Live
Active alerts for this county
Extreme Heat Warning
Knox; Stark; Peoria; Marshall; Woodford; Fulton; Tazewell; McLean; Schuyler; Mason; Logan; De Witt; Piatt; Champaign; Vermilion; Cass; Menard; Scott; Morgan; Sangamon; Christian; Macon; Moultrie; Douglas; Coles; Edgar; Shelby; Cumberland; Clark; Effingham; Jasper; Crawford; Clay; Richland; Lawrence
Effingham County, Illinois severe weather history spans 378 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 50.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,342 nationally and #45 in Illinois.
378
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
13
Direct injuries
$4.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Effingham County, Illinois severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Effingham County, Illinois severe weather history averages 5.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 118 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 43 events fall before 1990 and 335 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Effingham County, Illinois record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $2.3M 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 Effingham County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 192 | 0 | $1.7M | 70 | 1956–2026 |
| Hail | 86 | 0 | $0 | 3 | 1955–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 59 | 0 | $205K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 29 | 2 | $2.3M | F3 | 1959–2026 |
| Flood | 12 | 0 | $300K | 0 | 2000–2020 |
Decade by decade
Effingham County, Illinois severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
30 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 26 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961-03-06 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 21.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-04-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 18.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2013-11-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2006-04-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-06-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1994-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-04-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 21.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-06-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-03-15 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-04-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Effingham County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 1983 | Tornado | 2 | 0 | $250K | |
| Apr 27, 1994 | Tornado | Eberle to | 0 | 3 | $500K |
| Mar 6, 1961 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| Mar 15, 1959 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Feb 19, 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | WATSON | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 20, 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | BEECHER CITY | 0 | 1 | $250K |
| Jun 11, 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | ALTAMONT | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 7, 2002 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado touched down 2 miles southwest of Eberle and destroyed a two-car garage. Several trees were also downed near this site. The tornado moved east-northeast and struck a two-story home just west of Eberle, partially placing the home on its side. This is where F2 damage occurred. Two children received minor injuries while the father was significantly injured after his neck was punctured by a two inch piece of glass. A small shed and siding from a barn was damaged as the tornado continued just north of Eberle. Several farm buildings and grain bins were damaged before the tornado lifted 4 miles northeast of Eberle.
This tornado continued from Fayette County in National Weather Service St. Louis' County Warning Area (CWA). The tornado crossed into Effingham County 3.2 miles WNW of Altamont at 12:28 PM CST before tracking northeastward and dissipating 2.9 miles NNW of Altamont at 12:32 PM CST. About a dozen outbuildings were damaged and minor damage occurred to the roofs of 3 homes. Several power poles were blown down as well. The tornado dissipated near North 200th Street and East 1300th Avenue in rural Effingham County.
An extended period of heavy rain during the late evening of December 26th in northwest Effingham County combined with an already saturated ground to produce flash flooding. Rainfall amounts ranged from 2.75 to 4.00 inches in less than six hours. Most rural roads and state highways were flooded and impassable northwest of Interstate 70. Beecher City, Altamont and Shumway were the most impacted with flooded streets and basements. Several streets were also flooded in the city of Effingham. The flooding continued through all of December 27th. Additional rainfall of 2.40 to 3.00 from December 28th into the 29th aggravated the flooding situation significantly and spread into the remainder of the county. Every rural road and most state highways were flooded for nearly four days. The flood water finally subsided by the afternoon of December 31st.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
34,522
Population (ACS)
$190K
Median home value
7
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 |
| Mar 17, 2011 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Sep 7, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| May 21, 2002 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Effingham County, Illinois?
378 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $4.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Effingham County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 192 recorded events — 50.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Effingham County?
30 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 26 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Effingham County?
7 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Effingham County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Effingham County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Effingham County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 54 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Effingham 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
- Edwards County 149
- Fayette County 264
- Edgar County 297
- Ford County 258
- DuPage County 970
- Franklin County 435
Cite this page
“Effingham County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/effingham-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.