Ogle County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Apr 9, 2015Tornado$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This is the second segment of the Rochelle-Fairdale EF-4 tornado. At its strongest, peak winds were estimated to be 200 mph which occurred during this segment of the storm. The tornado entered Ogle County just west of IL-38 and moved northeast where it ripped the roof off of a small barn. A neighborhood was hit on S Skare Court where damage was consistent with EF-3. Some of the homes had large sections of the roofs ripped off while some less well constructed homes (nails instead of bolts) had collapsed walls. The tornado continued northeast and intensified to EF-4 where several well constructed homes along South Richard Road and East Kuehl Court were completely destroyed with the…

2. Aug 4, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees as large as two feet in diameter were blown down, some onto houses. Numerous utility poles and power lines were blown down. A phone tower was blown down on the west side of Mount Morris. A grain bin was blown down. Part of a roof was blown off and a building was leveled on the north side of Mount Morris. A barn on Holcomb Road was pushed off it's foundation and destroyed.

3. Jul 24, 2010Flash Flood$268,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain fell across Ogle County on July 23rd and July 24th. The heaviest rains fell during the early morning hours of July 24th. Forreston reported a storm total rainfall of 9.67 inches for both days. Numerous roads and basements were flooded. Several creeks and rivers overflowed their banks, causing additional flooding. A church near Brookville sustained major water damage after the Elkhorn Creek overflowed its banks.

4. Jun 22, 2009Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding occurred in many parts of Ogle County on June 19th. A few days later, heavy rain once again caused flash flooding across many of the same areas. Some of the more significant flash flooding reports included an apartment building that was flooded in Polo. One family was evacuated. The Lost Nation Bridge was washed out which cut off access to 30 homes. Pines Road at White Pines State Park was totally inundated with two homes sustaining major damage. Several trails in White Pines State Park were washed away or damaged. A small area of railroad tracks were washed out between White Pine State Park and Lake LaDonna Family Campgrounds. Flood water came over a bridge on…

5. Apr 10, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Over a dozen semi trucks either jackknifed or flipped onto their side at the Interstate 39 and 88 interchange in southeast Ogle County. A squall line moved across the interstate causing the strong winds. Nearby, at Rochelle Airport winds were measured to 51 mph, while farther east winds were measured to 56 mph at Northern Illinois University in De Kalb.

6. Jun 19, 2009Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ogle County Emergency Management received 40 flash flooding reports during the evening of June 19th. Some of the most significant flooding included a home on Gale Road west of Oregon that was surrounded by fast moving flood waters. A nearby drainage ditch had several feet of fast moving flood water. Thirty campers had to be evacuated through flood waters from the Rock River Marina & Campground on River Road near Oregon where nearly 5 inches of rain was reported. Numerous streets were flooded and closed in Oregon, Polo, and Mt. Morris. Some rural roads between Oregon and Polo were washed out. Damage was reported to several shoulders of rural roads. A restaurant in Oregon had to…

7. Jun 1, 2010Dense Fog, Ogle$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Dense fog developed across parts of northwest Illinois during the early morning hours of June 1st. A 13 vehicle accident occurred on Route 64 north of Rochelle due to the low visibility. A semi truck and garbage truck were involved in the accident. No serious injuries were reported.

8. Apr 5, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A corn crib was completely destroyed along Brookville Road, spilling about 18,000 bushels of corn. A machine shed was also destroyed at the same location. Roof and window damage was reported to other buildings in the area. Trees, tree limbs and power lines were also blown down. Windows were broken on a tractor.

9. Jun 12, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   About a dozen big trees were blown down along with 20 to 30 smaller trees. Numerous tree limbs and power lines were also blown down. Part of the roof of a dealership was blown off. A semi-trailer was blown over on Interstate 39.

10. Aug 4, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A large recreational vehicle was destroyed when half of a large tree fell on it near the intersection of Freeport and Milledgeville Roads.

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

105°FJul 7, 2012

All-time low

−31°FJan 31, 2019

Warmest night

80°FJul 19, 2019

Coldest day

−14°FJan 18, 1994

Wettest day

5.70 inAug 14, 1987

Snowiest day

11.7 inNov 25, 2018

Hottest year

2012mean 53.2°F

Coldest year

1979mean 45.4°F

Wettest year

197356.48 in

Driest year

197623.25 in

Snowiest season

74.5 in1978-79

Station Rockford Gtr Rockford Airport (USW00094822), 725 ft elevation, 14.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1951 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% 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 USW00094822.
• 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.