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Pike County, Illinois severe weather history spans 321 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 53.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,660 nationally and #58 in Illinois.
321
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$4.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Pike County, Illinois severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Pike County, Illinois severe weather history averages 4.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 130 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 36 events fall before 1990 and 285 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Pike County, Illinois record is flash flood, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $3.3M 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 Pike County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 172 | 0 | $126K | 70 | 1956–2025 |
| Hail | 92 | 0 | $35K | 2.75 | 1955–2025 |
| Tornado | 34 | 0 | $3.3M | F3 | 1956–2021 |
| Flash Flood | 11 | 2 | $20K | 0 | 2002–2020 |
| Flood | 10 | 0 | $13K | 0 | 2007–2013 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 1998–2014 |
Decade by decade
Pike 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: 32 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961-04-24 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 64.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-05-14 | EF3 | 0 | 8 | 127.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-02-20 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 12.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-02-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 21.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1999-04-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 27.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1957-06-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 42.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-06-14 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 18.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-06-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 14.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-12-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-12-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.7 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Pike County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 2020 | Flash Flood | HADLEY | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 19, 2015 | Flash Flood | FISHHOOK | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 1, 2007 | Tornado | PERRY | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Feb 20, 2014 | Tornado | MARTINSBURG | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 3, 2008 | Flash Flood | HULL ARPT | 0 | 1 | $20K |
| Jun 14, 1957 | 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
Up to three inches of rain fell in about a two hour time period causing localized flash flooding on Hadley Creek, about 2 miles north northeast of Barry. Hadley Creek was overflowing the low water crossing on 275th Street. A car was driven into the flood waters at the low water crossing and stalled out. The passenger was swept downstream and drowned. The driver was able to make it to dry land. Rescue crews found her body about 1500 feet down stream from the location where the car stalled about 3 hours later.
Up to six inches of rain fell onto already saturated soils causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded across the northern part of Pike County. County Road 2 about a mile east of New Salem was washed out due to a creek that flowed through the area. This created a 30 foot wide by 30 foot deep hole. A lineman with a local electric company was driving through the area and did not see the hole due to darkness. His vehicle plunged into the hole. He died at the scene. No other injuries or deaths were reported.
A wide swath of damaging winds from Perry southward into Griggsville and Valley City. Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down. Some of the trees fell onto Illinois Route 107 both north and south of Perry. A power pole was blown down in Griggsville.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
14,469
Population (ACS)
$101K
Median home value
25
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 15, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 |
| Sep 19, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 10, 2013 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Pike County, Illinois?
321 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $4.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Pike County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 172 recorded events — 53.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Pike County?
35 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 32 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Pike County?
25 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Pike County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Pike County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pike County as very low risk, placing it in the 30 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Pike 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
- Piatt County 236
- Pope County 173
- Perry County 312
- Pulaski County 242
- Peoria County 712
- Putnam County 187
Cite this page
“Pike County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/pike-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.