Joliet

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 large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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 Will County, the county that contains Joliet.

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 Will County, the county that contains Joliet.

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 Will County, the county that contains Joliet.

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. Jul 27, 2003Flash Flood$14.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of severe thunderstorms moved east across north central Illinois during the early afternoon hours of July 27th. Additional thunderstorms developed ahead of the first line across the southern portions of the Chicago Metro area producing very heavy rain and widespread flooding. As the first line of severe storms reached Lee county, numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down in Amboy in Lee county. Trees were blown down onto houses in West Brooklyn, also in Lee county. Winds as high as 65 mph blew down trees, large tree limbs and power lines across many locations in La Salle county. Trees were blown down in La Salle. Trees were uprooted near Lake Holiday in far…

2. Jun 7, 2008Tornado$5.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado developed near Ridgeland Avenue and Dralle Road, where a high tension metal truss tower collapsed and four others were damaged. Power lines blocked Interstate 57. The tornado destroyed a mobile home and outbuildings east of Ridgeland between Dralle and Stuenkel Roads before crossing Interstate 57. The tornado was rated EF2 in this area. Six people were injured in vehicles on Interstate 57. Several cars were damaged and a semi trailer was completely destroyed. East of Interstate 57 at Stuenkel Road, a large warehouse had bay doors blown in, much of the roof collapsed, and the west wall blown in. Utility poles were pushed over along South Central Avenue.

3. Apr 20, 2004Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado swept out a path through a mainly residential section on the near west side of Joliet known as the "Cathedral Area". Initial damage was found near the intersection of Jefferson St. (U.S. route 52) and William Street. The damage path then continued northeastward to a point near the intersections of Ruby Street, Bluff Street, and the Des Plaines River. Most of the damage was of F-0 intensity, with extensive tree damage and very minor damage to structures. However there were three pockets of more substantial primary structural damage which consisted mainly of roofs being torn off residences and garages being totally demolished. In all, 10 residences were declared uninhabitable.

4. Jul 27, 2006Flash Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Major flooding affected the city of Joliet during the afternoon and evening hours of July 27th. Torrential Rains fell across parts of the city with 5.50 inches falling in just 90 minutes between 4 pm and 530 pm near Black Road and Infantry Drive. Storm total rainfall of 6.13 inches was reported on the west side of Joliet. Approximately 30 homes and businesses suffered basement flooding. Center Street Ramps to Interstate 80 were closed with four feet of standing water. Cars were stranded in 4 to 5 feet of water under the viaduct on Route 30 east of Briggs Street. Pavement buckled under the force of the flood waters at Western and Cass Avenues. Raynor and Ingallis were closed with…

5. Nov 17, 2013Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This is a continuation of a tornado that began at 12:22 PM CST in Grundy County. The tornado moved into Will County on N Will Road just south of State Route 113. There was considerable damage to businesses on State Route 113 between N Will Road and I-55. An RV dealership had numerous vehicles overturned and damaged. A two story structure lost its roof and had portions of its walls ripped off. A model home was completely removed from its foundation on the north side of State Route 113. A manufactured building had its roof ripped off with all the walls collapsed. Widespread tree damage was observed along the west side of I-55 where the tornado almost tracked parallel to as it…

6. Sep 14, 2008Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding or significant flooding was reported across most of western Will County, including street closures due to flooding, basement flooding and creek, stream and river flooding. Extensive flooding was reported at Royce Road which was closed just west of Route 53 due to flooding from the East Branch of the Dupage River. Weber Road was closed between Royce Road and Boughton Roads due to extensive flooding from the Dupage River. Many roads were closed due to flooding in the southern part of Naperville. Flooding was reported along the Dupage River in Plainfield. Two vehicles were submerged along Plainfield Naperville Road in Plainfield.

7. Aug 3, 2010Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant and widespread flooding occurred across north central Will County during the morning hours of August 3rd. Numerous roads were flooded and closed. Route 53 at Murphy had 6 to 8 inches of rapidly moving flood water; several cars were stuck in flood waters at Theodore and Larkin, which was impassible; five cars were stalled in flood waters on Route 53 north of Romeo Road; Route 30 was flooded and closed between Cherry Hill and Briggs Street; Interstate 80 was flooded and closed in both directions at Briggs Street and Cherry Hill; Route 53 near Lewis Unversity was flooded and closed; numerous streets in Crest Hill were flooded, including Larkin Avenue, Route 53, Gaylord…

8. Aug 17, 2025Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant flooding was reported around parts of northern Will County, namely in the vicinities of Joliet, Romeoville, and Plainfield. In Joliet, Caton Farm Rd was closed at Joe Adler Dr, and IL Rt. 53 was closed at a viaduct south of Caton Farm Rd due to flooding. A car was reported stranded in floodwater near Center St north of I-80 in Joliet. In Crest Hill, street flooding was reported at IL Rt. 53 and Theodore St. Standing water was reported at IL-126 and County Line Rd in Plainfield. An estimated 250 structures were flooded in this area amounting to around $1 million in flood damages.

9. Aug 18, 2025Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous reports of street flooding came out of the east side of Mokena, south of I-80. Near the Hickory Creek train station, at least 6 inches of water were flooding a viaduct. Up to 3 feet of water were reported on a roadway near Hercht Park. A nearby private weather station recorded 3.62 inches of rain from approximately 6 to 9 PM CST. Reports show flooding began in the area following an initial push of heavy rain during the 6PM CST hour, with additional flooding following subsequent storms through the evening. An estimated 200 structures were flooded around the Mokena, Frankfort, and Crete areas totaling around $1 million in flood damages.

10. Jun 24, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$800,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Hundreds of trees were blown down across Joliet, including some that fell onto structures. Nineteen power lines were blown down. There were 56 road closures across town due to debris.

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

104°FJun 26, 1988

All-time low

−26°F2 times, most recently Jan 21, 1985

Warmest night

79°F4 times, most recently Jul 24, 2012

Coldest day

−13°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

13.60 inJul 18, 1996

Snowiest day

12.0 inJan 27, 1967

Hottest year

2012mean 54.1°F

Coldest year

1989mean 46.6°F

Wettest year

201951.81 in

Driest year

196321.38 in

Snowiest season

55.6 in2013-14

Station Joliet Brandon Road Lock/dam (USC00114530), 543 ft elevation, 2.5 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1975 to October 27, 2026; 96.5% 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 Will 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 USC00114530.
• 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.