Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
Greene; Macoupin; Montgomery; Bond; Fayette; Clinton; Marion; Washington; Randolph; Adams; Brown; Pike; Calhoun; Jersey; Knox; Lewis; Shelby; Marion; Monroe; Ralls; Pike; Boone; Audrain; Moniteau; Cole; Osage; Callaway; Montgomery; Lincoln; Gasconade; Warren; Franklin; Crawford; Washington; St. Francois; Ste. Genevieve; Iron; Madison; Reynolds
Montgomery County, Illinois severe weather history spans 417 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 48.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,188 nationally and #41 in Illinois.
417
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
18
Direct injuries
$2.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Montgomery County, Illinois severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Montgomery County, Illinois severe weather history averages 5.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 142 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 46 events fall before 1990 and 371 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Montgomery County, Illinois record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $2.0M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Montgomery County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 200 | 0 | $150K | 70 | 1956–2026 |
| Hail | 136 | 0 | $0 | 4.5 | 1968–2026 |
| Tornado | 55 | 3 | $2.0M | F3 | 1950–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 21 | 0 | $1K | 0 | 1998–2026 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $80K | 0 | 1996–2002 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2005 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2008 |
Decade by decade
Montgomery County, Illinois severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
49 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 41 touched down inside it and 8 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-06-01 | EF3 | 1 | 4 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-03-20 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 8.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1950-01-03 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 3.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-12-10 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 41.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2018-12-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-02-20 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 22.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-04-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 20.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-05-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Montgomery County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 29, 1956 | Tornado | 2 | 0 | $25K | |
| Jun 1, 1999 | Tornado | RAYMOND | 1 | 4 | $0 |
| Mar 20, 1976 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| Apr 3, 1964 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $25K | |
| Jan 3, 1950 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| Jul 11, 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | NOKOMIS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 9, 2002 | Lightning | HILLSBORO | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Nov 27, 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Witt | 0 | 1 | $3K |
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 4.6 miles east northeast of Farmersville (Montgomery County in St. Louis CWA). It traveled to the southeast destroying one machine shed and damaging three other machine sheds. Two barns and two homes sustained damage as well. Debris from the machine sheds were tossed a quarter of a mile downwind from their initial locations. The tornado then crossed into Christian County (Central Illinois's CWA) south of the intersection of 3050N and the county line. No injuries were reported.
A brief tornado touched down on the evening of March 5th, 2022 just south of Farmersville, IL. The tornado first touched down near East 2nd Road, where it did damage to a one story residence. At this location, the tornado ripped the roof off the garage of a home and the awning off the front porch. The tornado continued northeast, doing some minor damage to a farm building just west of Interstate 55. As it crossed Interstate 55, it blew over a semi truck on the highway. The tornado continued east of Interstate 55, doing substantial damage to some large farm buildings along Morrisonville Avenue and East 4th Road. From there, the tornado began to weaken as it struck a newly constructed hog farm along East 5th Road, before quickly lifting near Macoupin Creek. Overall, the tornado was rated EF-1 with a path length of 3.89 miles and a max path width of 40 yards. No deaths or injuries were reported.
Widespread wind damage occurred across the southern portions of Montgomery County. Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down in Litchfield, Hillsboro and Coffeen. In Litchfield, a large tree branch landed on a house causing moderate roof damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
27,942
Population (ACS)
$112K
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 |
| Oct 3, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Feb 9, 2007 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Sep 7, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Montgomery County, Illinois?
417 events are on record between 1950 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $2.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Montgomery County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 200 recorded events — 48.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Montgomery County?
49 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 41 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Montgomery County?
7 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Montgomery County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Montgomery County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Montgomery County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 65 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Montgomery 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
- Monroe County 315
- Morgan County 371
- Mercer County 341
- Moultrie County 192
- Menard County 258
- Ogle County 449
Cite this page
“Montgomery County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/montgomery-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.