Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
Buchanan; Delaware; Dubuque; Benton; Linn; Jones; Jackson; Clinton; Jo Daviess; Stephenson; Carroll; Whiteside
Carroll County, Illinois severe weather history spans 373 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 56.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,371 nationally and #48 in Illinois.
373
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
15
Direct injuries
$17.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Carroll County, Illinois severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Carroll County, Illinois severe weather history averages 4.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 115 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 54 events fall before 1990 and 319 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flash flood, with $11.8M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Carroll County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 211 | 0 | $2.6M | 90 | 1960–2026 |
| Hail | 75 | 0 | $34K | 3 | 1960–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 31 | 0 | $11.8M | 0 | 1997–2026 |
| Tornado | 23 | 0 | $2.6M | F3 | 1950–2026 |
| Flood | 14 | 0 | $250K | 0 | 2000–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 9 | 0 | $25K | 1.6 | 1999–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2026 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $90K | 0 | 1996–2010 |
| Winter Weather | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2001 |
Decade by decade
Carroll County, Illinois severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
19 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 16 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967-01-24 | EF3 | 0 | 12 | 7.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-06-12 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 6.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-09-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1955-04-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-07-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 29.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2023-03-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-03-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-05-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 12.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2015-04-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2014-06-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Carroll County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 1967 | Tornado | 0 | 12 | $250K | |
| Jun 28, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | SHANNON | 0 | 2 | $8K |
| Jun 12, 2013 | Tornado | SAVANNA | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rains of 3 to 9 inches fell across Carroll County during the late evening hours of July 22 and through the morning hours of July 23 resulting in flash flooding of much of the county. Several roads across the county, especially the northern half, were closed due to the flash flooding. The Shannon area received over 8 inches of rain during the night and was in need of sludge pumps to assist with the flooding issues in the area. Areas that had never flooded before were flooded.
Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph caused a west-facing wall of a church to collapse in Milledgeville, IL around 858 pm April 5. In addition, several 3 foot diameter trees were blown down. Numerous power lines were also knocked down resulting in a power outage to much of the town. Most of the damage was across the northwest part of town and extended about 0.5 miles to the north.
Torrential rains of 2 to 5 inches caused some flash flooding across the northern half of Carroll County during the late evening of July 27 and morning of July 28. Several streets in the town of Savanna were flooded forcing the evacuations of 80 residents. Portions of Mount Carroll along the Plum River were also flooded. Both railroad yards in the town were also underwater.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
15,576
Population (ACS)
$115K
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 |
| Sep 19, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 10, 2013 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 17, 2011 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Aug 19, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Carroll County, Illinois?
373 events are on record between 1950 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $17.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Carroll County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 211 recorded events — 56.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Carroll County?
19 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 16 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Carroll County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Carroll County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Carroll County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Carroll County as very low risk, placing it in the 39 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Carroll 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
- Calhoun County 142
- Cass County 208
- Bureau County 487
- Champaign County 840
- Brown County 145
- Christian County 442
Cite this page
“Carroll County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/carroll-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.