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Cass County, Illinois severe weather history spans 208 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 50.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,395 nationally and #90 in Illinois.
208
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
7
Direct injuries
$8.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Cass County, Illinois severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Cass County, Illinois severe weather history averages 2.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 62 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 26 events fall before 1990 and 182 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Cass County, Illinois record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $4.3M 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 Cass County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 105 | 0 | $4.3M | 87 | 1955–2025 |
| Hail | 56 | 0 | $110K | 2.75 | 1966–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 25 | 0 | $2.2M | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Tornado | 18 | 1 | $2.3M | F2 | 1960–2025 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2021 |
Decade by decade
Cass 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-12-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-07-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-06-23 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 34.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-06-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 42.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1999-04-08 | EF1 | 1 | 6 | 9.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-07-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-12-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-04-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-08-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-06-18 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Cass County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 9, 1999 | Tornado | ASHLAND | 1 | 6 | $1.8M |
| Jun 23, 1960 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Numerous large trees were uprooted, and many large tree branches and power lines were downed. Thirty nine structures sustained damage and most needed repairs to be returned to a habitable state. These structures included single and multiple family homes, mobile homes, and businesses. Three structures were a total loss.
As a line of severe thunderstorms moved into Cass County, several miles stretch of US Route 67 was closed due to 40 power poles being blown down. Also, ten homes sustained minor damage from the storms. A barn and a garage were destroyed, and numerous trees, tree limbs, and other power lines were blown down. In Arenzville, one of the fallen trees damaged a pickup truck. Also, considerable crop damage was reported countywide, especially between Beardstown and Arenzville. Damage to the crops was estimated around $6.8 million.
A tornado touched down 1.1 miles southeast of Beardstown at 3:25 PM CST. The tornado damaged some power poles near the railroad tracks east of the nursing home south of Beardstown, then tracked northeastward, causing tree damage as it crossed IL Route 125. The tornado damaged the Water Treatment Plant, including 3 of the 4 wells that serve the city, and knocked down numerous trees as it passed just east of Roy Roberts Park. It also knocked the windows out of several vehicles in the parking lot of the Park. The tornado continued moving to the northeast across Chandlerville Rd, causing an elongated area of tree damage along Duck Slough Rd before dissipating in a field east of Phelps Ditch Rd about 3.9 miles northeast of Beardstown at 3:33 PM CST.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
12,784
Population (ACS)
$97K
Median home value
21
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 13, 2021 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | EM |
| 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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Cass County, Illinois?
208 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $8.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Cass County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 105 recorded events — 50.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Cass 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 Cass County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Cass County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Cass County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Cass County as very low risk, placing it in the 39 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Cass 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
- Carroll County 373
- Champaign County 840
- Calhoun County 142
- Christian County 442
- Bureau County 487
- Clark County 232
Cite this page
“Cass County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/cass-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.