61
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$330K
Property damage
Heavy Rain in Cook County, Illinois: 61 recorded events between 2003 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #68 nationally and #1 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Heavy Rain in Cook County, Illinois: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for heavy rain in Cook County is the 2020s, when 34 of the county's 61 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Cook County archive, heavy rain makes up 2.3% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #68 for this hazard and #1 within Illinois, putting it in the 97.1 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for heavy rain in Cook County with 32 recorded events, while Feb is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 18, 2013 | DEERING | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 27, 2025 | SPAULDING | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 24, 2024 | MATTESON | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 24, 2024 | OAK FOREST | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 24, 2024 | BURBANK | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | BURBANK | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 5, 2023 | CRESTWOOD | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 5, 2023 | WICKER PARK | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 5, 2023 | BRIDGEVIEW | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 5, 2023 | MIDLOTHIAN | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 5, 2023 | LEMONT | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Cook County
- Thunderstorm Wind 1,384
- Hail 639
- Flood 209
- Flash Flood 191
- Tornado 85
- Lightning 57
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Thunderstorms training over the Chicago metro area dropped from around 1.5 inches to just over three inches of rain in just a couple hours. A construction worker inside the sewer in the 3000 block of North Rockwell Street was swept away by rushing water after removing his harness to reach a confined space about 30 inches in diameter.
The roof of an auto body shop on Western Avenue collapsed during the afternoon of July 24th. The exact cause of the collapse was not known but heavy rain that fell across the area during the early morning hours of July 24th was the likely cause of the collapse. Six cars inside the shop were damaged.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many heavy rain events are on record in Cook County, Illinois?
61 heavy rain events are recorded in Cook County between 2003 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest heavy rain recorded in Cook County?
The strongest heavy rain on record in Cook County measured 0.
Where does the heavy rain data for Cook County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Heavy Rain in Cook County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/cook-county/heavy-rain/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.