Live
Active alerts for this county
Extreme Heat Warning
Jefferson; Wayne; Edwards; Wabash; Perry; Franklin; Hamilton; White; Jackson; Williamson; Saline; Gallatin; Union; Johnson; Pope; Hardin; Alexander; Pulaski; Massac; Gibson; Pike; Posey; Vanderburgh; Warrick; Spencer; Fulton; Hickman; Carlisle; Ballard; McCracken; Graves; Livingston; Marshall; Calloway; Crittenden; Lyon; Trigg; Caldwell; Union; Webster; Hopkins; Christian; Henderson; Daviess; McLean; Muhlenberg; Todd; Perry; Bollinger; Cape Girardeau; Wayne; Carter; Ripley; Butler; Stoddard; Scott; Mississippi; New Madrid
Franklin County, Illinois severe weather history spans 435 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 38.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,116 nationally and #36 in Illinois.
435
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
38
Direct injuries
$30.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Franklin County, Illinois severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Franklin County, Illinois severe weather history averages 6.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 146 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 32 events fall before 1990 and 403 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Franklin County, Illinois record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $11.3M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Franklin County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 167 | 0 | $9.8M | 83 | 1962–2025 |
| Hail | 114 | 0 | $167K | 3 | 1955–2025 |
| Flood | 64 | 0 | $2.2M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 38 | 0 | $11.3M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 21 | 0 | $18K | 0 | 2003–2015 |
| Tornado | 18 | 1 | $7.3M | F4 | 1957–2022 |
| Funnel Cloud | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $29K | 0 | 2010–2015 |
Decade by decade
Franklin County, Illinois severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
20 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 13 touched down inside it and 7 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-12-18 | EF4 | 11 | 200 | 28.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-02-28 | EF4 | 1 | 12 | 53.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1958-04-05 | EF3 | 0 | 11 | 20.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1961-03-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 112.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1960-02-09 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 24.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-12-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-06-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-05-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-06-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.8 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Franklin County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 1971 | Tornado | 1 | 20 | $2.5M | |
| Dec 18, 1957 | Tornado | 0 | 10 | $2.5M | |
| May 28, 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 2 | $70K |
| Jun 21, 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | SESSER | 0 | 1 | $250K |
| May 1, 2011 | Flood | PLUMFIELD | 0 | 1 | $500K |
| Oct 24, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | ROYALTON | 0 | 1 | $50K |
| Oct 24, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | BENTON | 0 | 1 | $75K |
| Apr 27, 1994 | Tornado | West Frankfort | 0 | 1 | $500K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This large tornado entered Franklin County from Jackson County. The tornado originally formed near Perryville, Missouri. The most intense damage in Franklin County was located south of Mulkeytown, where the tornado was rated EF-3 based on a house that was swept clean off its foundation. Debris was thrown up to a mile downwind. The debris was shredded, with nothing larger than 2-by-4 wood pieces. However, the house was sitting on a block foundation, unattached to anything. Based on the lack of any anchors for the house, peak winds were estimated near 160 mph at this site. Most of the other damage in this rural area of Franklin County consisted of snapped trees, heavily damaged barns, and a few damaged houses. The tornado rapidly weakened from EF-3 intensity to complete dissipation during the final two miles of its path. The average path width in Franklin County was 340 yards. The total path length starting near Perryville, Missouri was nearly 50 miles. The tornado dissipated just southwest of Christopher.
A large two-story house sustained major damage, losing large portions of its roof and the front porch. A small storage shed and fencing was damaged. Near the beginning of the damage path, a garage lost most of its roof. Dozens of trees and tree limbs were broken or uprooted. At least one eyewitness saw the tornado, which began in a subdivision just west of Interstate 57 near West Frankfort. The tornado moved northwest before ending on the west side of County Road 6 near the Green River. The most intense winds were at the damaged large two-story house on County Road 6. Peak winds were estimated near 110 mph there.
Record flooding occurred on the Big Muddy River. At the Plumfield river gage, the river crested at 34.68 feet on the evening of May 3. This exceeded the old record set in 1961 by less than an inch. Illinois Route 148 was closed south of Zeigler, as was County Highway 11. A section of Illinois Route 149 was closed, along with Illinois Route 37 north of West Frankfort. About two dozen homes were flooded, mostly in the Mitchell Lake area of Denning Township. Between five and six feet of water entered some homes. A 62-year-old man was found clinging to a tree after ignoring barricades and driving into swift water on the morning of May 3. The man was treated for hypothermia at a local hospital. His vehicle was washed off the roadway into deep water.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
37,323
Population (ACS)
$89K
Median home value
10
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 26, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 7, 2011 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 2, 2009 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Sep 7, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| Feb 1, 2005 | Snowstorm | RECORD/NEAR RECORD SNOW | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Franklin County, Illinois?
435 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $30.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Franklin County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 167 recorded events — 38.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Franklin County?
20 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 13 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Franklin County?
10 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Franklin County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Franklin County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Franklin County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 81 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Franklin 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
- Ford County 258
- Fulton County 617
- Fayette County 264
- Gallatin County 239
- Effingham County 378
- Greene County 193
Cite this page
“Franklin County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/franklin-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.