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Union County, Illinois severe weather history spans 230 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 40.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,253 nationally and #85 in Illinois.
230
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
35
Direct injuries
$12.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Union County, Illinois severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Union County, Illinois severe weather history averages 3.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 73 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 37 events fall before 1990 and 193 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Union County, Illinois record is flash flood, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $6.2M 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 Union County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 93 | 1 | $1.9M | 83 | 1960–2025 |
| Hail | 55 | 0 | $50K | 2.75 | 1963–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 26 | 2 | $643K | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Tornado | 24 | 1 | $6.2M | F3 | 1955–2025 |
| Flood | 22 | 0 | $3.2M | 0 | 2000–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2015 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $21K | 0 | 2006–2009 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2008 |
Decade by decade
Union County, Illinois severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
27 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-04-28 | EF3 | 1 | 10 | 19.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-05-21 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 8.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-02-29 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 31.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1999-01-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1976-02-16 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-04-14 | EF2 | 0 | 9 | 30.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1955-11-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-04-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-05-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.9 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Union County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2002 | Tornado | DONGOLA | 1 | 8 | $5.0M |
| Jun 16, 2019 | Flash Flood | COBDEN | 1 | 0 | $30K |
| Jan 31, 2002 | Flash Flood | ANNA | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 5, 1987 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| May 17, 1995 | Hail | Jonesboro | 0 | 20 | $0 |
| Apr 14, 1972 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $25K | |
| May 5, 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | ANNA | 0 | 2 | $50K |
| Feb 17, 1976 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado first touched down in very hilly terrain in the Shawnee National Forest and then tracked east, crossing Route 127 just north of Mill Creek. The tornado then directly struck the community of Dongola, where most of the damage and casualties occurred. A 69-year-old woman was killed as she was attempting to flee her mobile home. The woman had just gotten into her car, started the engine, and turned the lights on when the tornado struck. She was blown away from the car and found dead under a structure across the road from where the vehicle was parked and still running. Elsewhere in the Dongola area, a train was blown off the tracks. Several wood houses were demolished, and seven double-wide trailers were destroyed. Approximately 75 homes were damaged. A recreational vehicle was tossed across Lake Dongola and impaled into the ground.
Severe flash flooding impacted Union County. There were two water rescues in the county. One car stalled in high water on Mount Glen Road near Cobden. First responders were able to rescue the driver, a young female. The second water rescue involved a vehicle in the Trail of Tears State Forest near Ware. The vehicle was swept off State Forest Road where it crosses Clear Creek. Two people were in the vehicle at the time it was swept off the road. The male involved was able to escape. The body of the other person in the vehicle, a female in her late 50's, was found deceased the following morning less than a mile downstream from the vehicle. Elsewhere in the area, one lane of Highway 146 near the intersection of Highway 3 was flooded. A trained spotter reported 4.0 inches of rainfall in 24 hours three miles east of Ware. The public reported 4.5 inches of rain in 24 hours at Cobden.
A 3-year-old child was killed when her grandmother attempted to carry her across a flooded creek on foot. The grandmother was unable to cross the creek in her vehicle, so she attempted to cross on foot. The grandmother lost her footing in the creek, and the child was swept away and drowned. The flooding was caused by a large area of moderate to heavy rain falling on ground that was still moist from flooding rains a week earlier. An observer in Anna measured about 1.7 inches of rain.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
16,997
Population (ACS)
$132K
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 |
| Sep 19, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jun 7, 2011 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 2, 2009 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Mar 2, 2009 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Union County, Illinois?
230 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 4 direct deaths and $12.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Union County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 93 recorded events — 40.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Union County?
27 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 22 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Union County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Union County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Union County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Union County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 55 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Union 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
- Tazewell County 729
- Vermilion County 691
- Stephenson County 518
- Wabash County 279
- Stark County 166
- Warren County 302
Cite this page
“Union County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/union-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.