Fayette County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. May 1, 2002Hail$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail up to 2 inches in diameter was reported in St. Peter and Farina by the Illinois State Police and County Sheriff. Damage was widespread, as roofs took a beating, skylights were broken, windows were broken, screens were torn, siding was damaged, and vehicles dented. A local automobile dealership had at least 200 vehicles damaged

2. Jul 20, 2025Flash Flood$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Multiple towns and municipalities in northern Fayette County were affected by flash flooding according to emergency management, broadcast media, law enforcement/fire, and members of the public. In Wrights Corner, multiple roads had at least several inches of water covering them, with the intersection of N 2800 and County Road 2 having 3 to 6 feet of water on it. In Ramsey, rain rates of greater than 3 inches per hour caused 3 to 5 inches of water over the road at 8th Street and Fayette Street. The Ramsey Blacktop outside of town was also impassable due to water over the road. Near St. Elmo, a car was stalled in knee-deep water and the fire department was called to rescue the…

3. Mar 14, 2025Tornado$110,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   At approximately 11:11 PM a tornado began just southwest of Hagarstown, IL in Fayette County and continued northeastward for 13.4 miles through Vandalia, IL before dissipating southwest of Sefton, IL in Fayette County around 11:23 PM. The worst damage occurred northeast of Vandalia, where several trees were uprooted. This tornado was assigned a rating of EF-1 with a maximum wind speed of 90 mph.

4. Jun 29, 1998Tornado$80,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A small tornado caused damage at a farm northeast of Farina. The roof was ripped off a large machine shed, a grain bin destroyed, trees uprooted and large limbs broken off others. A house suffered minor damage to the siding and a broken window.

5. Apr 19, 1996Tornado$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A small tornado traveled through parts of Fayette and Marion counties, creating an 11 mile damage path ranging from 50 to 80 yards in width. The tornado reached F1 intensity 3 times along the path. One home and barn were destroyed in extreme southeast Fayette County in the early stages of the tornado, a barn and several sheds were destroyed just north of Patoka in Marion County, and another barn and sheds were destroyed when the tornado crossed into Fayette County again southeast of Shobonier.

6. Apr 19, 1996Tornado$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A small tornado traveled through parts of Fayette and Marion counties, creating an 11 mile damage path ranging from 50 to 80 yards in width. The tornado reached F1 intensity 3 times along the path. One home and barn were destroyed in extreme southeast Fayette County in the early stages of the tornado, a barn and several sheds were destroyed just north of Patoka in Marion County, and another barn and sheds were destroyed when the tornado crossed into Fayette County again southeast of Shobonier.

7. Feb 27, 1999Hail$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Golfball size hail damaged a few vehicles in Vandalia.

8. Apr 30, 2025Tornado$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Shortly before 7pm, the tornado formed just south of County Road 750 in Fayette County, southeast of Shobonier, damaging trees and structures at a farm. The tornado tracked northeastward through fields and pockets of trees before impacting farms along County Rd 1100. Shortly after this point, the tornado reached its maximum surveyed strength, where it leveled an outbuilding near the intersection of County Rd 1100 and E 900 Ave. The tornado continued northeastward, producing mainly tree damage and minor structural damage before dissipating shortly after crossing County Rd 1300 north of Augsburg. The tornado was rated EF-2 with a path length of 4.33 miles and a maximum path width of 150 yards.

9. May 26, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   There were multiple snapped large tree limbs and a light metal carport destroyed between St. Peter and Farina. Ten power poles were also downed on Highway 185.

10. Mar 19, 2008Flood$20,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Heavy rain in March caused the Kaskaskia River to flow over its banks. The river crested at 26.48 feet at Vandalia which was the 10th highest level ever. Damage was limited to secondary homes and cabins along the river and to farmland.

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

105°F2 times, most recently Jul 8, 2012

All-time low

−23°F2 times, most recently Jan 19, 1994

Warmest night

82°FJul 26, 2012

Coldest day

−4°FJan 7, 2014

Wettest day

6.36 inSep 9, 2018

Snowiest day

13.5 inJan 31, 1982

Hottest year

1991mean 58.0°F

Coldest year

2014mean 52.1°F

Wettest year

201962.84 in

Driest year

195326.79 in

Snowiest season

36.3 in1929-30

Station Salem (USC00117636), 550 ft elevation, 25.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1932 to October 27, 2026; 99.1% 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 USC00117636.
• 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.