114
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$167K
Property damage
Hail in Franklin County, Illinois: 114 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 3. That places the county #1,265 nationally and #40 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Hail in Franklin County, Illinois: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for hail in Franklin County is the 2000s, when 38 of the county's 114 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 Franklin County archive, hail makes up 26.2% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #1,265 for this hazard and #40 within Illinois, putting it in the 59.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Apr is the peak month for hail in Franklin County with 23 recorded events, while Dec 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.
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 14, 2025 | BENTON MUNI ARPT | 1 | $0 |
| May 16, 2025 | ROYALTON | 1 | $0 |
| Mar 30, 2025 | CLEBURNE | 1.5 | $0 |
| Mar 30, 2025 | ZEIGLER | 0.88 | $0 |
| Mar 30, 2025 | SESSER | 1.5 | $0 |
| May 8, 2024 | MULKEYTOWN | 1.75 | $0 |
| Feb 10, 2024 | BENTON | 0.75 | $0 |
| Feb 10, 2024 | CHRISTOPHER | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 2023 | WEST FRANKFORT | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 2023 | BENTON | 1.75 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Franklin County
- Thunderstorm Wind 167
- Flood 64
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This large hail was associated with the supercell that produced a strong tornado in Jackson and western Franklin Counties. Hailstones were slightly larger than baseballs on the north side of Benton. Quarter-size hail fell on the west side of Benton.
Golf ball size hail was reported on Yellow Banks Rd south of Christopher. Hail estimated to quarter size was reported via mPING in Buckner. Dime size hail was also reported by emergency management just south of Mulkeytown. Both of the latter locations were on the north side of a hail core from a very strong storm moving northeastward across Franklin County.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many hail events are on record in Franklin County, Illinois?
114 hail events are recorded in Franklin County between 1955 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest hail recorded in Franklin County?
The strongest hail on record in Franklin County measured 3.
Where does the hail data for Franklin 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
“Hail in Franklin County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/franklin-county/hail/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.