Hamilton County

Every recorded tornado

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

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 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.

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. Apr 19, 1996Tornado$2.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Total damage was estimated around 3 million dollars. The tornado destroyed 3 homes and caused moderate to severe damage to 50 others. About 45 barns and outbuildings were damaged or destroyed, along with 60 to 70 grain bins. The small community of Piopolis was nearly devastated. The intensity of the tornado was just weak (F0 or F1) during most of its life, but it briefly reached F3 intensity.

2. Apr 24, 2002Hail$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Golf ball size hail fell across parts of Hamilton County in a swath extending from Dahlgren southeast across the Mcleansboro area. Hundreds of homes and vehicles were damaged.

3. Mar 18, 2008Flood$340,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Illinois Route 142 was closed near Broughton. Illinois 242 was closed about seven miles south of McLeansboro. Numerous smaller county roads were closed. Some damage occurred to roads.

4. Mar 3, 2023Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   North of Mcleansboro, State Route 242 and Blairsville Road was submerged. In Mcleansboro, there were multiple reports of culverts being washed out and sinkholes forming. Four miles northeast of Broughton, a water rescue was conducted when a vehicle went off in flood waters on Norris City Road at County Road 1550 E.

5. Apr 19, 2011Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees were uprooted, and a small grain bin was destroyed. Peak winds were estimated near 90 mph. The average path width was 150 yards.

6. Mar 19, 2020Tornado$125,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado started in extreme eastern Jefferson County. The tornado moved across the northwest side of Dahlgren in Hamilton County. Several homes sustained roofing or soffit damage. One home had about a quarter of its roof removed and tossed about 50 yards. A few barns were damaged. Two travel trailers were overturned. Dozens of mature trees were snapped or uprooted. Peak winds were estimated near 110 mph.

7. Feb 20, 2014Hail$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Some homes on the south side of Mcleansboro had damage from wind-blown hail. Holes were poked in shutters and siding.

8. Apr 28, 1996Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several highways were closed by high water, including State Route 142 north and south of McLeansboro. Rainfall amounts ranged from 3 to 6 inches over a two-day period. Most of the damage to private property was caused by flooded basements.

9. Jan 26, 2009Winter Storm, Hamilton$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A prolonged, major winter storm dumped 6 to 10 inches of sleet and snow north of a line from East Cape Girardeau through Vienna to the confluence of the Wabash and Ohio Rivers. This resulted in at least two dozen roof collapses and very difficult driving conditions. South of that line, at least one inch of ice accumulated, with locally around 1.5 inches of ice. This resulted in a federal disaster declaration due to widespread tree damage and power outages. Virtually 100 percent of Massac County in the southern tip of the state was without power. The vast majority of nearby Alexander, Pulaski, Pope, Hardin, and southern Johnson Counties lost power. A major 161,000 volt transmission…

10. Aug 1, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$90,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A powerful line of storms surged southeastward through northeastern Hamilton County causing extensive damage. Large sections of metal roofing from a long farm building blew off at County Rd 1300 E, while a smaller metal roof section blew off at County Rd 1700 N/County Rd 1440 E. A row of 10 power lines snapped on Blairsville Rd/County Rd 1800 N. West of Bungay, several trees were blown down in a diverging pattern. On County Rd 1800 N, southeast of Bungay, a large section of roofing was removed from a farm building with a side wall fallen over and an irrigation system was damaged.

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 22, 1901

All-time low

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

Warmest night

84°FJul 15, 1936

Coldest day

−5°FDec 22, 1989

Wettest day

6.76 inMay 8, 1961

Snowiest day

12.0 inFeb 26, 1906

Hottest year

1921mean 60.2°F

Coldest year

1978mean 53.1°F

Wettest year

201968.81 in

Driest year

190128.31 in

Snowiest season

39.8 in1911-12

Station 1 Ene Fairfield (USC00112931), 462 ft elevation, 23.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1896 to October 27, 2026; 96.4% 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 USC00112931.
• 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.