Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
Winnebago; Boone; McHenry; Lake; Ogle; Lee; De Kalb; Kane; DuPage; La Salle; Kendall; Grundy; Kankakee; Livingston; Iroquois; Ford; Northern Cook; Central Cook; Southern Cook; Northern Will; Southern Will; Eastern Will; Lake; Porter; Newton; Jasper; Benton
Ogle County, Illinois severe weather history spans 449 recorded events between 1959 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 56.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,066 nationally and #32 in Illinois.
449
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
13
Direct injuries
$15.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Ogle County, Illinois severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Ogle County, Illinois severe weather history averages 6.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 125 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 48 events fall before 1990 and 401 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Ogle County, Illinois record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $13.6M 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 Ogle County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 255 | 0 | $1.0M | 87 | 1967–2026 |
| Hail | 104 | 0 | $30K | 3 | 1960–2026 |
| Tornado | 34 | 1 | $13.6M | F3 | 1959–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 26 | 0 | $619K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 18 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2026 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $35K | 0 | 1998–2018 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2025 |
Decade by decade
Ogle County, Illinois severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
35 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 33 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-04-09 | EF4 | 2 | 11 | 30.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1979-08-05 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 5.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-04-06 | EF2 | 1 | 9 | 17.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-03-31 | EF1 | 1 | 40 | 27.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-03-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2020-03-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-05-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-02-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-05-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-05-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 29.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Ogle County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 1972 | Tornado | 1 | 3 | $250K | |
| Aug 10, 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | FORRESTON | 0 | 5 | $0 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| Apr 6, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | ROCHELLE | 0 | 1 | $50K |
| Jun 12, 2004 | Lightning | BYRON | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 18, 1998 | Lightning | ROCHELLE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Trees as large as two feet in diameter were blown down, some onto houses. Numerous utility poles and power lines were blown down. A phone tower was blown down on the west side of Mount Morris. A grain bin was blown down. Part of a roof was blown off and a building was leveled on the north side of Mount Morris. A barn on Holcomb Road was pushed off it's foundation and destroyed.
Heavy rain fell across Ogle County on July 23rd and July 24th. The heaviest rains fell during the early morning hours of July 24th. Forreston reported a storm total rainfall of 9.67 inches for both days. Numerous roads and basements were flooded. Several creeks and rivers overflowed their banks, causing additional flooding. A church near Brookville sustained major water damage after the Elkhorn Creek overflowed its banks.
Flash flooding occurred in many parts of Ogle County on June 19th. A few days later, heavy rain once again caused flash flooding across many of the same areas. Some of the more significant flash flooding reports included an apartment building that was flooded in Polo. One family was evacuated. The Lost Nation Bridge was washed out which cut off access to 30 homes. Pines Road at White Pines State Park was totally inundated with two homes sustaining major damage. Several trails in White Pines State Park were washed away or damaged. A small area of railroad tracks were washed out between White Pine State Park and Lake LaDonna Family Campgrounds. Flood water came over a bridge on Flagg Road. Parts of Hoosier Road were washed out. Grist Mill at Stone Hill was closed due to a wash out. Flooding was reported on numerous roads across the county.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
51,495
Population (ACS)
$189K
Median home value
14
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 26, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| May 10, 2013 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 17, 2011 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Aug 19, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 13, 2008 | Snowstorm | RECORD SNOW AND NEAR RECORD SNOW | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Ogle County, Illinois?
449 events are on record between 1959 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $15.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Ogle County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 255 recorded events — 56.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Ogle County?
35 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 33 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Ogle County?
14 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Ogle County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Ogle County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ogle County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 71 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Ogle 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
- Moultrie County 192
- Peoria County 712
- Morgan County 371
- Perry County 312
- Montgomery County 417
- Piatt County 236
Cite this page
“Ogle County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/ogle-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.