Peoria

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 Peoria County, the county that contains Peoria.

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 Peoria County, the county that contains Peoria.

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 Peoria County, the county that contains Peoria.

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.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in Peoria County.

Mapped by NASA (1).

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. Apr 17, 2013Flash Flood$100 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Torrential rainfall of 4.00 to 8.00 inches resulted in damage to thousands of houses and businesses in the county, including the city of Peoria where two houses collapsed into the basement injuring two people. Every creek and stream in the county was flooded. Nearly every road in the county was impassable, including parts of Interstate 74 which had to be closed. Numerous water rescues were made. Mudslides were also reported along the eastern bluffs along the Illinois River.

2. Jun 5, 2010Tornado$85.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado crossed the Knox-Peoria County line 1.1 miles west of Elmwood, then continued southeastward through the town of Elmwood. Considerable structural damage occurred to 10 homes, 30 businesses and nearly two dozen vehicles in downtown Elmwood, amounting to approximately $85 million in damages. There was a total of about 80 people, some that were attending an outdoor festival in the downtown and some that were at a theater, that took shelter in the basement of the movie theater. As a result, there were no injuries. The tornado dissipated 1 mile east of Elmwood.

3. Jun 24, 2013Flash Flood$30.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms moving over the same areas multiple times resulted in 3.00 to 7.50 inches of rain in the northeast half of Peoria County during the early morning hours of June 24th. The locations that experienced the greatest impacts from the flooding included Princeville, Rome, Mossville, Dunlap and the north and west portions of the city of Peoria. Multiple roads were closed, motorists were stranded and homes were flooded. Several state highways were impassable, including Highway 6, 29, 40, 78, 90 and 91. A box culvert was also damaged on a rural road outside of Princeville. This was the second major flash flood to impact Peoria County since mid-April. Most of the flash flooding…

4. May 1, 2013Flood$28.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   High impact flooding on the Illinois River continued from April.||Numerous homes along the Illinois River in Chillicothe, Rome, Mossville and Mapleton suffered flood damage due to record river levels. Several businesses were damaged, and numerous streets were flooded, along the Illinois River in downtown Peoria. A total of 505 homes and businesses were damaged by the flooding in Peoria County. Early in the morning on May 4th a man drowned when he drove his vehicle into the floodwaters northeast of downtown Peoria. High impact flooding subsided when the river level at Peoria fell below a stage of 22 feet on May 8th.

5. Nov 2, 2016Hail$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind-driven hail caused significant damage to the roofs and siding of 50 houses in Elmwood. One house suffered a broken window. Numerous cars were damaged as well.

6. Dec 28, 2015Ice Storm, Peoria$1.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Weather observers across Peoria County reported ice accumulations of around 0.25. This amount of ice combined with winds gusting as high as 45 to 55 mph caused extensive damage to trees, power poles, and power lines. Several homes were damaged by falling trees and tree branches. About 75,000 people lost power for up to 3 days after the storm. Numerous businesses were closed in Peoria due to power outages.

7. Jun 18, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$1.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A grain bin was blown down. Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down as well. Most homes in the town of Elmwood experienced damage due to falling trees and limbs.

8. Jun 29, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$1.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A large bow echo system developed over eastern Iowa and moved rapidly to the southeast into Illinois. It moved into Central Illinois's County Warning Area (CWA) around 4 pm in Knox County and exited the CWA (Lawrence County) around 830 pm. Damage was reported in all 35 counties with this system. The overall general area of wind damage was produced by the passage of the bow echo's "gust front" on the leading edge of the line of thunderstorms. Wind speeds were measured or estimated to be between 60 to 80 mph, blowing down or uprooting thousands of trees, tree limbs, power poles, and power lines. Hundreds of trees fell onto structures causing damage ranging from just torn guttering…

9. Mar 15, 2016Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down 2 miles northwest of Trivoli just west of Quarry Road at 7:42 PM CDT. A garage and house roofs were damaged, a car was picked up and thrown 50 yards into a field, a pickup truck was damaged, and several trees were snapped. As the tornado approached Trivoli Road, it developed multiple vorticies and widened to about one quarter of a mile across. Several outbuildings and grain bins were destroyed, house roofs were damaged, and numerous trees were uprooted. Near Texas Road and Cottonwood Road, a church roof was severely damaged and several trees were snapped. As the tornado continued tracking to the northeast, more outbuildings and trees were damaged. The worst…

10. Feb 1, 2011Blizzard, Peoria$750,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Weather observers across Peoria County measured 15 to 18 inches of snow, with the total for Peoria coming in at 15 inches. Thundersnow was reported from 1930 to 2030 LST on 2/1/11. 45 to 55 mph winds accompanied the snow, reducing the visibility to near zero. As a result of the blizzard conditions, travel became nearly impossible across the area.

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

105°FJun 25, 1988

All-time low

−25°FJan 17, 1977

Warmest night

79°F7 times, most recently Aug 25, 2023

Coldest day

−11°FDec 24, 1983

Wettest day

5.19 inJul 15, 2020

Snowiest day

12.2 inJan 13, 1979

Hottest year

2024mean 56.1°F

Coldest year

1979mean 48.1°F

Wettest year

199055.35 in

Driest year

198822.16 in

Snowiest season

57.6 in2013-14

Station General Wayne A Downing International A (USW00014842), 655 ft elevation, 6.8 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1943 to October 27, 2026; 99.9% 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 Peoria 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 USW00014842.
• 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.