PlainHazard

Illinois drought

Every recorded drought record since 1996 · 102 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,586 drought records in Illinois from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 85 a year since 2000. The costliest was the September 1, 2012 drought ($959 million in 2025 dollars). Illinois ranks 17th of 51 states and territories by count and 23rd of 50 per square mile.

Drought in Illinois, 1996 to 2026

Drought records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • 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
Records
1,5861996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
85average
Deaths
00 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$1.6Bas filed
Busiest year
2012348 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are drought records common in Illinois?

Illinois averages about 85 drought records a year since 2000, 17th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2012 (348). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Illinois records 286 drought records since 1996, 23rd of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Hawaii 2624
  2. 2. New Jersey 1205
  3. 3. Delaware 1062
  4. 4. Oklahoma 971
  5. 5. Georgia 900
  6. 6. Texas 711
  7. 7. New Mexico 528
  8. 8. Alabama 527
  9. 9. Tennessee 477
  10. 10. Iowa 466
  11. 23. Illinois 286

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Illinois have the most drought records?

Per square mile, Pulaski County leads Illinois: 36 days with a drought record since 1996, 180.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Union County has the most drought records (60 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Pulaski County 180.7 (36)
  2. Hardin County 180.4 (32)
  3. Alexander County 157.2 (37)
  4. Massac County 147.6 (35)
  5. Edwards County 116.9 (47)
  6. Wabash County 116.4 (26)
  7. Pope County 94.9 (35)
  8. Putnam County 93.7 (15)
  9. Johnson County 93.1 (32)
  10. Gallatin County 89.8 (29)
  11. Union County 84.7 (60)
  12. Saline County 81.6 (55)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is drought season in Illinois?

Illinois's drought records by month. The busiest month is September (263 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 67 · Feb 78 · Mar 55 · Apr 12 · May 20 · Jun 140 · Jul 189 · Aug 226 · Sep 263 · Oct 217 · Nov 178 · Dec 141 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

The costliest drought records in Illinois

Illinois: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2012-09-01 DroughtChampaign County · forecast zone Champaign One storm episode: 27 records in 27 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $959M
2005-07-01 DroughtBureau County · forecast zone Bureau One storm episode: 13 records in 13 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $272M
2012-10-01 DroughtTazewell County · forecast zone Tazewell One storm episode: 8 records in 8 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $184M
2002-09-01 DroughtEdwards County and Richland County · forecast zone Edwards 0 0 $87M
2005-08-01 DroughtHenderson County · forecast zone Henderson One storm episode: 13 records in 13 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $73M
2007-09-01 DroughtJefferson County · forecast zone Jefferson One storm episode: 19 records in 19 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $4.9M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are drought records becoming more frequent in Illinois?

Illinois's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Drought: Illinois and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeIllinoisUnited StatesIllinois's share
1996-991215,6002.2%
2000s45018,5712.4%
2010s49331,4411.6%
2020-2652230,1471.7%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent drought records in Illinois

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-04-28 DroughtPope County · forecast zone Pope 0 0 –
2026-04-28 DroughtMassac County · forecast zone Massac 0 0 –
2026-04-28 DroughtPulaski County · forecast zone Pulaski 0 0 –
2026-04-28 DroughtAlexander County · forecast zone Alexander 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtFord County · forecast zone Ford 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtIroquois County · forecast zone Iroquois 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtLivingston County · forecast zone Livingston 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtLaSalle County · forecast zone La Salle 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtWoodford County · forecast zone Woodford 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtMarshall County · forecast zone Marshall 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtChampaign County · forecast zone Champaign 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtMcLean County · forecast zone McLean 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

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