Edwardsville

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 Madison County, the county that contains Edwardsville.

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 Madison County, the county that contains Edwardsville.

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 Madison County, the county that contains Edwardsville.

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.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in Madison County.

Mapped by NASA (2).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jun 2, 2019Flood$24.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Mississippi River at Alton, IL remained at it's highest levels between the evening of June 2nd and the evening of June 12th. America's Central Port in Granite City sustained at least $11.25 million in damage from the river flooding. Overall, Madison County sustained at least $24.8 million from this river flood event.

2. Dec 10, 2021Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado began on the south side of I-270 around three-quarters of a mile west of the I-270/I-255 interchange at 8:27 PM CST. Damage in this area consisted of several downed highway signs and a bent light pole. The tornado moved northeast and intensified rapidly after crossing I-255, striking an Amazon warehouse. The west-facing walls of the warehouse collapsed inward, which was followed by multiple structural failures as the tornado moved through the complex, including the collapse of additional walls and the loss of a large segment of the roof. This was the worst damage along the entire tornado track rated EF-3. Cars in the rear of the building were strewn eastward and power…

3. Apr 10, 2001Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The 6th and last tornado spawned by the Heavy Precipitation Supercell that moved across the NWS St. Louis, County Warning Area, formed on the east side of Granite City and moved east into south Pontoon Beach. The tornado first damaged an apartment complex near Worthen Park. Two buildings were destroyed with 4 others suffering major to minor damage. Several cars in the parking lot were damaged by flying debris. One person was injured by flying glass. The tornado caused intermittent damage as it moved east across the Legacy Golf Course. Trees were downed and 3 homes suffered roof damage. In southern Pontoon Beach, one house was destroyed as the attached garage was blown away and the…

4. Dec 1, 2006Winter Storm, Madison$1.7 million
   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…

5. Aug 10, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm wind gusts caused damage at a marina along the Mississippi River in Alton. Several docks were damaged with the debris damaging several boats. Damage was estimated at $1 million. Trees and power lines were reported down in Roxana and Wood River. The local electric utility reported that up to 1200 customers lost power. At the ConocoPhilips oil refinery in Wood River, the power outage caused some spectacular flames to erupt from the burn towers. A company spokesperson said that was a normal procedure during a power outage because excess hydrocarbon products in the plant's processing units must be burned off to prevent explosions.

6. Apr 13, 1998Tornado$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The same thunderstorm that produced a tornado in St. Louis County produced another in Madison County from Granite City to Edwardsville. The tornado first caused damage on the northwest side of Granite City at the Nameoki Trailer Park where 5 mobile homes were damaged by downed trees. The tornado moved northeast to Pontoon Beach where about 6 homes suffered roof damage. The tornado weakened, but gained strength again and caused damage on the south side of Edwardsville, primarily at the intersection of Center Grove, Goshen, and Troy roads. Several businesses suffered roof damage in this area, among them a floor covering store, an autobody shop, and the Moose Lodge. A nearby daycare…

7. Jul 27, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An early morning microburst caused damage in the Granite City/Wood River areas. Most of the damage occurred at a marine dealership in Granite City. The roof was torn off, windows broken and a two story brick storage building was also destroyed. Damage was estimated at $500,000. Trees and power lines were also downed across the area.

8. Apr 15, 2023Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds blew off part of an outbuilding about a mile south of St. Jacob. Further east, about a quarter of a roof on a large horse barn was blown off. One of the horses was killed by the flying debris. Thirty five other horses busted out of their fences and stalls as they ran scared from the storm. The roof debris was thrown about a 100 yards to the east.

9. Feb 27, 1999Hail$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Golfball size hail damaged vehicles and some roofs in Edwardsville.

10. Apr 18, 2024Tornado$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A tornado touched down near Cooper Road, 4.3 miles northeast of Bethalto, damaging the roof on two farm buildings. Then it tracked to the east-northeast crossing Illinois Route 159. In this location, it caused considerable damage to two out buildings as well as trees and fences. It continued to the east northeast for another 2.7 miles before crossing Prairietown Road, causing minor roof damage to a house and major damage to an outbuilding, before lifting and dissipating. Overall, the tornado was rated EF1 (max wind speed of 95 mph) with a path length of 3.14 miles and a max path width of 75 yards. No deaths or injuries were reported.

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

115°FJul 14, 1954

All-time low

−18°FJan 20, 1985

Warmest night

86°FJul 25, 2012

Coldest day

−5°FDec 24, 1983

Wettest day

8.64 inJul 26, 2022

Snowiest day

12.4 inMar 24, 2013

Hottest year

2012mean 61.2°F

Coldest year

1978mean 53.4°F

Wettest year

201561.24 in

Driest year

195320.59 in

Snowiest season

66.0 in1977-78

Station St. Louis Lambert International Airport (USW00013994), 531 ft elevation, 20.9 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1938 to October 27, 2026; 100.0% 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 Madison 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 USW00013994.
• 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.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.