Macon County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Macon County: 1.
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. Aug 26, 2014Flash Flood$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm produced 2.00 to 3.00 of rain within one hour in parts of central Macon County, including the cities of Decatur and Mt. Zion. The flash flooding resulted in the closure of numerous streets and viaducts in Decatur, as well as basement flooding to numerous homes and businesses. The flash flooding also impacted several rural roads from Harristown through Decatur to Mt. Zion. The flooding subsided by late evening.

2. Apr 19, 1996Tornado$9.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down 2 miles south southwest of Niantic and travelled to the east northeast causing extensive damage. It moved into Old Harristown at 727 pm destroying 4 to 5 homes, extensively damaging the remainder of the homes, tore the roof off of the old grade school gymnasium, and destroyed a grain silo. It continued to the east northeast and moved into the westside of Decatur at the intersection of Wyckles and Center Roads after crossing I-72, destroying a church at that intersection, as well as a couple of homes. Then the tornado lifted to tree top level for a short distance till it reached Ravina Park Road. "F3" damage was seen, as the tornado demolished a house in a…

3. Apr 18, 1996Tornado$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down in the southeastern portions of Decatur. The initial touchdown was near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Marion St. on the northwestern corner of Mueller Park. The path of the storm then moved a little north of east, with damage centered along Lincoln Street to about 19th Street. At that point the damage path center appeared to move somewhat to the north, crossing 22nd Street between Cantrell and Roosevelt. The path then went across the Nelson Park Golf Course, where it knocked down over 100 trees, then crossed over the western portion of the Hwy 36 bridge before lifting. 88 homes were either damaged or destroyed, as well as, numerous…

4. Dec 1, 2006Winter Storm, Macon$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Declared state and federal disaster area. Snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches fell on top of 1 to 2 inches of ice accumulation.

5. Aug 19, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extensive wind damage occurred across Maroa. The roof of a township building on South Wood Street was blown off and approximately 100 trees were blown down across town. A camper was blown over and crops near town were flattened. In addition, a solar farm on the south side of Maroa was destroyed.

6. May 31, 2013Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down at 10:03 PM CDT on the northwest side of Decatur near the intersection of Division Street and Summit Avenue. The tornado tracked northeastward through Graceland Cemetery, across Oakland Avenue, and just south of the Decatur Memorial Hospital before dissipating near East Maywood Court at 10:07 PM CDT. Numerous trees and tree branches were blown down along the path of the tornado, with the most significant tree damage occurring in Graceland Cemetery. The Plaza TV shop on Oakland Avenue lost its roof and suffered broken windows and siding damage. Other minor roofing damage occurred along the path of the tornado, with numerous trees and tree branches knocked…

7. Jun 29, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   As the bow echo moved through Macon County, the Maroa area sustained considerable damage. A high-tension transmission line was blown down across US 51. Eight structures which carried the line were damaged and a nearby barn and shed were destroyed. No injuries were reported.

8. Dec 27, 2015Flood$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An extended period of heavy rain during the late evening of December 26th in Macon County combined with an already saturated ground to produce flash flooding. Rainfall amounts ranged from 3.00 to 3.50 inches in less than six hours, with the heaviest rain in the southern half of the county. Most rural roads and state highways were flooded and impassable. Locations from Blue Mound through Macon toward Dalton City and south toward the county line with Christian and Shelby County were the most impacted. The flooding continued through all of December 27th. Additional rainfall of 2.30 to 2.70 from December 28th into the 29th aggravated the flooding situation significantly, and spread…

9. Dec 1, 2018Tornado$325,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down 3.2 miles north-northwest of Blue Mound at 5:53 PM CST. The tornado pushed a manufactured home off of its foundation on Zion Chapel Road as it moved to the north-northeast. Several outbuildings were destroyed by the tornado about 1-2 miles northeast of the house damage. Numerous trees were snapped before the tornado dissipated after crossing the Sangamon River near the Lincoln Trail Homestead State Park about 3.3 miles south-southwest of Harristown at 5:59 PM CST.

10. Feb 27, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Thunderstorm winds estimated around 80 mph caused extensive damage to the Decatur-Macon County Fairgrounds. One building was destroyed and a motor home was damaged. Six boats inside the building were damaged as well. The Grandstand roof sustained some minor damage. Also, there was some roof damage to one home nearby and siding damage to several others. Damage was estimated around $250,000.

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

−25°FFeb 13, 1905

Warmest night

80°F3 times, most recently Jul 22, 2011

Coldest day

−6°FJan 20, 1985

Wettest day

5.84 inSep 14, 2008

Snowiest day

13.5 inMar 19, 1906

Hottest year

1931mean 57.6°F

Coldest year

2014mean 49.7°F

Wettest year

192760.58 in

Driest year

191425.10 in

Snowiest season

49.7 in1981-82

Station Decatur Water Plant (USC00112193), 639 ft elevation, 1.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to August 22, 2026; 94.8% 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 USC00112193.
• 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.