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Kendall County, Illinois severe weather history spans 365 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 54.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,408 nationally and #50 in Illinois.
365
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$9.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Kendall County, Illinois severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Kendall County, Illinois severe weather history averages 5.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 127 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 18 events fall before 1990 and 347 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $5.4M 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 Kendall County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 199 | 0 | $303K | 80 | 1957–2025 |
| Hail | 91 | 0 | $100K | 4.75 | 1956–2026 |
| Tornado | 31 | 0 | $5.4M | F5 | 1954–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 20 | 0 | $3.8M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 16 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $255K | 0 | 2009–2025 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $9K | 0 | 2010–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2016–2016 |
Decade by decade
Kendall County, Illinois severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
34 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990-08-28 | EF5 | 29 | 350 | 16.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-04-27 | EF3 | 1 | 5 | 9.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-03-12 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 22.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-07-17 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 81.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1958-08-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 74.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-07-15 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 19.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-07-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 19.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-07-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-08-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 14.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-06-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Kendall County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | PLANO | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
In Oswego, Route 25 was flooded and closed between Oswego and Montgomery Roads. Several cars drove around the barricades and at least one car was swept into the Fox River. The driver was able to escape. Four miles south of Little Rock, Jetter Road was flooded and closed. Three occupants of a car were rescued after their car was swept into Big Rock Creek. In Plano, many roads were flooded and closed, including Hale Road, Main Street, Miller Road and Creek Road. Extensive flooding was reported along Rock Creek Road. The Farnsworth House in Plano was damaged by flood waters from the Fox River. Extensive flooding was reported in Millington. Part of Fox River Drive was washed away and 17 roads across Kendall County were closed due to flooding. Basement flooding was also reported.
At Oswego High School, prolonged intense rainfall overwhelmed the capacity of a storm drainage system. Up to two feet of water flooded a courtyard near the school. Water flowed from the courtyard into the school via a set of double doors and reached depths of 8 to 10 inches near the entrance to the building. Water proceeded to flow into hallways, athletic facilities, and the gymnasium. The damage required the gym floor to be replaced. Damages amounted to over $300,000, with the gym floor alone costing around $250,000.
Torrential rainfall led to the failure of a drain pipe coupling at Oswego East High School. The failure took place on the third floor of the school causing water damage to spread to the lowest three levels. Hard ceilings had to be redone, carpets were extracted and cleaned, drywall was repaired, and lower insulation was replaced. Damages totaled between $200,000 and $250,000.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
137,675
Population (ACS)
$322K
Median home value
13
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 |
| Oct 3, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Dec 29, 2006 | Snowstorm | SNOW | EM |
| Sep 7, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Oswego 103
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Kendall County, Illinois?
365 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $9.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Kendall County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 199 recorded events — 54.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Kendall County?
34 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 28 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Kendall County?
13 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Kendall County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Kendall County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kendall County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 80 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Kendall 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
- Kankakee County 562
- Knox County 393
- Kane County 907
- Lake County 641
- Johnson County 236
- LaSalle County 753
Cite this page
“Kendall County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/kendall-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.