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Kane County, Illinois severe weather history spans 907 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 59.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #205 nationally and #5 in Illinois.
907
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
12
Direct injuries
$33.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Kane County, Illinois severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Kane County, Illinois severe weather history averages 12.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 342 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 83 events fall before 1990 and 824 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Kane County, Illinois record is lightning, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $21.5M 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 Kane County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 540 | 0 | $1.3M | 80 | 1959–2026 |
| Hail | 222 | 0 | $55K | 2.75 | 1962–2026 |
| Tornado | 42 | 0 | $3.7M | F2 | 1955–2024 |
| Flood | 36 | 0 | $5.0M | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 29 | 0 | $21.5M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Lightning | 16 | 1 | $1.5M | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 16 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2025 |
Decade by decade
Kane 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: 43 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967-04-21 | EF4 | 1 | 100 | 8.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-07-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-04-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-04-21 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1958-08-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-08-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-05-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-07-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-07-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-02-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Kane County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2, 2006 | Lightning | ELGIN | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 23, 1956 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $25K | |
| Aug 4, 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | GENEVA | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 16, 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | CAMPTON HILLS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 21, 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | HENPECK | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 13, 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | GENEVA | 0 | 1 | $20K |
| Jul 3, 2003 | Lightning | ELGIN | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 12, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 1 | $7K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Significant flooding occurred along the Fox River throughout Kane County, In East Dundee, Richardson Subdivision was particularly hit hard by the flooding. In South Elgin, some of the hardest hit areas included South River Street, North Water Street, Arthur Avenue, Josephine Avenue, Ross Avenue, and Mavis Avenue. 10 Families were evacuated in Elgin as flood waters continued to rise on August 24th. Bike paths and other green space along the river were inundated. Another area affected included the Valley View Subdivision in St Charles. Kane County officials estimated that flooding damaged more than 600 homes and businesses, and forced at least 80 residents from their homes. Flooding also occurred to 15 homes along the river���s west bank in Montgomery. Reports indicated that floodwaters affected backyards, garages, and basements of homes just south of the Ashland Avenue Bridge.
Flash flooding or significant flooding was reported across most of Kane County, including street closures due to flooding, basement flooding and creek, stream and river flooding. A few of the more extensive flooding reports included a wall of a retention pond that was washed away in South Elgin, flooding along the Fox River in Batavia, eight cars were pulled out of flood waters along Route 56 and in residential areas in Elgin near Popular Creek. Numerous other vehicles were abandoned in flood waters.
Lightning struck a townhouse in St Charles causing a fire to break out. The fire spread into the next townhouse severely damaging both buildings. Two firefighters were injured while battling the fire. The exact extent of their injuries is unknown, but both of them were released from the hospital within the next day. Damages were estimated at more than $700,000.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
517,255
Population (ACS)
$327K
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 |
| Oct 3, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 25, 2007 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Kane County, Illinois?
907 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $33.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Kane County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 540 recorded events — 59.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Kane County?
48 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 43 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Kane County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Kane County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Kane County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kane County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 95 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Kane 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
- Johnson County 236
- Kankakee County 562
- Jo Daviess County 444
- Kendall County 365
- Jersey County 252
- Knox County 393
Cite this page
“Kane County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/kane-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.