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Brown County, Illinois severe weather history spans 145 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 46.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,725 nationally and #100 in Illinois.
145
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
22
Direct injuries
$3.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Brown County, Illinois severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Brown County, Illinois severe weather history averages 2.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 42 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 12 events fall before 1990 and 133 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Brown County, Illinois record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $2.8M in reported property damage. In total, 5 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Brown County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 68 | 0 | $348K | 70 | 1973–2026 |
| Hail | 52 | 0 | $101K | 2.75 | 1974–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 11 | 1 | $25K | 0 | 1996–2020 |
| Tornado | 10 | 0 | $2.8M | F2 | 1955–2023 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $9K | 0 | 2013–2013 |
Decade by decade
Brown County, Illinois severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
13 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 8 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961-05-14 | EF3 | 0 | 8 | 127.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2003-05-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 30.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1966-10-14 | EF2 | 0 | 20 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-03-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-04-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1955-04-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 14.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2023-10-13 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-02-28 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-08-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-06-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 22.6 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Brown County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 16, 2013 | Flash Flood | DAISY | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 15, 1966 | Tornado | 0 | 20 | $2.5M | |
| Oct 13, 2023 | Tornado | GILBIRDS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Mar 1, 2017 | Tornado | VERSAILLES | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Up to five inches of rain fell in about a three hour period. Several roads were flooded including County Road 550N. A man, along with his two year old son, tried to drive his car through 2 feet of flowing water on County Road 550N, about a mile and an half west of Illinois Route 107. The vehicle was swept off the road. He managed to unbuckle his son from the car seat, but could not get a hold of him because of the rushing waters. The man made it to dry ground. The child's body was found the next morning about half a mile down stream.
Widespread wind damage from the north side of Mt. Sterling to south of Hersman. Numerous trees, tree limbs, power poles and power lines were blown down. Several businesses and homes, especially on the south side of Mt. Sterling, sustained roof damage from fallen trees and tree limbs. One of the baseball dugouts at the high school was destroyed, with other minor damage around the school campus. A couple of trees fell onto unoccupied vehicles causing major damage.
Hail up to baseball size fell over Mt. Sterling and surrounding areas causing widespread damage to several dozen vehicles, buildings and crops. At least one farmer lost about a 1000 acres of corn and soybeans due to the large hail.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
6,322
Population (ACS)
$150K
Median home value
16
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 26, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| May 10, 2013 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 17, 2011 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Dec 29, 2006 | Snowstorm | SNOW | EM |
| Sep 7, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Brown County, Illinois?
145 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $3.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Brown County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 68 recorded events — 46.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Brown County?
13 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 8 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Brown County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Brown County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Brown County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Brown County as very low risk, placing it in the 5 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Brown County, Illinois severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Boone County 267
- Bureau County 487
- Bond County 220
- Calhoun County 142
- Alexander County 336
- Carroll County 373
Cite this page
“Brown County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/brown-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.