Douglas County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Douglas 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. May 21, 2014Hail$100 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail caused significant damage to the roofs, windows, and siding of numerous houses in Tuscola. Hundreds of vehicles sustained major window and body damage. Two men were injured when they were struck in the head by large hailstones.

2. Dec 27, 2015Flood$2.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An extended period of heavy rain during the late evening of December 26th in Douglas County combined with an already saturated ground to produce flash flooding. Rainfall amounts ranged from 4.00 to 4.25 inches in less than six hours. Most rural roads and state highways were flooded and impassable. Tuscola, Arcola, Villa Grove and Newman were the most impacted with severely flooded streets and basements. The flooding continued through all of December 27th. Additional rainfall of 1.50 to 2.75 from December 28th into the 29th aggravated the flooding situation significantly. More than 120 buildings and homes were damaged in various locations across the county, 23 of which sustained…

3. Nov 17, 2013Tornado$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down 3.7 miles NW of Tuscola at 12:44 PM CST, then tracked northeastward and crossed into Champaign County about 1.5 miles NW of Villa Grove at 12:52 PM CST. The roof of a house and 2 outbuildings were damaged during the first 2 miles of the track. The tornado strengthened after it crossed U.S. Highway 45 doing major damage to 2 homes, several large farm buildings, numerous power poles, and a garage. The tornado then turned to the east, damaging the roofs of two homes and destroying several outbuildings. It then crossed I-57 near mile marker 218 where it destroyed a mobile home just east of the highway. The tornado did major damage to several more roofs and…

4. Nov 17, 2013Tornado$825,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado crossed into Douglas County from Moultrie County about 5 miles north of Arthur at 12:37 PM CST, then tracked northeastward before lifting 0.8 miles east of Garrett at 12:41 PM CST. The tornado damaged the roofs of 3 homes and 5 outbuildings, as well as, numerous trees and power poles in rural western Douglas County. It then crossed U.S. Highway 36 and tracked into the town of Garrett where it damaged the roofs of about two dozen homes and mobile homes before dissipating.

5. Jun 4, 2008Flood$510,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extensive flooding across Douglas County was the result of 8 to 9 inches of rain that occurred between June 2nd and June 6th. More than 100 homes and businesses sustained damage from the flooding. Many county roads were closed for more than a week. Douglas County was declared a disaster area as a result of the flooding.

6. Feb 1, 2011Winter Storm, Douglas$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Weather observers across Douglas County measured 3 to 4 inches of sleet along with 4 to 6 inches of snow and around one quarter of an inch of ice. Due to ice accumulations, numerous tree branches and power lines were downed, causing power outages across the county. Snow-covered and icy roads resulted in numerous traffic accidents.

7. Oct 24, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds caused considerable damage throughout Douglas county, though the most intense damage occurred in a swath from Arcola to Hindsboro. Numerous trees, tree limbs, power poles, and power lines were blown down countywide. A 20 foot section of bleachers at the Arcola high school were blown onto the track. A metal roof from a lumber yard was blown off. Several sheds, grain bins, campers, and boats were destroyed between Arcola and Hindsboro. Also, two semis were blown over on I-57, one near Tuscola and one near Arcola. No injuries were reported.

8. Nov 17, 2013Tornado$220,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down in a field just west of mile marker 216 along I-57 at 12:46 PM CST, then tracked northeastward before dissipating 2 miles WNW of Villa Grove at 12:51 PM CST. The tornado crossed the interstate, then destroyed 3 outbuildings and damaged the roofs of 2 homes. For the next 4 miles, it moved through mainly open fields, damaging trees and power lines. The tornado dissipated about 2 miles WNW of Villa Grove when it merged with a larger tornado that was moving ENE across north-central Douglas County.

9. Apr 19, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$125,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Two houses sustained roof damage in Newman. A large shed and a small block warehouse were severely damaged. In addition, a small shed was tipped over and blown across a lot into an antique trailer.

10. Nov 17, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$80,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Numerous power poles and trees were blown down and a pole barn had its roof blown off.

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 14, 1954

All-time low

−26°FDec 22, 1989

Warmest night

81°F2 times, most recently Jun 18, 1994

Coldest day

−8°FJan 20, 1985

Wettest day

6.30 inAug 10, 1933

Snowiest day

15.0 inJan 31, 1982

Hottest year

1998mean 56.4°F

Coldest year

1904mean 49.3°F

Wettest year

199355.20 in

Driest year

191424.90 in

Snowiest season

48.3 in1973-74

Station Tuscola (USC00118684), 651 ft elevation, 2.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 27, 2026; 94.5% 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 USC00118684.
• 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.