Sangamon County, Illinois

What hazards hit Sangamon County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 469 since 1955. 49% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955 fell in May and June. 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 Sangamon County had?

NOAA records 93 tornadoes in Sangamon County from 1954 to 2026, the strongest rated F4, with 3 deaths and 102 injuries recorded in the county. That is 19th of 102 Illinois counties and 264th 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 92 tornadoes whose track touched Sangamon County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 93: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 4 people, 3 of them in Sangamon 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 Sangamon County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the December 13, 2025 heavy snow (1 death).

Weather observers measured 5 to 6 inches of snow across Sangamon County...including 5.5 inches 4 miles west-southwest of Berry and 5.0 inches in Sherman. Due to snow-covered and slick roadways, numerous traffic accidents occurred. A multi-vehicle collision on I-55 near the Clear Lake exit in Springfield killed a 14-year old girl and prompted the closure of the interstate for several hours.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1301782)

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 Sangamon 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?

49% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955 fell in May and June. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Sangamon County

FEMA's register lists 12 declarations that include Sangamon County: 9 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (4) 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 Sangamon County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 83 flood or flash flood records for Sangamon County from 1996 to 2026, on 68 days, with 2 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Sangamon County ranks 755th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $3.7 million on 293 claims filed in Sangamon County; the most in one year was 36 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 Sangamon County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Sangamon County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $115 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 Sangamon County

1. Sangamon County 1,107
2. Macon County 716
3. Logan County 684
4. Macoupin County 649
5. Christian County 550
6. Montgomery County 533
7. Morgan County 476
8. Menard County 367
9. Cass County 319

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 Sangamon CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Sangamon County's FEMA declarations (CSV)12 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis