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Peoria County, Illinois severe weather history spans 712 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 54.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #381 nationally and #12 in Illinois.
712
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
41
Direct injuries
$259.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Peoria County, Illinois severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Peoria County, Illinois severe weather history averages 10.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 224 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 80 events fall before 1990 and 632 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Peoria County, Illinois record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $130.0M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Peoria County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 390 | 1 | $5.5M | 87 | 1955–2025 |
| Hail | 235 | 0 | $3.1M | 2.75 | 1957–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 39 | 0 | $130.0M | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Tornado | 32 | 0 | $92.6M | F4 | 1961–2024 |
| Lightning | 9 | 0 | $387K | 0 | 2008–2022 |
| Flood | 7 | 1 | $28.0M | 0 | 2009–2017 |
Decade by decade
Peoria County, Illinois severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
38 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 35 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976-06-29 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-09-14 | EF3 | 0 | 30 | 6.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-05-14 | EF3 | 0 | 8 | 127.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2016-03-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-11-17 | EF2 | 0 | 10 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-06-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1981-07-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-07-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-03-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-06-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.9 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Peoria County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 30, 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | PEORIA HGTS | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 1, 2013 | Flood | NORTH CHILLICOTHE | 1 | 0 | $28.0M |
| Sep 14, 1965 | Tornado | 0 | 30 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 29, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 4 | $1.1M |
| May 26, 2017 | Lightning | COUGHLIN | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Apr 18, 2013 | Flash Flood | SANKOTY | 0 | 2 | $100.0M |
| Jun 8, 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | PEORIA | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 20, 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Peoria | 0 | 1 | $5K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
High impact flooding on the Illinois River continued from April.||Numerous homes along the Illinois River in Chillicothe, Rome, Mossville and Mapleton suffered flood damage due to record river levels. Several businesses were damaged, and numerous streets were flooded, along the Illinois River in downtown Peoria. A total of 505 homes and businesses were damaged by the flooding in Peoria County. Early in the morning on May 4th a man drowned when he drove his vehicle into the floodwaters northeast of downtown Peoria. High impact flooding subsided when the river level at Peoria fell below a stage of 22 feet on May 8th.
A 40-foot long 6-inch diameter tree branch snapped and hit a 39 year-old man. He later died of his injuries. A 40-50mph wind gust along an outflow boundary from a thunderstorm about 20 miles away caused the branch to fall.
Torrential rainfall of 4.00 to 8.00 inches resulted in damage to thousands of houses and businesses in the county, including the city of Peoria where two houses collapsed into the basement injuring two people. Every creek and stream in the county was flooded. Nearly every road in the county was impassable, including parts of Interstate 74 which had to be closed. Numerous water rescues were made. Mudslides were also reported along the eastern bluffs along the Illinois River.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
179,645
Population (ACS)
$159K
Median home value
15
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 |
| Oct 3, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Dec 29, 2006 | Snowstorm | SNOW | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Peoria County, Illinois?
712 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $259.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Peoria County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 390 recorded events — 54.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Peoria County?
38 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 35 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Peoria County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Peoria County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Peoria County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Peoria County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 91 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Peoria 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
- Ogle County 449
- Perry County 312
- Moultrie County 192
- Piatt County 236
- Morgan County 371
- Pike County 321
Cite this page
“Peoria County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/peoria-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.