Christian County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Christian County: 0.
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.

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. Dec 1, 2018Tornado$119 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down about 3.2 miles east-southeast of Morrisonville at 5:01 PM CST. It hit a farmstead, destroying 3 barns and severely damaging 4 other out buildings. The tornado was rated EF2 at this location with maximum wind speeds of 112 mph. The tornado continued moving northeastward, hitting several other outbuildings and snapping trees. The tree and outbuilding damage was classified as EF1 damage with wind speeds of 100-110mph. As the tornado continued to the northeast it snapped more large trees and then hit a log home, removing 25-50% of the roof material. It also snapped many other trees on this property and destroyed a couple of small outbuildings, throwing the…

2. Aug 26, 2014Flash Flood$4.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm produced 2.50 to 4.00 of rain within 90 minutes in northwest and central Christian County, including parts of the city of Taylorville. Most rural roads from Taylorville to Edinburg and Kincaid were impassable. Some city streets and basements in homes in northwestern portions of Taylorville were also flooded. Illinois Routes 29 and 104 from Taylorville to Kincaid were closed for a period of time during the late evening. The flooding subsided by Midnight local time.

3. Dec 1, 2018Tornado$3.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down along IL Route 48 on the southwest edge of Stonington at 5:34 PM CST. At this time, two circulations aloft merged near the west side of Stonington, causing the tornado to take a sharp turn toward the north. Much of the damage in the town was on the northwest side where house roofs were impacted and several garages and sheds were destroyed. The tornado continued tracking to the north and did significant damage to outbuildings at a farm 4 miles north of Stonington. The tornado then curved toward the northeast, damaging several more outbuildings and sheds before it dissipated near Mosquito Creek, about 5.9 miles east-southeast of Mt. Auburn at 5:52 PM CST.

4. Dec 27, 2015Flood$2.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An extended period of heavy rain during the evening of December 26th in Christian County combined with an already saturated ground to produce flash flooding. Rainfall amounts ranged from 2.50 to 4.50 inches in less than six hours, with the heaviest rain in the southern half of the county. Most rural roads and state highways were flooded and impassable. City streets in Taylorville and Pana were also flooded. The flooding continued through all of December 27th. Additional rainfall of 2.50 to 4.75 from December 28th into the 29th aggravated the flooding situation significantly. Every road in the county was flooded which resulted in a shortage of barricades to close the roads. The…

5. Dec 1, 2006Winter Storm, Christian$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Declared state and federal disaster area. Around 3 inches of snow fell on top of 1 to 2 inches of ice accumulation.

6. Jun 1, 1999Tornado$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado formed in Montgomery County (WFO St. Louis CWA) and crossed into Christian County 4.4 miles southwest of Morrisonville. Just inside the Christian County line the tornado took the roof off of a shed and smashed it into the southwest corner of a house at the second level bedroom. A camper was tipped over on its side and a visible tornado track could be seen in the cornfield surrounding the house. A mile and a half northeast, a 16 foot wide garage door was completely removed and the west wall of the attached garage was removed as well. A carport on a nearby house was destroyed. Further up the road numerous power poles were blown down, a house was blown 3 inches to the west…

7. Feb 20, 2014Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado crossed into Christian County from Shelby County 2.9 miles south of Pana at 4:19 PM CST. The tornado damaged several outbuildings, trees and a garage south and east of Pana before crossing back into Shelby County 3.0 miles east of Pana at 4:25 PM CST.

8. Nov 17, 2013Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down on the north side of Pana at 12:15 PM CST, then tracked northeastward before lifting 3.1 miles NNE of Pana at 12:18 PM CST. Several homes suffered roof damage near the intersection of Almond and Elm streets on the north side of Pana. Trees were blown down, damaging 3 cars. Numerous power lines were knocked down as well. The tornado moved NNE, damaging a house and destroying an outbuilding before dissipating in an open field.

9. Feb 1, 2011Blizzard, Christian$260,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Weather observers across Christian County measured 3 to 9 inches of snow, along with 2 to 4 inches of sleet, and around one quarter of an inch of ice. 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. Due to the ice and strong winds, numerous tree branches and power lines were downed, causing power outages across the county.

10. Dec 1, 2018Tornado$140,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    This tornado touched down in the National Weather Service St. Louis County Warning Area (CWA) just south of the Montgomery/Christian County line near the intersection of East 000 Road and North 400 Road at 4:48 PM CST. It quickly crossed into Christian County, damaging an outbuilding by knocking out a wall and pushing it off it's foundation. It then proceeded to the northeast, doing roof and wall damage to more outbuildings, as well as some tree damage, before dissipating in an open field about 2.9 miles south-southeast of Morrisonville at 4:54 PM CST.

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

115°FJul 14, 1954

All-time low

−25°FJan 7, 1912

Warmest night

83°FJul 15, 1936

Coldest day

−6°F2 times, most recently Dec 22, 1989

Wettest day

7.85 inJun 28, 1957

Snowiest day

13.8 inMar 25, 2013

Hottest year

1921mean 57.7°F

Coldest year

1903mean 50.4°F

Wettest year

192757.28 in

Driest year

191423.11 in

Snowiest season

60.7 in1977-78

Station Pana (USC00116579), 650 ft elevation, 14.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1897 to October 27, 2026; 88.9% 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.

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 USC00116579.
• 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.