Tazewell County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NASA (2).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Nov 17, 2013Tornado$910 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down 2.4 miles SE of East Peoria at 10:59 AM CST, then tracked northeastward through parts of East Peoria and Washington before crossing the border into Woodford County at 11:12 AM CST. One man in Washington was killed by the tornado, one woman from Washington died 11 days later from multiple serious injuries sustained by the tornado, one man died six weeks later from injuries sustained by the tornado, and 121 people were injured.| |In East Peoria: 20 homes were destroyed, while 75 homes, 7 businesses, and 5 apartment buildings suffered major damage. Minor damage occurred to 137 homes and 3 businesses. In addition, nearly 400 vehicles were damaged, thousands of…

2. Nov 17, 2013Tornado$45.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado crossed the Illinois River from Peoria County at 10:53 AM CST. It tracked through the northwest side of Pekin before lifting 2 miles northeast of Pekin at 10:54 AM CST. Approximately 179 houses and 6 businesses suffered major damage, while 182 houses experienced minor roof damage. In addition, 3 apartment buildings lost their roofs, a power substation had minor damage, and hundreds of cars were damaged. Ten people were injured.

3. Apr 17, 2013Flash Flood$31.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very heavy rainfall of 3.00 to 5.00 inches resulted in damage to thousands of houses and businesses in the county, which included the cities of East Peoria, Pekin, Washington and Morton. Every creek and stream in the western and northern part of the county was flooded. Nearly every road in the flooded area was impassable, including parts of Interstate 74 which had to be closed. Numerous water rescues were made. Mudslides were also reported on the bluffs along the Illinois River which did damage to a gas station and covered U.S. Highway 150 with several inches of mud.

4. May 1, 2013Flood$21.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   High impact flooding on the Illinois River continued from April.||Several homes, businesses and roads along the Illinois River in Tazewell County suffered flood damage due to record river levels. A total of 374 structures were damaged by the flooding in Tazewell County. High impact flooding subsided when the river level at Peoria fell below a stage of 22 feet on May 8th.

5. May 10, 2003Tornado$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This long track tornado first touched down 3 miles southwest of South Pekin and traveled to the northeast. It destroyed several homes before reaching the eastern sections of South Pekin where it intensified to F3 strength. The tornado destroyed 50 homes, caused minor to major damage on an additional 80 homes before exiting the town. As the tornado approached Morton, it weakened briefly but quickly intensified again as it crossed the intersection of I-74 and I-155. When it crossed the highways, 8 vehicles were damaged and one injury was sustained when a car was overturned by the tornado as it crossed I-74. It destroyed several three story apartment buildings and severely damaged…

6. Jun 29, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   As the storms moved through Tazewell County, more intense damage was observed in two main areas, Morton and South Pekin. In Morton, as a tornado moved through southwestern portions of the city, strong microburst winds (100 to 110 mph) caused considerable tree and power line damage, as well as, structural damage in and close to the tornado path which masked or "wiped out" any evidence of a possible tornado touchdown. The tornado occurrence was not discounted however, as there were numerous valid spotter observations plus a mesocyclone signature on doppler radar. In the South Pekin area, 7 railroad cars were blown over and two high-tension towers were blown down. Fortunately, no…

7. Jul 16, 2015Tornado$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down 0.6 miles south of Delavan at 11:39 PM CDT. The tornado then moved east-northeast across the south side of Delavan, damaging 51 homes. 15 of the homes sustained severe damage, including either the roofs being completely torn off or the majority of the roof deck being lifted off. Numerous garages, outbuildings, and trees were damaged. The tornado also crossed through the Prairie Rest Cemetery, damaging grave markers and several trees before dissipating in a cornfield 2.2 miles east-northeast of Delavan at 11:46 PM CDT.

8. Dec 28, 2015Ice Storm, Tazewell$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Weather observers across Tazewell County reported ice accumulations of up to 0.25. This amount of ice combined with winds gusting as high as 45 to 55 mph caused extensive damage to trees, power poles, and power lines. Several homes were damaged by falling trees and tree branches. About 60,000 people lost power for up to 4 days after the storm.

9. 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…

10. Jun 29, 1998Tornado$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    A tornado formed over the Marquette Heights area blowing down numerous trees and power lines as it travelled to the east southeast. When the tornado reached the Groveland area, numerous homes sustained minor to moderate damage and part of the canopy over the gas pumps at a convenience store was blown down. As the tornado reached the southwestern side of Morton it intensified. It caused considerable damage to a 30 store shopping center, tearing half the roof off and breaking windows. In this same area it also caused moderate damage to a cinema, several restaurants, and other businesses. Then the tornado moved into a residential area causing light to moderate damage to around 24…

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°FJun 25, 1988

All-time low

−25°FJan 17, 1977

Warmest night

79°F7 times, most recently Aug 25, 2023

Coldest day

−11°FDec 24, 1983

Wettest day

5.19 inJul 15, 2020

Snowiest day

12.2 inJan 13, 1979

Hottest year

2024mean 56.1°F

Coldest year

1979mean 48.1°F

Wettest year

199055.35 in

Driest year

198822.16 in

Snowiest season

57.6 in2013-14

Station General Wayne A Downing International A (USW00014842), 655 ft elevation, 9.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1943 to October 26, 2026; 99.9% 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 USW00014842.
• 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.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.