Dixon County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 NE Univ of NE Lincoln (9).

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. Mar 13, 2019Flood$3.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Water was over Highway 20 between 583 Avenue and 5835 Avenue. In addition, flooding resulted in extensive damage to public infrastructure including numerous county and township roads, culverts, and some bridges.

2. Jul 2, 1999Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding from over 3 inches of rain in a half hour covered streets with 2 feet or more of water, making travel impossible in places. Flooding also occurred in basements, yards and public land. Floodwaters deposited mud and debris which caused further damage.

3. Oct 4, 2013Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado, crossing into Dixon County from Wayne County, severely damaged the roofs of two houses, one of which was a manufactured house, and caused damage to the siding and windows of the houses. Windows of at least one other house were blown out. The tornado also overturned a camper, destroyed or severely damaged a grain bin, numerous farm outbuildings, farm storage buildings, several pieces of farm equipment, and flattened corn crops in several areas. The tornado caused tree damage along its path, including trees uprooted and snapped off at the trunks, and blew down power poles and power lines.

4. Jul 16, 1996Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains of 6 to 10 inches caused flash flooding of roads and lowlands with no travel advised by local authorities. Several motorists were stranded and had to be rescued during the early morning hours. Basement flooding was widespread. Crop damage was suspected but could not be separated from damage caused by widespread hail from the same storm.

5. Jul 16, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree and power line damage, with scattered damage to buildings also reported.

6. Jul 16, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage and also damaged power lines and some buildings.

7. Jul 11, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including numerous large branches down.

8. Aug 18, 2011Hail$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Large hail caused widespread crop damage, destroying some corn crops completely. The hail also damaged roofs and siding on buildings, and severely dented vehicles and broke windows. A stock trailer was destroyed by the large hail in combination with damaging winds. The hail, also in combination with damaging winds, caused severe tree damage.

9. Jul 2, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds blew the roof and walls off a hog confinement building, damaged an irrigation system, caused minor damage to other structures, and caused widespread tree damage.

10. Aug 18, 2011Hail$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Large hail punched a hole in the roof of a home, caused other damage to homes, businesses, and vehicles, and severely damaged crops. The amount of crop damage was not known.

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

115°FJul 17, 1936

All-time low

−41°FJan 12, 1912

Warmest night

90°FJul 29, 1935

Coldest day

−20°FFeb 1, 1917

Wettest day

6.35 inJun 4, 1940

Snowiest day

17.0 inNov 19, 1948

Hottest year

1931mean 54.3°F

Coldest year

1951mean 45.1°F

Wettest year

200744.27 in

Driest year

202214.25 in

Snowiest season

81.7 in1983-84

Station Wakefield 3NW (USC00258915), 1,420 ft elevation, 10.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1897 to October 25, 2026; 94.0% 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 USC00258915.
• 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.