59
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$205K
Property damage
Flash Flood in Effingham County, Illinois: 59 recorded events between 1996 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #475 nationally and #6 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flash Flood in Effingham County, Illinois: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flash flood in Effingham County is the 2010s, when 24 of the county's 59 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Effingham County archive, flash flood makes up 15.6% of all recorded severe weather across 5 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #475 for this hazard and #6 within Illinois, putting it in the 84.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for flash flood in Effingham County with 22 recorded events, while Mar is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 7, 2002 | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 21, 2025 | BEECHER CITY | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 21, 2025 | ALTAMONT | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 2025 | MASON | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 2025 | MASON | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 2, 2025 | MOCCASIN | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 7, 2023 | WATSON | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 4, 2022 | EFFINGHAM | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 2, 2022 | SHUMWAY | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 17, 2022 | EFFINGHAM | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 17, 2022 | TEUTOPOLIS | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Effingham County
- Thunderstorm Wind 192
- Hail 86
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Thunderstorms produced 4.00 to 7.00 of rainfall in a large part of Effingham County, mainly between 2300 and 0200 local standard time. Flash flooding rapidly developed, which made many streets impassable in Effingham. Rural roads in the southwest corner and southeast parts of the county were impassable. Illinois State Highway 37 southwest of Watson was closed. A county bridge 4 miles southwest of Shumway was washed out when the Blue Creek flooded out of its banks.
Thunderstorms trained over the area during the evening hours of the 4th and into the morning of the 5th. Radar estimates and surface reports indicated 5 to 6 inches of rain had fallen across most of the county, mainly between Midnight and 8 AM. Numerous roads were reported closed by flood waters, including IL Routes 33, 40 and 45 in and around Effingham, with water reported as deep as 2 feet in some locations. A two mile stretch of US 40, west of Effingham, will remain closed indefinitely due to a 6 foot by 10 foot hole under the road as a result of a nearby culvert flooding. Train tracks, running along US 40 around Effingham, had to be closed briefly when flooding under a track trestle over the Salt Creek River caused a 50 foot deep by 100 foot long hole under the tracks. No injuries were reported and no damage estimates were available.
Slow moving thunderstorms produced 3.00 to 4.00 inches of rain on already saturated ground from late evening through the night across much of Effingham County. This rapidly produced flash flooding which made many rural roads impassable, and flooded numerous streets in the city of Effingham. The flash flooding continued through the night, and into June 1st.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flash flood events are on record in Effingham County, Illinois?
59 flash flood events are recorded in Effingham County between 1996 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flash flood recorded in Effingham County?
The strongest flash flood on record in Effingham County measured 0.
Where does the flash flood data for Effingham County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Flash Flood in Effingham County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/effingham-county/flash-flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.