Cass County

Every recorded tornado

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

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jun 22, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$3.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous large trees were uprooted, and many large tree branches and power lines were downed. Thirty nine structures sustained damage and most needed repairs to be returned to a habitable state. These structures included single and multiple family homes, mobile homes, and businesses. Three structures were a total loss.

2. May 8, 1996Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Slow moving thunderstorms dumped between 6 and 10 inches of rain over Cass county. The flash flooding washed out several roads, including the road between Chandlerville and Oakford. Sixty-six homes sustained damage, ranging from water in the basement to structural collapse. No injuries have been reported and so far damage is estimated around $2 million.

3. Apr 8, 1999Tornado$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado first touched down half a mile northeast of Sinclair (Morgan County). As it travelled to the northeast, it flipped over a mobile home and destroyed a barn near Yatesville. Nearby two outbuildings and a hog shelter were destroyed. As it approached Prentice, the tornado destroyed a small shed and carried parts of the shed over a nearby house then across the road to a field beyond, about 300 yards away. Windows on the house were blown out. As it continued to the northeast scouring marks could be seen in a field 1 mile southwest of Ashland (Cass County). The tornado entered Ashland on the southwest side of town around 851 PM CDT. It hit a trailer park, destroying 17…

4. Aug 12, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$210,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   As a line of severe thunderstorms moved into Cass County, several miles stretch of US Route 67 was closed due to 40 power poles being blown down. Also, ten homes sustained minor damage from the storms. A barn and a garage were destroyed, and numerous trees, tree limbs, and other power lines were blown down. In Arenzville, one of the fallen trees damaged a pickup truck. Also, considerable crop damage was reported countywide, especially between Beardstown and Arenzville. Damage to the crops was estimated around $6.8 million.

5. Dec 1, 2018Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down 1.1 miles southeast of Beardstown at 3:25 PM CST. The tornado damaged some power poles near the railroad tracks east of the nursing home south of Beardstown, then tracked northeastward, causing tree damage as it crossed IL Route 125. The tornado damaged the Water Treatment Plant, including 3 of the 4 wells that serve the city, and knocked down numerous trees as it passed just east of Roy Roberts Park. It also knocked the windows out of several vehicles in the parking lot of the Park. The tornado continued moving to the northeast across Chandlerville Rd, causing an elongated area of tree damage along Duck Slough Rd before dissipating in a field east of Phelps…

6. Apr 20, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   As a severe thunderstorm moved east across Cass County, numerous trees, tree limbs, power poles, and power lines were blown down. One mile southeast of Virginia more significant damage occurred to a house. The brick attached garage was destroyed and part of the roof of the house sustained minor damage. Also, two vehicles that were parked nearby were destroyed by flying debris. Seven miles northwest of Ashland, a machine shed suffered minor damage. In the Newmansville area, two storage tanks were blown over and a house sustained major damage when its entire roof was blown off. Debris from the home was blown up to 1.5 miles away to the northeast. No injuries were reported. In…

7. Feb 1, 2011Blizzard, Cass$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Weather observers across Cass County measured 12 to 14 inches of snow. Thundersnow was reported from 1800 to 1900 LST on 2/1/11. 40 to 50 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.

8. Jul 28, 2010Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Slow moving thunderstorms produced copious amounts of rainfall in western Cass County late in the evening of July 28th. Rainfall amounts of 4.00 to 5.00 were measured in 90 minutes which produced nearly two feet of water on many roads. Numerous cars were stranded on the streets in Beardstown.

9. Jun 10, 2018Hail$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A swath of hail up to the size of tennis balls was reported from 1.6 miles southwest of Bluff Springs to the town of Bluff Springs. Roofs of homes and automobiles were damaged.

10. Mar 31, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$67,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Thunderstorm winds damaged the roof of the Beardstown Fire Department.

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

114°FJul 14, 1954

All-time low

−28°FFeb 27, 1934

Warmest night

81°F3 times, most recently Jun 28, 1952

Coldest day

−9°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

5.02 inSep 23, 1993

Snowiest day

12.0 in2 times, most recently Feb 2, 2011

Hottest year

1921mean 57.2°F

Coldest year

1979mean 48.9°F

Wettest year

197359.99 in

Driest year

190121.49 in

Snowiest season

53.0 in1977-78

Station Jacksonville 2E (USC00114442), 610 ft elevation, 18.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1895 to October 27, 2026; 98.8% 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 USC00114442.
• 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.