Woodford County, Illinois

What hazards hit Woodford County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 224 since 1966. 55% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1966 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 Woodford County had?

NOAA records 54 tornadoes in Woodford County from 1954 to 2026, the strongest rated F4, with 0 deaths and 12 injuries recorded in the county. That is 4th of 102 Illinois counties and 96th 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 54 tornadoes whose track touched Woodford County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 54, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 3 people, 0 of them in Woodford 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 Woodford County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the July 15, 2020 flood ($11.4 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

Heavy rainfall of 5 to 7 inches brought widespread flash flooding to much of Woodford County, including the city of Roanoke, during the afternoon of July 15th. Once the rain ended, the water continued to rise and cause significant issues in Roanoke through the morning of July 16th. 71 homes and 15 businesses were flooded, including 10 homes and 5 businesses with major flooding. Several basement walls and foundations collapsed within the structures impacted by major flooding. 10 people were rescued by boat due to the high water. In addition, Route 116 was closed in and just east of Roanoke.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 914247)

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 Woodford 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?

55% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1966 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 Woodford County

FEMA's register lists 14 declarations that include Woodford County: 11 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (4) and severe storm (3).

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 Woodford County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 48 flood or flash flood records for Woodford County from 1997 to 2026, on 37 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Woodford County ranks 487th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $5.1 million on 518 claims filed in Woodford County; the most in one year was 129 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 Woodford County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Woodford County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $21.9 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 Woodford County

1. McLean County 1,003
2. LaSalle County 935
3. Tazewell County 913
4. Peoria County 875
5. Woodford County 588
6. Livingston County 563
7. Marshall County 397

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 Woodford CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Woodford County's FEMA declarations (CSV)14 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis