Live
Active alerts for this county
Extreme Heat Warning
Jefferson; Wayne; Edwards; Wabash; Perry; Franklin; Hamilton; White; Jackson; Williamson; Saline; Gallatin; Union; Johnson; Pope; Hardin; Alexander; Pulaski; Massac; Gibson; Pike; Posey; Vanderburgh; Warrick; Spencer; Fulton; Hickman; Carlisle; Ballard; McCracken; Graves; Livingston; Marshall; Calloway; Crittenden; Lyon; Trigg; Caldwell; Union; Webster; Hopkins; Christian; Henderson; Daviess; McLean; Muhlenberg; Todd; Perry; Bollinger; Cape Girardeau; Wayne; Carter; Ripley; Butler; Stoddard; Scott; Mississippi; New Madrid
Johnson County, Illinois severe weather history spans 236 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 40.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,206 nationally and #81 in Illinois.
236
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
22
Direct injuries
$16.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Johnson County, Illinois severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Johnson County, Illinois severe weather history averages 3.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 96 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 15 events fall before 1990 and 221 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Johnson County, Illinois record is flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $7.2M 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 Johnson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 96 | 0 | $1.3M | 83 | 1974–2025 |
| Hail | 87 | 0 | $7.2M | 3 | 1965–2024 |
| Tornado | 21 | 0 | $5.7M | F2 | 1957–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 14 | 0 | $120K | 0 | 1996–2022 |
| Flood | 10 | 1 | $1.7M | 0 | 1999–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2014 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2009 |
Decade by decade
Johnson County, Illinois severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
21 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-04-28 | EF3 | 1 | 10 | 19.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-05-26 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 4.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-04-28 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 22.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-03-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 15.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-04-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-05-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 19.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2004-10-18 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 8.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-10-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 14.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-04-28 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-06-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Johnson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 7, 2016 | Flood | VIENNA | 1 | 1 | $15K |
| Apr 14, 1972 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $25K | |
| Jul 1, 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | GOREVILLE | 0 | 4 | $10K |
| Oct 19, 2004 | Tornado | GOREVILLE | 0 | 2 | $500K |
| Apr 28, 2002 | Tornado | VIENNA | 0 | 2 | $100K |
| Apr 28, 2002 | Tornado | CYPRESS | 0 | 2 | $3.0M |
| May 26, 2024 | Tornado | GOREVILLE | 0 | 1 | $750K |
| Jul 9, 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | BUNCOMBE | 0 | 1 | $30K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Just northwest of Vienna, an elderly lady drowned after her vehicle was driven into a flooded creek. The 75-year-old woman died after her family drove off a section of the road that was covered in floodwater from Dutchman Creek. The vehicle was carried downstream. The other three individuals in the vehicle were rescued. One person sustained minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital.
A supercell thunderstorm produced baseball size hail from northwest to southeast across parts of Johnson County. The total damage costs for dented cars, smashed windows, and damaged roofs in Vienna was estimated near 7 million dollars. The city's two car dealers sustained about 800,000 dollars damage to a total of 280 cars. At the Johnson County courthouse, the hail broke about 20 windows on the north side of the building and extensively damaged the roof. A funeral home reported hail wrecked the garage, siding, and windows of the funeral home, along with three personal vehicles, for a total damage estimate of 50,000 dollars. Fellowship Baptist Church sustained 15,000 dollars damage. One building contractor estimated 90 percent of all the houses in Vienna needed a new roof. The hail was reported as only dime size in Goreville, but increased to baseball size in Vienna.
The tornado entered Johnson County near Cypress and was on the ground for only a few miles in Johnson County. Cypress was impacted directly, where about 50 structures were damaged, including a school. The school lost portions of upper story walls and the roof. Two trailers were destroyed.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
13,376
Population (ACS)
$161K
Median home value
7
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 26, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Mar 2, 2009 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Sep 7, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| Feb 1, 2005 | Snowstorm | RECORD/NEAR RECORD SNOW | EM |
| May 21, 2002 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Johnson County, Illinois?
236 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $16.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Johnson County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 96 recorded events — 40.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Johnson County?
21 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 15 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Johnson County?
7 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Johnson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Johnson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Johnson County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 51 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Johnson 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
- Jo Daviess County 444
- Kane County 907
- Jersey County 252
- Kankakee County 562
- Jefferson County 335
- Kendall County 365
Cite this page
“Johnson County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/johnson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.