Bureau County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Bureau County: 1.
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.

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

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.

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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

Mapped by USGS Conterminous (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. Sep 22, 2005Hail$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Also reported by emergency manager, law enforcement, and the fire department.Hail across Princeton ranged from 1.00 inch to 2.75 inches with the most significant hail damage on the south side of the city. State police also reported golfball sized hail (1.75 inch) at the Princeton exit on Interstate 80 (exit 56).

2. May 10, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A supercell thunderstorm associated with the larger severe weather outbreak of May 10th moved across Bureau county during the evening hours producing high winds. Numerous trees were downed including a 90 foot cottonwood tree that just missed crushing the Red Covered Bridge 1.5 miles north of Princeton. This bridge is a registered national historic landmark that was built back in 1863 and still open to vehicle traffic.

3. May 10, 2003Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado developed in Henry County 1 mile East of Galva and moved NE entering Bureau County 4.8 miles SW of Neponset at 2010 CST. Tornado continued NE, passing 1.1 miles S of Neponset and 0.8 miles N of Buda. Tornado turned slightly to the left and continued NE, dissipating 2.5 miles NW of Wyanet. Path length was 15.7 miles and rated F0.

4. May 11, 2003High Wind, Bureau$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense spring storm system brought sustained winds of 27-33 knots (30-40) mph with gusts over 43 knots (50 mph) to Eastern Iowa, Northern Illinois, and far Northeast Missouri. At Illinois Valley Regional Airport (KVYS) in Peru, Illinois, a wind gust of 54 knots (62 mph) was recorded. In Whiteside County Illinois, numerous power lines, limbs and some trees were downed. At one point over 5,000 people in Northwest Illinois were without power.

5. Sep 13, 2008Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains caused flash flooding of parts of Bureau County during the afternoon of September 13.||In Princeton, several streets, yards, and basements were flooded.||South of Princeton, several area creeks were flooded and flood waters approached Route 26.

6. May 10, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong spring storm system moved through the Mississippi valley during the late afternoon and evening hours producing widespread severe weather. In an unprecedented move, WFO Quad Cities held a press conference the day before to warn of a high probability of significant tornadoes in the afternoon and evening hours of Saturday May 10th, with the area most at risk south of a Keosauqua, Iowa to Princeton, Illinois line. Supercell thunderstorms developed and continued into the evening hours spawning several long track tornadoes and produced copious amounts of large hail. Luckily, most of the tornado tracks were in open country and therefore damage was minimized. After dark, a severe…

7. Jul 24, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind gusts estimated to be 85 mph caused widespread wind damage across the central and southern parts of Princeton, IL between 950 pm and 1000 pm July 24. Several trees were blown down or uprooted. An outdoor stage was destroyed. A section of roof of a funeral home was ripped off. Several telephone poles were broken south of town. About 3 or 4 buildings were destroyed about 1/4 mile south of town.

8. Apr 30, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Supercell thunderstorms developed in the afternoon and evening north of a warm front that ran from Southern Iowa into Central Illinois. Three distinct supercells produced a majority of the wind, hail, and heavy rain reports from Jefferson County Iowa into Henry County Illinois. Mercer County Illinois was under tornado warnings on a continuous basis for 2 hours. Officials at a high school track meet in Aledo, Illinois ushered all students into the safety of the school resulting in no injuries. The training of the supercells from Louisa County Iowa to Henry County Illinois dumped heavy rain over the Edwards River and Pope Creek basins in Illinois with radar estimating 9 inches of…

9. Jul 24, 2009Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   On the evening of July 24, a line of severe thunderstorms moved through Bureau County. This line intensified over Princeton, IL producing a series of down-bursts which resulted in straight-line winds of 80 to 90 mph and the formation of a brief EF1 tornado with wind speeds estimated to be around 105 mph. The tornado formed in a field southeast of town around 950 pm and tracked east southeast where it caused damage to a farmstead near Highway 26. It dissipated in a field east of Highway 26 around 955 pm. The farm had one barn completely destroyed. Debris from the barn damaged the house and some vehicles. A two by six board was driven into the side of the garage. A grain bin just…

10. May 14, 2003Heavy Rain$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    An upper level disturbance induced a surface low pressure on a boundary across Eastern Iowa that moved into Northwest Illinois and far Northeast Missouri. Subsequent thunderstorms that developed were prolific hail producers due to extremely cold air aloft. Additional outflow boundaries produced by the initial thunderstorms created new storms and brief funnel clouds that fortunately never touched down. Pea sized hail (0.25 inch) continued continuously for 20 minutes in Princeton, Illinois and covered the ground.

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

111°FJul 14, 1936

All-time low

−27°F3 times, most recently Jan 31, 2019

Warmest night

85°FAug 8, 1979

Coldest day

−13°FJan 31, 2019

Wettest day

6.38 inJun 24, 1994

Snowiest day

18.0 in2 times, most recently Feb 1, 2011

Hottest year

1931mean 54.5°F

Coldest year

2014mean 45.9°F

Wettest year

201953.88 in

Driest year

191021.82 in

Snowiest season

69.4 in1978-79

Station Walnut (USC00118916), 700 ft elevation, 14.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 26, 2026; 95.6% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USC00118916.
• 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.