Illinois natural disasters

The state's storm and disaster record · population 12,804,624 · 102 counties and county equivalents

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 66,756 storm events in Illinois since 1950, 59,735 of them since 1996 when every event type began to be recorded, and the Storm Prediction Center counts 3,149 tornadoes in the state since 1950. The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events (22,068). In NOAA's storm record since 1950, the deadliest event in Illinois is the July 28, 1999 heat in Cook County: 99 deaths across 3 records. FEMA has made 68 declarations for Illinois since 1957, 66 for natural hazards; 59 were major disasters.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm events recorded in Illinois each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).

recorded, no damage figure
under $1 million
$1 million or more
$10 million or more
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
$1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
a year with a death
1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
1996: all 48 event types from 1996

Storm events recorded: 66,7561950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded: 1,1746,499 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $15.4Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes (SPC): 3,1491950 to 2025
FEMA declarations: 6859 major disasters

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); tornado count: NOAA Storm Prediction Center, 1950-2025; damage in 2025 dollars (BLS CPI-U). Search the record at NCEI.

What natural disasters happen in Illinois?

By NOAA's records, Illinois's most frequent hazards are severe thunderstorm wind events (22,068), hail reports (12,331), winter storm records (8,149); the deadliest are heat records (425 deaths). Each hazard is counted over the years NOAA has recorded it everywhere: tornadoes since 1950, hail and thunderstorm wind since 1955, everything else since 1996. Open a hazard for its years, months, counties and worst events.

Illinois: records by hazard to June 30, 2026
Hazard	Records	Last 10 years	Killed	Injured	Damage	Counties
Severe thunderstorm wind	22,068	7,277	37	703	$1.1B	102 of 102
Hail	12,331	3,060	0	47	$332M	102 of 102
Winter storms	8,149	2,395	116	329	$118M	102 of 102
Floods	6,507	2,067	61	41	$3.4B	102 of 102
Tornadoes	3,647	990	236	4,649	$8.6B	102 of 102
Heat	3,276	1,103	425	444	$996K	102 of 102
High wind and dust storms	2,862	1,284	25	119	$73M	102 of 102
Extreme cold	2,679	1,040	211	6	$48M	102 of 102
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds	2,535	929	10	54	$279K	93 of 102
Drought	1,586	530	0	0	$1.6B	102 of 102
Heavy rain	613	187	5	1	$1.8M	66 of 102
Lightning	447	56	22	90	$34M	79 of 102
Rip currents and high surf	32	27	26	11	–	2 of 102
Wildfires	22	7	0	5	$6.2M	18 of 102
Landslides and avalanches	2	0	0	0	$80K	2 of 102

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: every record counted once in the state; "last 10 years" is 2017-2026 (2026 to June 30, 2026).

What were the deadliest disasters in Illinois?

The storms with the most deaths since 1950, from the National Weather Service's own entries. NOAA files one storm as several records when it crosses forecast zones and counties or changes type, and groups them under one episode; each row here is an episode, with its totals and the narrative of its deadliest record. Before 1996 tornado records carry no episode and stand alone. The narrative says what happened: some deaths the National Weather Service files under a weather type had another cause beside the weather.

Illinois: the 10 storm episodes with the most deaths
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
1999-07-28	HeatCook County · forecast zone Cook One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. An intense heat wave began in the Chicago metropolitan area July 28th and continued through the morning of July 31st. High temperatures on the 28th were in the lower to middle 90s with heat indices 100 to 105. On the 29th the temperatures soared to the middle and upper 90s with heat indices 110 to 120. The heat peaked ...		99	0	–
1967-04-21	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Chicago, killed 33 (SPC) · TornadoCook County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (19, in 14 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F4 15 mi x 200 yd	58	1,051	$25M step
1990-08-28	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Plainfield, killed 29 (SPC) · TornadoWill County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (3, in 3 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F5 11.2 mi x 600 yd	29	350	$250M step
2012-07-04	Excessive HeatCook County · forecast zone Cook Northern Illinois experienced an intense heat wave during the first week of July. High temperatures at Chicago O'Hare Airport reached 102 on the 4th, 103 on the 5th and 6th and 98 on the 7th. Low temperatures remained in the upper 70s to lower 80s during much of the heat wave with a low temperature of just 82 degrees ...		25	0	$964K
2006-08-01	HeatCook County · forecast zone Cook The second heat wave of the summer developed during late July 2006 and continued into early August. See Stormdata, July 2006, Illinois, Northeast. The high temperature at Northerly Island in downtown Chicago reached 99 on August 1st and 96 on August 2nd. The peak heat reached 115 on August 1st and 114 on August 2nd. ...		24	0	–
2011-07-17	HeatCook County · forecast zone Cook The Chicago area experienced an intense heat wave in mid to late July. High temperatures at Chicago O'Hare were 95 on the 17th, 92 on the 18th, 93 on the 19th, 99 on the 20th, and 99 on the 21st. Low temperatures were mostly in the 70s. Thunderstorms brought some relief on the 22nd and 23rd but temperatures remained ...		16	0	–
1997-06-21	HeatCook County · forecast zone Cook From the period of June 21st through June 30th, temperatures were in the middle 80s to lower 90s, causing heat-related deaths throughout the Chicago area.		16	0	–
2011-02-01	BlizzardCook County · forecast zone Cook One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. A powerful and enormous winter storm moved across northern Illinois with blizzard conditions across much of the area which paralayzed the region. Light snow began falling across parts of northern Illinois during the moring hours of February 1st but the heavy snow associated with the main storm system spread north ...		14	2	$689K
2001-08-06	HeatCook County · forecast zone Cook The high temperature climbed to 92 degrees at Ohare Airport on August 6th with a maximum heat index of 93 degrees. Heat indices arond the Chicago metro area were in the middle 90s. On August 7th, the high temperature was 95 at Ohare Airport with a heat index of 105 degrees, maximum heat indices around the metro area ...		14	0	–
1957-12-18	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Murphysboro, killed 11 (SPC) · TornadoJackson County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (22, in 14 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F4 19.5 mi x 300 yd	13	269	$2.5M step

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 direct and indirect, as filed in this state, summed over the records of each episode (EPISODE_ID); a forecast-zone record counts the zone's deaths once. A tornado's whole-track deaths (SPC), on the state's tornado page, can be higher when the track crossed a state line. Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest records in Illinois

Illinois: the 8 records with the most damage since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2013-11-17	TornadoMarquette Hgts, Tazewell County	EF4 14.16 mi x 880 yd	3	121	$1.2B
2023-07-02	Flash FloodEvanston, Cook County		0	0	$484M
2010-07-24	Flash FloodBryn Mawr, Cook County		0	0	$343M
2009-05-08	Thunderstorm WindCarterville, Williamson County	87 kt wind	0	23	$241M
2025-08-17	Flash FloodHegewisch, Cook County		0	0	$230M
2025-07-25	Flash FloodBurr Ridge, Cook County		0	0	$200M
2011-06-17	Flash FloodMeredosia, Morgan County		0	0	$197M
2018-12-01	TornadoPalmer, Christian County	EF3 12.49 mi x 900 yd	0	22	$140M

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $250M, in the dollars of the day) holds: August 28, 1990 (tornado, Will County, 29 killed); May 29, 1982 (tornado, Williamson County, 10 killed).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. BLS consumer price index.

Which counties in Illinois have the most records?

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950 attributed to each county (forecast-zone records count on every county the zone covers).

Every county in Illinois

Billion-dollar disasters in Illinois

NOAA counted 128 weather or climate disasters from 1980-2024 that cost at least $1 billion (adjusted for inflation) and affected Illinois, led by severe storm (92). The most recent: Central and Eastern Tornado Outbreak and Severe Weather (2024); Hurricane Beryl (2024); Central and Northeast Severe Weather (2024).

Illinois: billion-dollar disasters by type, 1980-2024
Type	Events	Total cost (NOAA's range)
Severe Storm	92	$20.0B-$50.0B
Drought	12	$10.0B-$20.0B
Winter Storm	12	$2.0B-$5.0B
Flooding	8	$10.0B-$20.0B
Freeze	2	$250M-$500M
Tropical Cyclone	2	$1.0B-$2.0B

Every one of the 128, newest first

Central and Eastern Tornado Outbreak and Severe Weather2024
Hurricane Beryl2024
Central and Northeast Severe Weather2024
Upper Midwest Flooding2024
Central Tornado Outbreak2024
Central, Southern, Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central, Southern, Southeastern Tornado Outbreak2024
Central and Southern Tornado Outbreak2024
Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central and Southern Severe Weather2024
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central, Southern, Northeastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2024
North Central and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Northeastern Flooding and North Central Severe Weather2023
Central Severe Weather2023
Central Severe Weather2023
Central Severe Weather2023
Central and Southern Severe Weather2023
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Southern/Midwestern Drought and Heatwave2023
Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Central and Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2022
North Central and Eastern Severe Weather2022
Central Derecho2022
Southern Severe Weather2022
Southern Tornado Outbreak2022
Midwest Derecho and Tornado Outbreak2021
Southeast, Central Tornado Outbreak2021
North Central Severe Weather2021
Central Severe Storms2021
Ohio Valley Hail Storms2021
Eastern Severe Weather2021
Northwest, Central, Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2021
Central Severe Weather - Derecho2020
Central Severe Weather2020
South, Central and Eastern Severe Weather2020
North Central and Ohio Valley Hail Storms and Severe Weather2020
Midwest and Ohio Valley Severe Weather2020
Southeast Tornadoes and Northern Storms and Flooding2020
Rockies, Central and Northeast Tornadoes and Severe Weather2019
Central Severe Weather2019
Mississippi River, Midwest and Southern Flooding2019
Southeast, Ohio Valley and Northeast Severe Weather2019
Central and Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Weather2018
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2018
Central and Northeast Severe Weather2018
Midwest Severe Weather2017
Midwest Severe Weather2017
North Central Severe Weather and Tornadoes2017
Missouri and Arkansas Flooding and Central Severe Weather2017
Midwest Tornado Outbreak2017
Central/Southeast Tornado Outbreak2017
West Virginia Flooding and Ohio Valley Tornadoes2016
Plains Tornadoes and Central Severe Weather2016
South/Southeast Tornadoes2016
Southeast and Eastern Tornadoes2016
Texas Tornadoes and Midwest Flooding2015
Central and Northeast Severe Weather2015
Midwest/Ohio Valley Severe Weather2015
Central and Eastern Winter storm, Cold Wave2015
Rockies/Midwest/Eastern Severe Weather2014
Center Severe Weather2014
Central Severe Weather2014
Plains Severe Weather2014
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm2014
Ohio Valley Tornadoes2013
Midwest/Plains/Northeast Tornadoes2013
Midwest/Plains/East Tornadoes2013
Illinois Flooding and Severe Weather2013
Western/Plains Drought/Heat Wave2013
Plains/East/Northeast Derecho2012
Midwest/Ohio Valley Severe Weather2012
U.S. Drought/Heat Wave2012
Rockies and Midwest Derecho2011
North Central Severe Weather2011
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes and Severe Weather2011
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes2011
Southeast/Ohio Valley/Midwest Tornadoes2011
Ohio Valley Derecho and Southern Tornadoes2011
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes and Derecho2011
Southern Plains/Southwest Drought and Heat Wave2011
Groundhog Day Blizzard2011
Midwest/Northeast Severe Storms and Flooding2010
Rockies/Central/East Severe Weather2010
Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas Tornadoes and Severe Weather2010
Central Derecho and Tornadoes2009
Hurricane Ike2008
Midwest/Mid-Atlantic Severe Weather2008
Midwest Tornadoes and Severe Weather2008
Midwest Flooding2008
Western, Central and Northeast Severe Weather2008
Spring Freeze2007
Central Severe Weather2006
North Central Severe Weather and Tornadoes2006
Midwest Tornadoes2006
Severe Storms and Tornadoes2006
Midwest Drought2005
Severe Storms, Hail, Tornadoes2004
Southern Derecho and Eastern Severe Weather2003
Midwest/Plains Severe Weather2003
Severe Storms/Tornadoes2003
Severe Storms/Hail2003
Western/Central Drought/Heat Wave2003
Severe Storms and Tornadoes2002
U.S. Drought2002
Midwest/Ohio Valley Hail and Tornadoes2001
Oklahoma and Kansas Tornadoes1999
Central and Eastern Winter Storm1999
Central and Eastern Winter Storm1999
Central and Eastern Severe Storms and Flooding1998
Central, Southern and Northeast Drought/Heat Wave1995
South Plains Severe Weather1995
Midwest/Plains Tornadoes1994
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1994
Northern Plains and Ohio Valley Severe Weather1993
Midwest Flooding1993
Severe Storms, Tornadoes1991
U.S. Drought1991
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1989
Northern Plains Drought1989
U.S. Drought/Heat Wave1988
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1985
Tornadoes, Severe Storms, Floods1984
Freeze/Cold Wave1983
Severe Storms1982
Midwest/Plains/Southeast Tornadoes1982
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm, Cold Wave1982
Central/Eastern Drought/Heat Wave1980

Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters, state summary for Illinois, 1980-2024 (NCEI's last update; the product is archived). A disaster that affected several states counts in each. NCEI billion-dollar disasters.

Federal disaster declarations in Illinois

FEMA has made 68 declarations for Illinois since 1957: 59 major disasters, 9 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. The most common incident types are severe storm (26), flood (19), tornado (11).

1950s 1
1960s 6
1970s 8
1980s 8
1990s 14
2000s 18
2010s 6
2020s 7

The 15 most recent declarations in Illinois
Declared	Number	Type	Title	Areas named
2024-09-20	DR-4819	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Floodng	7
2023-11-20	DR-4749	Flood	Severe Storms and Flooding	1
2023-08-15	DR-4728	Severe Storm	Severe Storms and Flooding	22
2022-10-14	DR-4676	Flood	Severe Storm and Flooding	1
2021-12-13	EM-3577	Tornado	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes	14
2020-03-26	DR-4489	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	102
2020-03-13	EM-3435	Biological	Covid-19	102
2019-09-19	DR-4461	Flood	Severe Storms and Flooding	28
2013-11-26	DR-4157	Tornado	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes	15
2013-05-10	DR-4116	Flood	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding	47
2011-06-07	DR-1991	Severe Storm	Severe Storms and Flooding	21
2011-03-17	DR-1960	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm	65
2010-08-19	DR-1935	Severe Storm	Severe Storms and Flooding	11
2009-07-02	DR-1850	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes	8
2009-03-02	DR-1826	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm	9

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

Flood insurance claims in Illinois

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $584 million on 51,163 claims in 101 Illinois counties. Claims count insured losses only.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk across Illinois's counties

How FEMA's National Risk Index rates Illinois's counties overall: a model of expected future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of events.

Very High 1
Relatively High 5
Relatively Moderate 14
Relatively Low 45
Very Low 37

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.