McLean County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within McLean 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 25, 2021Flash Flood$11.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous roads were closed due to flood waters, including Route 136 between Heyworth and McLean. Part of the I-55 shoulder collapsed near Kickapoo Creek southwest of Bloomington, prompting the closure of the interstate. A dive team from Hudson was deployed to rescue a stranded motorist on I-55 southwest of Shirley. Other vehicles were stranded by high water near mile marker 159 on I-55 near Bloomington, at exit 142 on I-74 near the Kickapoo Creek Bridge just west of Downs, and about 2 miles north of LeRoy. A homeowner was stranded by high water surrounding their property a mile north of Heyworth. Nearly 1, 600 homes and 75 businesses were damaged by the flooding, including more…

2. Aug 9, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$3.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Downburst winds of 70 to 80 mph produced a wide swath of damage from Danvers southeastward into the southwest side of Bloomington. One of the hardest hit locations along this path was the Apollo Acres subdivision just north of Illinois Route 9, where 159 homes sustained damage. 139 of those homes had awnings or shingles damaged, while 19 suffered minor roof and window damage, and 1 home had one-third of its roof torn off. Total damage in Apollo Acres was around $1 million. Other significant damage occurred along the path of the storm, including numerous downed trees, trailers blown over, and several large metal buildings with doors blown in and roofs torn off. Total damage to 30…

3. Jun 29, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$1.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   In Mclean County as the storms moved through, there were more intense areas of damage due to microbursts (100 to 110 mph) in the Mclean and Leroy areas. In the town of Mclean, a large billboard was bent over and a business on the east side of town lost a large portion of its roof, as well as, several large motorized doors. Further east in Leroy, hundreds of trees were blown down, some of which fell onto homes causing moderate damage. In Bloomington, a home was destroyed by fire due to a freak accident. Large tree limbs were blown down onto the home's gas meter, knocking it off the wall. Live downed power lines helped to spark the fire. No injuries were reported and damage in…

4. Apr 20, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$1.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread damage was reported countywide. In Stanford, the roof of a business was torn off causing approximately $50,000 in damage. On I-39 northwest of Bloomington, a semi was blown over and at the I-55/I-74 interchange, two semis were blown over. No injuries were reported. At Illinois State University in Normal, windows were shattered in 30 to 40 cars. Also, 6 windows on two dormitories were cracked. At Lake Bloomington, a tree fell onto a police patrol boat, destroying it. In Cooksville, a grain elevator sustained major damage. Two of its grain bins were destroyed and a third one was damaged. Damage to the elevator is estimated around $750,000. Numerous trees, tree limbs,…

5. Apr 19, 1996Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down just south of the Logan/Tazewell County line (on 1350E), causing minor damage to three homes. Then the tornado travelled to the northeast, through the south side of Armington, destroying one home as well as several outbuildings. Also, 2 homes sustained major damage and 5 homes sustained minor damage. After moving through the Armington area, the tornado moved into southwestern McLean County. Here it destroyed a church and one home and caused major damage to another home in the area. Also, 8 homes sustained minor damage and numerous barns, outbuildings, grain bins, trees, and farm equipment were either damaged or destroyed. No injuries were reported. Damage…

6. Dec 28, 2015Ice Storm, Mclean$975,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Weather observers across McLean County reported ice accumulations of up to 0.25. This amount of ice combined with winds gusting as high as 35 to 45 mph caused extensive damage to trees, power poles, and power lines. Several homes were damaged by falling trees and tree branches. About 50,000 people lost power for up to 4 days after the storm. Numerous businesses in Bloomington-Normal were closed due to power outages. An elderly Danvers couple died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning from an improperly vented generator in their home.

7. Jul 8, 2015Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall amounts of 2.00 to 4.00 inches in two hours during the late evening produced flash flooding in McLean County. The soil was extremely saturated due to excessive rainfall in the latter half of June. Most rural roads from McLean through Downs to Anchor were flooded. An eight mile stretch of I-74 from mile marker 139 to 147 had water cover the road. As a result, a semi-truck drove off of the interstate. Police in Bloomington reported water up to two feet deep with numerous stalled cars and roads closed in the south and east portions of the city. No injuries were reported.

8. Feb 1, 2011Blizzard, Mclean$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Weather observers across McLean County measured 8 to 13 inches of snow, with the total for Bloomington coming in at 13 inches. 50 to 60 mph winds accompanied the snow, reducing the visibility to near zero. As a result of the blizzard conditions, travel became nearly impossible across the area.

9. Dec 1, 2006Winter Storm, Mclean$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Declared state and federal disaster area. Snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches fell on top of significant ice accumulation. One man died in Downs while cleaning up tree debris brought down by the storm.

10. Jul 11, 2020Thunderstorm Wind$350,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Numerous trees and tree branches were blown down in Hudson. Some of the falling trees damaged cars, houses, and power lines.

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

107°FJul 8, 2012

All-time low

−23°FJan 20, 1985

Warmest night

80°F2 times, most recently Jul 26, 2005

Coldest day

−10°FJan 7, 2014

Wettest day

5.63 inJul 10, 2003

Snowiest day

12.0 in2 times, most recently Feb 2, 2011

Hottest year

1987mean 55.0°F

Coldest year

2014mean 47.9°F

Wettest year

199363.35 in

Driest year

198923.02 in

Snowiest season

51.5 in2013-14

Station Normal 4NE (USC00116200), 790 ft elevation, 3.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1977 to October 27, 2026; 95.3% 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 USC00116200.
• 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.