Champaign

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.

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 Champaign County, the county that contains Champaign.

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.

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

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.

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. Nov 17, 2013Tornado$60.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down in an open field about 1 mile SE of Thomasboro at 12:45 PM CST and rapidly moved to the northeast. In less than a minute it increased in intensity, causing damage to 3 nearby farms and pushing 2 farm houses off their foundations. The tornado moved through open fields for about 2 miles at which time it widened to nearly 1/4 mile wide and became wrapped in rain. It destroyed 3 homes, several outbuildings, and damaged a few other homes before it moved into the town of Gifford. The rain-wrapped tornado was about 1/2 mile wide when it moved through the center of Gifford. Nearly 30 homes were destroyed, more than 40 suffered major damage, and around 125 had minor…

2. Jul 12, 2014Flash Flood$47.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Periods of thunderstorms with heavy rainfall produced rain rates of 1 to 2.5 inches for at least two hours from 0630-0830 LST in northwest and central Champaign County - including the cities of Champaign and Mahomet/Lake of the Woods. The highest rain totals ranged between 6.00 to 7.00 inches from Mahomet to the village of Foosland. Nearly all rural roads in northwest Champaign County were flooded with at least a foot of water. Illinois Route 47 from Gibson City to Mahomet, U.S. Highway 150 from Mansfield to Mahomet, and U.S. Highway 136 near Fisher were closed due to flooding. Parts of Interstate 74 from milepost 168 to 173 were impassable. Numerous streets and viaducts in…

3. Apr 19, 1996Tornado$9.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado briefly touched down 1 mile north of Savoy (near Rt. 45 and Curtis Road) and destroyed 3 homes under construction. Then the tornado lifted, travelled to the northeast, and touched down again 1 mile south of Urbana. The tornado destroyed 30 homes, caused moderate damage to 29 homes and one business, and minor damage to 54 homes and 4 businesses. Twelve people were injured and damage was estimated between $7 and $11 million.

4. Jul 11, 2020Hail$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Golf ball-sized hail on the east side of Urbana. The hail was driven by 60 mph winds which resulted in damage to hundreds of house roofs and numerous automobiles, including at a car dealership.

5. Jul 13, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$2.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of severe thunderstorms moved southeast across the eastern half of Champaign County. In Ludlow, at least 40 homes sustained minor to major damage as well as several businesses. Three large grain bins were destroyed and numerous trees and power lines were blown down. Widespread tree and power line damage was reported in Gifford, Penfield, Rantoul and Ogden. A semi was blown over on I-57 near Ludlow but the driver was not injured.

6. Feb 21, 2018Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Around 1.00 to 1.75 inches of rain fell onto frozen ground late on February 19th. This set the conditions for rapid flash flooding to occur on February 20th into the 21st when 3.00 to 5.00 of rain occurred. Numerous creeks and streams rapidly flooded in central and eastern Champaign County. Numerous roads in Champaign, Urbana, Savoy, St. Joseph, Rantoul and Thomasboro were impassable. Additional rainfall on February 22nd and 23rd resulted in storm total amounts ranging from 4.25 to 7.00 inches in central and eastern Champaign County. Roads in St. Joseph, Ogden, Homer and Sidney remained flooded for three days. A person attempting to cross a flooded road near the Salt Creek, north…

7. Sep 9, 2016Tornado$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down in a field 3.6 miles south of Sidney at 6:31pm CDT. The tornado tracked northeastward for more than two miles damaging corn and soybean crops before destroying a garage and a large shed. A car and large RV were also damaged. A barn was destroyed less than one mile away before the tornado moved into a cemetery, where it damaged several headstones and two trees. The most extensive damage occurred at a farmstead further northeast, where three outbuildings were destroyed and a house was pushed off its foundation causing it to collapse. The tornado then dissipated in a field 2.5 miles south of Homer at 6:50pm CDT.

8. May 21, 2014Hail$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant hail damage at Willard Airport in Savoy. Damage to several vehicles as well as minor damage to a B-17 aircraft.

9. Nov 17, 2013Tornado$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado crossed from Douglas County into Champaign County 5.3 miles SE of Pesotum at 12:52 PM CST, then tracked northeastward before lifting 2.7 NNW of Broadlands at 1:02 PM CST. The tornado moved through open fields for the first 2.5 miles in Champaign County, then took the roof off 1 home, destroyed about a dozen outbuildings, snapped numerous power poles and trees, and did roof damage to 6 homes. The tornado dissipated in a field 2.7 NNW of Broadlands.

10. Aug 24, 1997Thunderstorm Wind$700,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Thunderstorm winds caused considerable damage as they moved through the western portions of Champaign County. Several trees were blown over and an air conditioning unit was blown off of its concrete base in Mahomet. Also, a trampoline was blown 30 feet in the air and landed in a nearby tree. Nearby at the Lake of the Woods park, 25 trees were seriously damaged and a small metal shelter was lifted up and moved about 100 feet. As the severe thunderstorms moved southeast, thunderstorm winds extensively damaged two empty grain bin silos in Rising. One 60-foot high corrugated steel bin was flattened and another nearby was left standing but crumpled. Also, a small screen bin, a grain…

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

109°FJul 14, 1954

All-time low

−25°F3 times, most recently Jan 5, 1999

Warmest night

80°F2 times, most recently Aug 19, 1936

Coldest day

−12°FDec 24, 1983

Wettest day

5.32 inAug 12, 1993

Snowiest day

14.0 inMar 20, 1906

Hottest year

2012mean 55.6°F

Coldest year

1917mean 48.5°F

Wettest year

199358.54 in

Driest year

191423.82 in

Snowiest season

67.2 in1977-78

Station Champaign 3S (USC00118740), 722 ft elevation, 2.7 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1902 to October 27, 2026; 99.3% 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 Champaign 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 USC00118740.
• 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.