Mercer County 538
8. Louisa County, IA 457

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 Rock Island CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Rock Island County's FEMA declarations (CSV)15 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis