Effingham County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Effingham County: 2.
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.

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. Feb 1, 2011Winter Storm, Effingham$900,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Weather observers across Effingham County measured around one half an inch of sleet along with 1 to 2 inches of snow and between one half and three quarters of an inch of ice. The heavy glaze of ice downed tree limbs, causing widespread power outages across the county. Snow-covered and icy roads resulted in numerous traffic accidents.

2. Nov 17, 2013Tornado$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado continued from Fayette County in National Weather Service St. Louis' County Warning Area (CWA). The tornado crossed into Effingham County 3.2 miles WNW of Altamont at 12:28 PM CST before tracking northeastward and dissipating 2.9 miles NNW of Altamont at 12:32 PM CST. About a dozen outbuildings were damaged and minor damage occurred to the roofs of 3 homes. Several power poles were blown down as well. The tornado dissipated near North 200th Street and East 1300th Avenue in rural Effingham County.

3. Dec 27, 2015Flood$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An extended period of heavy rain during the late evening of December 26th in northwest Effingham County combined with an already saturated ground to produce flash flooding. Rainfall amounts ranged from 2.75 to 4.00 inches in less than six hours. Most rural roads and state highways were flooded and impassable northwest of Interstate 70. Beecher City, Altamont and Shumway were the most impacted with flooded streets and basements. Several streets were also flooded in the city of Effingham. The flooding continued through all of December 27th. Additional rainfall of 2.40 to 3.00 from December 28th into the 29th aggravated the flooding situation significantly and spread into the…

4. Jul 19, 2020Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees, tree branches, and power lines were blown down across Beecher City. One falling tree damaged a trailer.

5. Feb 19, 2026Tornado$170,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado developed just south of the Clay-Effingham county line, producing damage at a farmstead along the county line east of 1800th Street. At this location, metal from the top of a silo was blown off, and a barn was damaged with roof pieces blown off to the northeast for about a half mile. The tornado was in Clay County for less than a minute, before continuing northeast into Effingham County where it produced tracks through corn stubble in fields. It dissipated northwest of the intersection of East 200th Avenue and County Road 2200. This tornado had a maximum intensity of EF-0, and its total lifespan was 11 minutes.

6. Jul 13, 2016Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Two farm buildings were destroyed, a house was damaged, and a silo was blown over near Dietrich. A large tree was blown down as well.

7. Jul 14, 2018Thunderstorm Wind$90,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines were blown down in Altamont. A few houses were damaged by falling trees.

8. May 11, 2016Thunderstorm Wind$85,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines were blown down along the Mason Eberle Road.

9. May 23, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$85,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and powerlines were blown down in Dieterich. In addition, a 157-foot wireless internet tower was blown down and the roofs of a few homes lost shingles.

10. Feb 20, 2014Tornado$80,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A tornado touched down in an open field 4 miles west-southwest of Shumway at 4:54 PM CST. The tornado tracked northeastward, crossing state highway 33 between Shumway and Beecher City. The tornado snapped several power poles as it crossed the highway before dissipating in an open field 3 miles west-northwest of Shumway at 4:56 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

111°FJul 14, 1936

All-time low

−26°FJan 24, 1915

Warmest night

82°F3 times, most recently Aug 5, 2002

Coldest day

−8°FDec 22, 1989

Wettest day

5.52 inJun 27, 1957

Snowiest day

14.0 inJan 13, 1927

Hottest year

1998mean 57.3°F

Coldest year

2014mean 49.5°F

Wettest year

195057.63 in

Driest year

195424.20 in

Snowiest season

46.0 in1983-84

Station Windsor (USC00119354), 690 ft elevation, 24.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1904 to October 27, 2026; 92.7% 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 USC00119354.
• 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.