Urbana

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 Urbana.

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 Urbana.

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. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Champaign$4.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong winds of 40 to 50 miles per hour were sustained for several hours. Wind gusts to 60 mph were common. Widespread damage occurred across the region, from trees being blown down on powerlines, to significant crop losses and structural damage.

2. Jan 6, 1996Winter Storm, Champaign$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Blizzard of '96 developed near the Gulf Coast and moved up the East Coast. This massive system produced the greatest total and 24 hour snowfall at Greater Cincinnati\Northern Kentucky airport. This one storm brought 14.3 inches of snowfall to the airport which normally receives 23 inches for an entire season. The heaviest snow fell near the Ohio river in the extreme south. The worst blizzard conditions occurred over West Central areas as dry and powdery snow was blown around by high winds causing whiteouts. Some areas had more than 30 continuous hours of snowfall, and many people in Southern Ohio felt this was the worst winter storm since the Blizzard of '78. In Fayette…

3. Apr 9, 1999Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado caused structural damage to houses and mobile homes, as well as downing several trees.

4. Jun 8, 2022Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Initial EF-0 damage began on West Herr Road near North US Highway 68. Several large tree branches measuring between 3-8 inches were snapped. The adjacent home toward the east had four large hardwood trees downed, several of which were snapped at the trunk. Additionally, this home and unattached garage had siding ripped off. Continuing 1.7 miles northeast, the property at the intersection of Kennard-Kingscreek Road and Game Farm Road received EF-0 damage. At this location, numerous hardwood trees were snapped at the trunk, a metal garage door was bent, a barn door track was ripped from the barn, and a shed was rolled onto its side.||The tornado continued eastward and broke…

5. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Roof damage was reported throughout the town due to thunderstorm winds.

6. Jun 13, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines were downed across mainly the northern half of Champaign County.

7. Apr 20, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down countywide, but mainly in the western half of the county. Also, a roof was blown off a Dairy Queen restaurant.

8. Jun 1, 1997Flash Flood$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms with very heavy rainfall fell on already saturated ground causing water to overflow from ditches, sewers, and creeks. Roads were flooded across the county, but the hardest hit area was in the eastern part of the county. In North Lewisburg, 40 people were evacuated from an apartment complex and some roads were washed out. Overall, in less than 24 hours, nearly 5 inches of rain fell on parts of the county.

9. Aug 7, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$70,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A mobile home was destroyed and debris was blown into the side of a nearby house. This debris damaged the house, including the roof and garage. Widespread tree and power line damage was also reported in the area. A horse trailer was destroyed with debris blown into a farm house. The storm survey concluded that this damage was due to thunderstorm winds.

10. May 12, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Trees and powerlines were downed in town. Two barns sustained extensive roof damage.

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, 1936

All-time low

−26°FJan 20, 1985

Warmest night

83°FJul 25, 1934

Coldest day

−11°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

4.37 inJul 20, 1946

Snowiest day

14.5 inFeb 17, 1910

Hottest year

1931mean 54.5°F

Coldest year

1904mean 47.8°F

Wettest year

201157.69 in

Driest year

193424.87 in

Snowiest season

55.4 in1925-26

Station Urbana Wrf (USC00338552), 1,019 ft elevation, 1.6 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1895 to October 26, 2026; 92.9% 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 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 USC00338552.
• 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.