Pope County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Pope County: 3.
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.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 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.

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. Jan 26, 2009Winter Storm, Pope$9.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A prolonged, major winter storm dumped 6 to 10 inches of sleet and snow north of a line from East Cape Girardeau through Vienna to the confluence of the Wabash and Ohio Rivers. This resulted in at least two dozen roof collapses and very difficult driving conditions. South of that line, at least one inch of ice accumulated, with locally around 1.5 inches of ice. This resulted in a federal disaster declaration due to widespread tree damage and power outages. Virtually 100 percent of Massac County in the southern tip of the state was without power. The vast majority of nearby Alexander, Pulaski, Pope, Hardin, and southern Johnson Counties lost power. A major 161,000 volt transmission…

2. May 6, 2003Tornado$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado entered Pope County near where Illinois Route 145 crosses the Massac County line. The tornado passed near the communities of Temple Hill, Homberg, and Brownfield. In Pope County, three mobile homes and four permanent homes were destroyed, along with numerous barns and outbuildings. An additional nine single-family homes and two mobile homes received major damage. Dozens of other residences received minor to moderate damage. Some vehicles were rolled or moved. The tornado passed just west and northwest of Golconda before ending about a mile north of town. Just west of Golconda, the roof was blown off the county elementary school's gymnasium. Despite the seven destroyed…

3. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Pope$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Frequent wind gusts from 60 to nearly 70 mph caused considerable damage in southern Illinois. The low pressure center that was the remnant of Hurricane Ike raced northeast at 40 to 50 mph across Missouri and Illinois. The center passed between Carbondale and St. Louis on its way toward the northeastern states. The rapid speed of the low pressure system contributed to this high wind event.||Considerable tree damage occurred. Trees were uprooted, and very large limbs were broken. Some trees fell on homes, outbuildings, and vehicles. Fewer than a dozen homes in each county were damaged by falling trees. Others fell on commercial and public buildings. Numerous trees or limbs fell on…

4. Feb 11, 2008Winter Storm, Pope$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Low pressure developed over the southern Plains, spreading widespread heavy precipitation across southern Illinois. At the same time, high pressure over the upper Ohio Valley produced a cold easterly wind flow. The result was a crippling ice storm. Around one inch of ice caused extensive damage across far southern Illinois, along and south of a line from Carbondale and Marion to Harrisburg and Carmi. Many of those same areas received three to six inches of sleet and snow. The most destructive icing occurred in an east to west band across Union, Johnson, Massac, and Pope Counties. The state designated most counties in southern Illinois as a disaster area. Numerous trees and power…

5. Jan 22, 1999Tornado$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado with top winds estimated near 125 MPH struck a development of cabins and small summer homes in the Shawnee National Forest, at a place called Ropers Landing. The tornado damaged or destroyed about 30 of these structures and caused extensive tree damage. About six cabins were completely demolished. The homes were unhabited in the middle of winter. Ropers Landing is located at the base of a bluff along the Ohio River. The tornado lifted as it crossed the Ohio River.

6. Mar 18, 2008Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Illinois 145 was closed two miles north of Route 146. Route 145 is the main north-south route through the county. More than 1,000 sandbags were filled in Pope County for residents in flood-prone areas. Many of the sandbags were placed around a water pumping station that services parts of the county with drinking water.

7. Nov 17, 2013Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado crossed into Pope County from Massac County. The most intense damage in Pope County was rated EF-2 with estimated 130 mph peak winds. At least two mobile homes were completely destroyed. The mobile home units separated from their frame undercarriage and were rolled several times. The tornado continued east across the Ohio River into Livingston County, Kentucky. The total path length of this tornado was 42 miles. The parent supercell tracked from southeast Missouri across the Mississippi River through the Paducah area, then east to the Kentucky Lake area of western Kentucky.

8. Apr 28, 2002Tornado$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down near Dixon Springs and tracked east, parallel and very close to Illinois Route 146. The path was through rural farm country and the Shawnee National Forest. A couple of farm buildings were damaged near the beginning of the track. Where the tornado crossed Route 146, a mobile home was destroyed, injuring one person. On the north side of Golconda, one brick home was destroyed and a couple of nearby homes were damaged. The tornado then crossed the Ohio River into Kentucky.

9. May 1, 2011Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Major flooding continued on the Ohio River from April. At the Golconda river gage, the flood crest of 56.89 feet on the afternoon of May 6 was about 3 feet higher than the 1997 flood. This was still almost six feet lower than the record crest set in 1937. The activation of the New Madrid Floodway by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spared Pope County from an even higher crest that would have inundated even larger areas of the county. With the detonation of the Mississippi River levee at Birds Point, Missouri, the Ohio River stopped rising or rose much more slowly at the Golconda gage. Due to Ohio River flooding, the floodgates were installed at Golconda. This required that all…

10. Oct 18, 2004Tornado$150,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    This tornado entered Pope County from Johnson County in a remote area of the Shawnee National Forest. Most of the track was through heavily forested areas, causing extensive tree destruction. The tornado reached its peak intensity about a mile northeast of Bell Smith Springs, a scenic river gorge about 4 miles northwest of Eddyville. Peak winds were estimated near 120 MPH. Near the end of the damage path, just as the tornado was reaching Illinois Route 145, a mobile home was damaged.

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°FJun 29, 2012

All-time low

−20°FJan 17, 1977

Warmest night

85°FJul 26, 2015

Coldest day

1°FDec 22, 1989

Wettest day

7.05 inDec 28, 2015

Snowiest day

10.5 inFeb 25, 1993

Hottest year

2024mean 61.5°F

Coldest year

2003mean 54.8°F

Wettest year

200661.91 in

Driest year

198034.39 in

Snowiest season

31.6 in1977-78

Station Dixon Springs Agric Center (USC00112353), 527 ft elevation, 6.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1967 to September 29, 2026; 88.7% 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 USC00112353.
• 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.