Columbia

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 Monroe County, the county that contains Columbia.

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 Monroe County, the county that contains Columbia.

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. Dec 1, 2006Winter Storm, Monroe$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A major winter storm hit Western and Southern Illinois from November 30 through December 1, 2006. Up to a foot of snow fell across West Central Illinois while up to an inch of ice and sleet accumulated across Southwest Illinois, including the St. Louis area. Up to 300,000 customers lost electric service across Southwest and Southern Illinois due to downed power lines. In some areas it took a week to get the power restored. Many rural schools were closed for several days due to slick roads and power outages. Numerous buildings and automobiles were damaged by fallings trees and tree limbs. Damages will likely approach $100 million. Following is a short summary of how the storm…

2. May 6, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm wind gusts destroyed 2 large livestock buildings at a dairy farm near Ames. Damage was estimated at $300,000 to $500,000.

3. Mar 14, 2025Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   At approximately 9:52 PM a tornado began southwest of Valmeyer, IL in Monroe County and continued northeast where it impacted the towns of Valmeyer and Waterloo. The worst damage was to residences and small businesses within these municipalities. From Waterloo the tornado moved into a rural area where it produced minor tree damage along the Monroe/St. Clair County border. In Monroe County the tornado was rated EF-1 with a path length of 12.3 miles and maximum path width of 275 yards.

4. May 7, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm wind gusts caused damage at a couple of farms on Griggs Road in southeast Monroe County. A couple of machine sheds were destroyed, damaging the tractors and other farm equipment inside. Some silos and grain bins were also damaged.

5. Apr 20, 2025Tornado$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down at 8:00 PM along Koch Road, southeast of Madonnaville, and moved northeast, producing minor damage to a home and an outbuilding along Rock Road. Further to the northeast along LRC Road the tornado overturned an outbuilding and caused tree damage. More tree damage and minor outbuilding roof damage occurred along JJ road as the tornado tracked northeast between Wartburg and Burksville. The tornado moved into southern Waterloo and produced minor roof damage to one of the greenhouses at Waterloo High School before turning to the east and damaging power poles along Highway 156. The power pole damage was the worst damage and winds were estimated as high as 100…

6. Aug 26, 2025Dense Fog, Monroe$19,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   At around 6 AM CDT, deputies were called to the seen of an overturned vehicle with an individual thrown from it at the intersection of Fountain and Levee Roads. The person was pronounced dead at the scene. The official investigation determined that extreme fog was the cause of the accident.

7. Apr 20, 2025Tornado$15,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A brief and weak tornado touched down along EE Road just south of Gilmore Lake and quickly moved northeast before dissipating at the intersection of EE Road and Gilmore Lake Road at 8:13 PM. When the tornado touched down it overturned an outbuilding, and was rated at 99 mph (EF-1) at this point. Tree damage was also recorded. The tornado dissipated shortly thereafter at 8:07 PM.The tornado was rated EF-1 with a path length of 0.35 miles and a maximum path width of 100 yards.

8. Apr 15, 1998Tornado$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A small tornado initially touched down southeast of Waterloo and then moved northeast leaving an intermittent damage path, which primarily consisted of downed trees. A parked ambulance was overturned at the intersection of Highways 159 and 156 near Hecker. The tornado moved along the Kaskaskia River downing trees finally dissipating near Fayettville.

9. May 26, 2024Tornado$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado crossed from St. Louis County into Monroe County (Illinois) about 3.5 miles west of Columbia. As it tracked to the east it snapped off several tree limbs and caused a small farm shed to collapse after the walls were blown out along DD Road, just west of intersection with Westgate Drive. Then as it moved into the northern portions of Columbia, it uprooted a large tree before lifting and dissipating. In Monroe County, the tornado was rated EF0 with a path length of 3.47 miles and a max path width of 25 yards. Overall, the tornado was rated EF1 with a path length of 8.81 miles and a max path width of 172 yards. No deaths or injuries were reported.

10. May 25, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$5,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Thunderstorm winds took the roof off the Waterloo High School Baseball stadium equipment shed and one dugout. Storm spotters reported large tree limbs down. Power lines were also down and a couple of roads were blocked by the trees limbs. County highway department personnel had to remove trees from Tout Hollow Road, LL Road, Beck Road, and Bluff Road.

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

110°FJul 14, 1954

All-time low

−27°FJan 17, 1977

Warmest night

88°F2 times, most recently May 19, 1996

Coldest day

−4°FDec 22, 1989

Wettest day

8.15 inJun 15, 1957

Snowiest day

14.8 inJan 31, 1982

Hottest year

2012mean 60.6°F

Coldest year

1979mean 53.1°F

Wettest year

200856.83 in

Driest year

195320.56 in

Snowiest season

36.6 in1981-82

Station Belleville Siu Rsch (USW00013802), 450 ft elevation, 20.4 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 25, 2026; 97.8% 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 Monroe 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 USW00013802.
• 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.