Morgan County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Morgan 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 17, 2011Flash Flood$150 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding of historic proportions occurred in much of Morgan County from late in the evening of June 17th through much of June 18th. Rainfall amounts of 5.00 to 10.00 were reported, with the highest totals in east central Morgan County from Alexander to Franklin. ||The nearly stationary thunderstorms produced a majority of the rain between 2200 LST and 0300 LST. The cities of Jacksonville and South Jacksonville recorded nearly 6.00 of rain in less than six hours, which was about 1.00 higher than a 100 year flood for that time period. ||Nearly 2,500 homes, more than 100 businesses - including the Nestle Chocolate plant and many restaurants, MacMurrary College, and a state…

2. May 24, 2004Tornado$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A small tornado touched down in the southwest section of Jacksonville near the point where Route 67 turns north. As it traveled to the northeast it quickly intensified to F2 strength destroying a furniture store, house and church and caused major damage to a motel. One occupant of the motel sustained minor injuries. The tornado then quickly weakened causing minor damage to several more homes and businesses before lifting and dissipating.

3. May 24, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds caused a large swath of damage across town. Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down. Also, several homes sustained minor roof damage. The county courthouse also sustained roof damage. No injuries were reported.

4. Dec 8, 2007Ice Storm, Morgan$410,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant icing was reported in Morgan county, with a maximum report of a half inch of ice received around Jacksonville. Significant tree and power line damage occurred and resulted in Morgan county being declared a state disaster area. More than 10,000 homes and businesses were without power, some up to 5 days. One person was hospitalized after being hit by a falling tree branch. Another person was indirectly injured, and hospitalized after a traffic accident on an icy road.

5. Apr 19, 1996Tornado$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down 2 miles east of Jacksonville, at the MOBIL Chemical Plant, moving east over a portion of the Jacksonville Correctional Facility. "F2" damage was found along this portion of the tornado path. The tornado then lifted and remained aloft for 2 miles before touching down again. It remained on the ground for 2 more miles, lifting 1 mile north of Orleans. Two railroad cars were turned over at the MOBIL Chemical Plant, which itself sustained some roof damage. Also, it damaged two guard towers, a greenhouse, and a fence at the prison. To the east of the prison, one home was destroyed, 3 sustained major damage, and several farm buildings were either damaged or…

6. Aug 19, 2009Tornado$320,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado crossed from Scott County into Morgan County, then lifted 3.5 miles southwest of Franklin at 135 PM CST. Widespread tree and crop damage occurred along its path. Numerous grain bins and sheds were also damaged. The tornado reached a maximum width of 250 yards as it moved across extreme western Morgan County.

7. Aug 31, 2012Tornado$230,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down about 0.8 miles south of Franklin at 5:12 PM CDT, then tracked north-northwest before lifting 0.5 miles south of Franklin at 5:13 PM CDT. The tornado destroyed an auto shop and damaged the roof of a house on the south side of Franklin. A mobile home was rolled off its foundation onto Illinois Route 104, injuring one person inside. Several trees were blown down and numerous tree branches were knocked down as well.

8. Feb 1, 2011Blizzard, Morgan$220,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Weather observers across Morgan County measured 10 to 16 inches of snow, with the total for Jacksonville coming in at 12 inches. Thundersnow was reported from 1800 to 1900 LST on 2/1/11. 40 to 50 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. Jun 27, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several trees and power lines were blown down in Literberry. In addition, the walls of a mobile home were blown out and numerous other houses experienced minor roof and siding damage.

10. Jul 11, 2015Flash Flood$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Several periods of heavy rain during the late afternoon of July 11th produced total rainfall amounts of 3.00 to 7.00 inches of rain in southwest Morgan County. This resulted in flash flooding which made all rural roads impassable from northwest of Murrayville to the county line with Greene County and Macoupin County. A rural road near Murrayville was also washed out due to the excessive rainfall and flooding.

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

114°FJul 14, 1954

All-time low

−28°FFeb 27, 1934

Warmest night

81°F3 times, most recently Jun 28, 1952

Coldest day

−9°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

5.02 inSep 23, 1993

Snowiest day

12.0 in2 times, most recently Feb 2, 2011

Hottest year

1921mean 57.2°F

Coldest year

1979mean 48.9°F

Wettest year

197359.99 in

Driest year

190121.49 in

Snowiest season

53.0 in1977-78

Station Jacksonville 2E (USC00114442), 610 ft elevation, 2.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1895 to October 27, 2026; 98.8% 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 USC00114442.
• 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.