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DuPage County, Illinois severe weather history spans 970 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 51.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #154 nationally and #3 in Illinois.
970
Recorded events
7
Direct deaths
145
Direct injuries
$48.5M
Property damage
The record
What the DuPage County, Illinois severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, DuPage County, Illinois severe weather history averages 13.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 293 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 77 events fall before 1990 and 893 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the DuPage County, Illinois record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $28.4M 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 DuPage County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 496 | 4 | $5.9M | 83 | 1963–2026 |
| Hail | 255 | 0 | $30K | 4.8 | 1961–2026 |
| Flood | 77 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 63 | 0 | $28.4M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 46 | 0 | $12.5M | F4 | 1955–2025 |
| Lightning | 19 | 2 | $1.7M | 0 | 2001–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 9 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2017–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2022 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2003 |
Decade by decade
DuPage County, Illinois severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
48 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 42 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976-06-13 | EF4 | 2 | 23 | 3.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-06-20 | EF3 | 0 | 11 | 17.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-03-12 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 22.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-04-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-07-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-08-24 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-11-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-05-26 | EF2 | 0 | 11 | 13.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-09-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in DuPage County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2, 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | WOOD DALE | 2 | 19 | $0 |
| Jun 27, 2005 | Lightning | ROSELLE | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| May 15, 2020 | Flood | WINFIELD | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 30, 2013 | Lightning | THE MEADOWS | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 23, 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | BLOOMINGDALE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 8, 1988 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| Aug 23, 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | WEST CHICAGO | 0 | 40 | $500K |
| Mar 12, 1976 | Tornado | 0 | 25 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tent collapsed during a thunderstorm at the Wood Dale Prairie Fest killing a 35 year old man and injuring 20 other people, three seriously. One of the three seriously injured, an 81 year old woman, died from her injuries in January 2016.
An 18 year old woman attempted to cross a flooded pedestrian bridge in the Winfield Mounds Forest Preserve and was swept away. A witness said water from the West Branch DuPage River was waist deep over the bridge. The woman's body was found several days later.
Flash flooding or significant flooding was reported across most of Dupage County, including street closures due to flooding, basement flooding and creek, stream and river flooding. A few of the more extensive flooding reports included the West Branch of the Dupage River in and near Warrenville, in Addison where 1,800 people had to be evacuated, along Salt Creek in Villa Park and 300 houses were affected by flooding in Carol Stream. Numerous vehicles were also reported stalled or abandoned in flood waters.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
930,024
Population (ACS)
$391K
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 |
| Aug 19, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Oct 3, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Naperville 148
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in DuPage County, Illinois?
970 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 7 direct deaths and $48.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in DuPage County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 496 recorded events — 51.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed DuPage County?
48 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 42 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover DuPage County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include DuPage County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is DuPage County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates DuPage County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 98 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the DuPage 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
- Douglas County 266
- Edgar County 297
- De Witt County 259
- Edwards County 149
- DeKalb County 485
- Effingham County 378
Cite this page
“DuPage County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/dupage-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.