Lee County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Jun 22, 2015Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very significant tree damage occurred with many large trees snapped or uprooted in Woodhaven Lakes Camping Resort. At least one house was pushed off of its foundation. Several trees fell onto recreational vehicles and it was estimated that around 100 of the 300 homes in the area received some degree of damage. One person was taken to the hospital in serious condition, and six others were injured. Peak winds were estimated to be 130 mph. (Tornado 3 of 10).

2. Apr 9, 2015Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This is the beginning of the Rochelle-Fairdale EF-4 tornado. At its strongest, peak winds were estimated to be 200 mph. The tornado touched down just northeast of Franklin Grove. A large sheet metal building on IL-38 collapsed with failure of column anchorage. Several smaller sheet metal buildings were destroyed along E Gurler Road. Peak winds in Lee County were estimated to 110 mph. The tornado continued into Ogle County. (Tornado 2a of 7).

3. Oct 26, 2010Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down near Meridian Road southeast of Ashton. The damage path was convergent and narrow. Some of the damage included a couple of outbuildings with poor structural integrity and a few that had their roofs ripped off. The top of a metal silo was 'punched' in and a grain cart was flipped onto its side. In addition to the structural damage, numerous 2x4's were speared into the ground and metal siding was strewn into the fields to the northeast of the farm.

4. Jun 24, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winds were estimated in excess of 80 mph and upwards of 100 mph for a 13 mile swath. A large outbuilding bolted to its foundation was destroyed. One part of the barn wall was lifted taking a portion of the foundation with it. Numerous large trees were snapped or uprooted, including one that fell onto the front portion of a house. In Walton, four large grain storage bins were destroyed. Also in Walton, a metal outbuilding was destroyed with debris thrown over 200 yards. Shingle damage was also noted on a few homes.

5. Jun 12, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$55,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A weakening thunderstorm moved into western Lee county around 11 am CST on June 12th. Reports of wind speeds to 70 mph were received which knocked down trees, power lines, and utility poles across the entire county. One man suffered minor injuries when the construction trailer he was in was blown over by high winds. A tree fell on a garage in Dixon causing minor damage. A large light stand fell at a park in Dixon. Over 20,000 residents lost power.

6. Oct 26, 2010High Wind, Lee$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Record setting low pressure over Minnesota produced high winds across northern Illinois on October 26, behind a strong cold front which swept across the state during the morning. The high winds caused around 200,000 Commonwealth Edison customers to lose power. Five hundred flights were canceled at O'Hare Airport. The high winds blew down tree limbs and power lines across northern Illinois. ||Some peak wind gusts included; 71 mph near Dixon in Lee County, 62 mph at Waukegan Airport in Lake County, and 58 mph at Peru in LaSalle County. ||Damage reports included; 448 reports of trees damaged in Chicago as well as many traffic lights, street lights and poles; wind blew a cargo…

7. Mar 24, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A garage was destroyed. A roof was blown off a building and trees were blown down.

8. Jun 19, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A barn was destroyed. Trees were also blown down.

9. Jul 13, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A roof was blown off the addition of a house and into a barn. Many rows of corn were knocked down. These events occurred at Bryer Knoll and Rocky Ford.

10. Jun 23, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$20,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A roof was blown off a building near Route 52 and Robbins Road. Numerous trees were blown down along Route 30.

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

110°FJul 14, 1936

All-time low

−32°F2 times, most recently Jan 17, 2009

Warmest night

81°FJul 29, 1931

Coldest day

−14°F2 times, most recently Jan 19, 1994

Wettest day

5.08 inJul 10, 1922

Snowiest day

14.0 inFeb 7, 1933

Hottest year

2012mean 54.9°F

Coldest year

1917mean 44.1°F

Wettest year

201851.27 in

Driest year

191019.83 in

Snowiest season

92.9 in1978-79

Station Dixon Wwtp (USC00112348), 650 ft elevation, 6.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 14, 2026; 86.6% 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 USC00112348.
• 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.