De Witt County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within De Witt County: 4.
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. May 30, 2003Tornado$9.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   As the first tornado was weakening on the west side of Hallsville another more significant tornado developed on the east side of town. It quickly intensified to F2 intensity, destroying two homes and causing damage to several others. In one home, a family of four sought shelter in the hallway. They were briefly trapped after the walls collapsed around them, but only sustained minor injuries. The tornado maintained its intensity and traveled to the southeast towards the south side of Clinton. As it approached US 51 numerous homes and businesses were severely damaged. Seven businesses were destroyed. The tornado finally weakened and lifted one mile south of Lane. Numerous trees,…

2. Aug 26, 2014Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm produced 2.50 to 3.00 of rain within one hour in parts of central DeWitt County, including the city of Clinton. The flash flooding resulted in the closure of numerous streets and viaducts in Clinton, as well as basement flooding to numerous homes and businesses. The flash flooding also impacted several rural roads between Clinton and Weldon Springs State Park. The flooding subsided by late evening.

3. Jun 29, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   In DeWitt County, a strong microburst (100 to 110 mph) hit around the Clinton Nuclear Power Plant facility and the adjacent Clinton Lake recreation area. The nuclear plant lost three high voltage transmission lines, though there was no structural damage to the facility. Nearby at the marina, the roof on the west side was blown off and several large boats (not in the water) were blown over. Also, hundreds of trees were blown down, some of which blocked Routes 54 and 10 for a time. No injuries were reported.

4. Dec 1, 2006Winter Storm, De Witt$450,000
   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.

5. Jun 5, 2010Tornado$90,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado crossed into DeWitt County from Logan County 3.2 miles west-southwest of Kenney. A barn was blown down and two machine sheds were damaged. In addition, a trailer was rolled over. The tornado lifted 3.5 miles southeast of Kenney.

6. Jul 14, 2014Thunderstorm Wind$80,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across Clinton.

7. May 13, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped off by strong winds across Weldon Springs State Park.

8. May 31, 2018Thunderstorm Wind$70,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms developed well ahead of an advancing cold front across east-central Illinois during the afternoon of May 31st. Some of the cells produced damaging wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph and hail as large as nickels. The most significant wind damage occurred in eastern Champaign County just south of St. Joseph where 20 power poles were snapped off.

9. Aug 19, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several trees were blown down across the road between Weldon Springs State Park and Lane. A few homes and a shed were also damaged.

10. May 24, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$60,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Numerous trees and tree branches were blown down across DeWitt County from Clinton to Farmer City. More than 2000 residents lost power.

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

113°FJul 15, 1936

All-time low

−34°FJan 15, 1927

Warmest night

81°FAug 4, 1930

Coldest day

−10°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

5.22 inMay 12, 1914

Snowiest day

13.0 inFeb 23, 1914

Hottest year

1921mean 56.7°F

Coldest year

2014mean 49.0°F

Wettest year

200856.25 in

Driest year

194023.87 in

Snowiest season

46.2 in2013-14

Station Lincoln (USC00115079), 583 ft elevation, 22.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1906 to October 26, 2026; 99.5% 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 USC00115079.
• 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.