Carbondale

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Jackson County, the county that contains Carbondale.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Jackson County, the county that contains Carbondale.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Jackson County, the county that contains Carbondale.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. May 8, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$100 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread wind damage occurred across Jackson County. Widespread damage to trees, power lines, and structures occurred as the comma head of a bow echo moved east across the county. In the city of Carbondale alone, officials reported 34 properties were deemed total losses from the storm. All but nine of those properties were mobile homes. Damage in the city alone (excluding Southern Illinois University) was estimated near 3 million dollars. Officials estimated about 3,000 trees were down or damaged in Carbondale alone, including the campus of Southern Illinois University. Officials in Murphysboro reported 17 dwellings in that city were total losses. One mobile home was blown over…

2. Feb 28, 2017Tornado$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This large tornado entered Jackson County from Randolph County near the community of Rockwood. The tornado originally began near Perryville, Missouri, where it achieved its peak intensity in the EF-4 category. The tornado crossed the entire width of Jackson County, entering the county about two miles from the Mississippi River. The tornado passed just south of Ava, clipped the southern edge of Vergennes, and then passed near the north edge of Elkville before exiting the northeast corner of the county. In Jackson County, the tornado reached a maximum intensity of EF-3 on the south end of Vergennes. Winds estimated near 145 mph destroyed a house. The wood house was not securely…

3. Mar 18, 2008Flood$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A large mobile home park east-northeast of Carbondale was flooded due to Crab Orchard Creek. Water was up to the bottom of mobile homes, and vehicles were submerged. Over 100 people were evacuated from the park. A business in Carbondale had two to six feet of water on the first floor. A two-day power outage affecting several buildings at Southern Illinois University was caused by water in manholes. Up to six feet of water was pumped out of a manhole before repairs could start. The small community of Makanda was cut off by flooded roads. A number of roads were closed by flooding, including Route 13, the main east-west artery through the county. At least one water rescue was…

4. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Jackson$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Frequent wind gusts from 60 to nearly 70 mph caused considerable damage in southern Illinois. The low pressure center that was the remnant of Hurricane Ike raced northeast at 40 to 50 mph across Missouri and Illinois. The center passed between Carbondale and St. Louis on its way toward the northeastern states. The rapid speed of the low pressure system contributed to this high wind event.||Considerable tree damage occurred. Trees were uprooted, and very large limbs were broken. Some trees fell on homes, outbuildings, and vehicles. Fewer than a dozen homes in each county were damaged by falling trees. Others fell on commercial and public buildings. Numerous trees or limbs fell on…

5. Apr 19, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   About one-third of the roof was blown off a brand new police station, landing on three nearby homes. The police station suffered water damage, and the nearby homes were heavily damaged. There were numerous trees and power lines blown down in the city. On the Southern Illinois University campus, windows were broken at an academic building, and a tree landed on a residence hall. Carbondale city schools were closed the following day since thousands of utility customers remained without power.

6. Apr 19, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A Wal-mart store was partially unroofed, a house trailer was overturned, and many trees were blown down. A wind gust to 63 MPH was measured at Carbondale Airport. Several businesses in and near Murphysboro sustained roof damage, which allowed rain to damage the interior of the buildings. Mobile homes were severely damaged just east of Murphysboro. The Murphysboro Civic Center was heavily damaged when its roof was partially blown off, allowing the interior to flood. Power was out for up to 16 hours.

7. May 2, 2002Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm produced very large hail as it moved east across Jackson and Williamson Counties. The largest hail, which was between golf ball and tennis ball size, occurred in a swath parallel to and just south of Illinois Route 13. Large hail up to half-dollar size was reported as far north as Desoto and Johnston City. The hailstorm clipped the northeast corner of Johnson County, producing hail up to golf ball size. Extensive damage occurred to vehicles and some building exteriors. Windshields were broken. One insurance company reported 66 auto and 81 property damage claims.

8. Jan 1, 2016Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Mississippi River levels continued their climb from December, and record or near-record flooding occurred early in the month. The river gage at Thebes downriver in Alexander County crested at a new record of 47.74 feet on the 2nd. However, the river gage upriver at Chester in Randolph County did not break a record. A voluntary evacuation of the community of Grand Tower was requested, partly due to weaknesses in the levees along the Mississippi and Big Muddy Rivers. Grand Tower sits at the confluence of the Big Muddy and Mississippi Rivers. A Red Cross shelter was opened at Murphysboro. Illinois state highway department crews transported 50,000 sandbags and 100 rolls of plastic for…

9. Sep 22, 2006Tornado$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado crossed the Mississippi River from Perry County, Missouri. The tornado weakened from its maximum F-4 intensity to F-2 intensity by the time it entered Jackson County in the Mississippi River bottomlands near Wilkinson Island. At this location, the wall of an old two-story farmhouse was blown out, and the roof was blown off. Hundreds of trees were broken off. Tree damage was visible across the river in Perry County, Missouri. The path width was estimated to be 200 yards wide on the Jackson County side of the river. Before reaching Illinois Route 3, the F-2 tornado widened to 250 yards and destroyed a mobile home. A resident of the mobile home was sent to the hospital.…

10. Feb 11, 2008Winter Storm, Jackson$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Low pressure developed over the southern Plains, spreading widespread heavy precipitation across southern Illinois. At the same time, high pressure over the upper Ohio Valley produced a cold easterly wind flow. The result was a crippling ice storm. Around one inch of ice caused extensive damage across far southern Illinois, along and south of a line from Carbondale and Marion to Harrisburg and Carmi. Many of those same areas received three to six inches of sleet and snow. The most destructive icing occurred in an east to west band across Union, Johnson, Massac, and Pope Counties. The state designated most counties in southern Illinois as a disaster area. Numerous trees and power…

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

113°FAug 9, 1930

All-time low

−25°FJan 11, 1977

Warmest night

84°FAug 6, 1900

Coldest day

−3°FDec 23, 1989

Wettest day

6.90 inJun 17, 2000

Snowiest day

10.0 inFeb 26, 1979

Hottest year

1921mean 60.6°F

Coldest year

1979mean 52.4°F

Wettest year

194574.50 in

Driest year

190121.58 in

Snowiest season

50.4 in1911-12

Station Carbondale Sewage Plt (USC00111265), 390 ft elevation, 3.2 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1898 to October 28, 2026; 97.9% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Jackson County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00111265.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.