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Tazewell County, Illinois severe weather history spans 729 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 52.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #369 nationally and #11 in Illinois.
729
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
207
Direct injuries
$1.0B
Property damage
The record
What the Tazewell County, Illinois severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Tazewell County, Illinois severe weather history averages 10.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 197 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 76 events fall before 1990 and 653 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Tazewell County, Illinois record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $983.6M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Tazewell County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 381 | 0 | $5.5M | 87 | 1960–2026 |
| Hail | 230 | 0 | $0 | 3 | 1963–2026 |
| Tornado | 73 | 3 | $983.6M | F3 | 1955–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 36 | 0 | $31.6M | 0 | 2001–2022 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $21.7M | 0 | 2013–2024 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $58K | 0 | 2008–2025 |
Decade by decade
Tazewell County, Illinois severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
77 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 70 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-11-17 | EF4 | 3 | 125 | 46.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-05-10 | EF3 | 0 | 32 | 17.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-04-19 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 9.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1995-05-13 | EF3 | 0 | 25 | 25.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1956-08-13 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 3.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-03-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-07-16 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-11-17 | EF2 | 0 | 10 | 2.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2010-06-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-05-10 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 12.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Tazewell County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 17, 2013 | Tornado | MARQUETTE HGTS | 3 | 121 | $910.0M |
| May 11, 2003 | Tornado | SOUTH PEKIN | 0 | 32 | $10.0M |
| May 13, 1995 | Tornado | Tremont | 0 | 25 | $4.0M |
| Nov 17, 2013 | Tornado | PEKIN | 0 | 10 | $45.0M |
| Feb 11, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | DELAVAN | 0 | 6 | $40K |
| Jun 23, 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Morton | 0 | 6 | $0 |
| May 9, 1995 | Tornado | South Pekin | 0 | 2 | $1.0M |
| Nov 27, 1990 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado crossed the Illinois River from Peoria County at 10:53 AM CST. It tracked through the northwest side of Pekin before lifting 2 miles northeast of Pekin at 10:54 AM CST. Approximately 179 houses and 6 businesses suffered major damage, while 182 houses experienced minor roof damage. In addition, 3 apartment buildings lost their roofs, a power substation had minor damage, and hundreds of cars were damaged. Ten people were injured.
Very heavy rainfall of 3.00 to 5.00 inches resulted in damage to thousands of houses and businesses in the county, which included the cities of East Peoria, Pekin, Washington and Morton. Every creek and stream in the western and northern part of the county was flooded. Nearly every road in the flooded area was impassable, including parts of Interstate 74 which had to be closed. Numerous water rescues were made. Mudslides were also reported on the bluffs along the Illinois River which did damage to a gas station and covered U.S. Highway 150 with several inches of mud.
High impact flooding on the Illinois River continued from April.||Several homes, businesses and roads along the Illinois River in Tazewell County suffered flood damage due to record river levels. A total of 374 structures were damaged by the flooding in Tazewell County. High impact flooding subsided when the river level at Peoria fell below a stage of 22 feet on May 8th.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
130,290
Population (ACS)
$168K
Median home value
15
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 26, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Nov 26, 2013 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| May 10, 2013 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 17, 2011 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Dec 29, 2006 | Snowstorm | SNOW | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Pekin 117
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Tazewell County, Illinois?
729 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $1.0B in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Tazewell County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 381 recorded events — 52.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Tazewell County?
77 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 70 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Tazewell County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Tazewell County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Tazewell County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Tazewell County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 84 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Tazewell 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
- Stephenson County 518
- Union County 230
- Stark County 166
- Vermilion County 691
- Shelby County 312
- Wabash County 279
Cite this page
“Tazewell County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/tazewell-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.