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Fayette County, Illinois severe weather history spans 264 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 55.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,013 nationally and #73 in Illinois.
264
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
13
Direct injuries
$6.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Fayette County, Illinois severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Fayette County, Illinois severe weather history averages 3.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 78 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 46 events fall before 1990 and 218 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $3.9M 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 Fayette County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 147 | 0 | $126K | 70 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 65 | 0 | $1.6M | 2.75 | 1955–2026 |
| Tornado | 26 | 0 | $3.9M | F2 | 1954–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 21 | 0 | $601K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 2 | 0 | $25K | 0 | 2008–2013 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2005 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2006 |
Decade by decade
Fayette County, Illinois severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
30 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958-04-05 | EF3 | 1 | 8 | 60.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1950-01-03 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 3.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-04-02 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 22.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-04-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-12-10 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 41.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2018-04-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 18.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-11-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-02-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-02-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-06-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Fayette County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 9, 1984 | Tornado | 0 | 11 | $2.5M | |
| May 25, 1989 | Hail | 0 | 1 | $0 | |
| Jul 22, 1954 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A small tornado formed just west of Loogootee and moved east through the southern part of town. The roofs of two relatively new mobile homes were completely uplifted and tossed several hundred yards downwind. A resident stated that several 6 x 6's anchored in cement were snapped off or pulled up. The nearby homes also experienced minor roof damage and broken windows. A large 20-foot grain bin was tossed several hundred yards downwind. Before the tornado lifted, several farm houses and barns east of town were heavily damaged.
At approximately 11:11 PM a tornado began just southwest of Hagarstown, IL in Fayette County and continued northeastward for 13.4 miles through Vandalia, IL before dissipating southwest of Sefton, IL in Fayette County around 11:23 PM. The worst damage occurred northeast of Vandalia, where several trees were uprooted. This tornado was assigned a rating of EF-1 with a maximum wind speed of 90 mph.
Shortly before 7pm, the tornado formed just south of County Road 750 in Fayette County, southeast of Shobonier, damaging trees and structures at a farm. The tornado tracked northeastward through fields and pockets of trees before impacting farms along County Rd 1100. Shortly after this point, the tornado reached its maximum surveyed strength, where it leveled an outbuilding near the intersection of County Rd 1100 and E 900 Ave. The tornado continued northeastward, producing mainly tree damage and minor structural damage before dissipating shortly after crossing County Rd 1300 north of Augsburg. The tornado was rated EF-2 with a path length of 4.33 miles and a maximum path width of 150 yards.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
21,315
Population (ACS)
$131K
Median home value
8
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 |
| Nov 26, 2013 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Mar 17, 2011 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Feb 9, 2007 | Severe Ice Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Fayette County, Illinois?
264 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $6.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Fayette County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 147 recorded events — 55.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Fayette County?
30 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 24 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Fayette County?
8 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Fayette County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Fayette County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Fayette County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 49 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Fayette 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
- Effingham County 378
- Ford County 258
- Edwards County 149
- Franklin County 435
- Edgar County 297
- Fulton County 617
Cite this page
“Fayette County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/fayette-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.