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Rock Island County, Illinois severe weather history spans 629 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 47.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #512 nationally and #18 in Illinois.
629
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
25
Direct injuries
$16.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Rock Island County, Illinois severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Rock Island County, Illinois severe weather history averages 8.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 191 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 122 events fall before 1990 and 507 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Rock Island County, Illinois record is flood, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $11.6M 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 Rock Island County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 301 | 0 | $1.4M | 93 | 1955–2025 |
| Hail | 152 | 0 | $562K | 3 | 1956–2026 |
| Flood | 71 | 2 | $1.9M | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Tornado | 41 | 0 | $11.6M | F3 | 1959–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 38 | 0 | $1.3M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 14 | 0 | $8K | 2.08 | 2003–2011 |
| Lightning | 8 | 2 | $64K | 0 | 1996–2010 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2016–2024 |
Decade by decade
Rock Island County, Illinois severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
48 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 36 touched down inside it and 12 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990-03-13 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 15.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-08-15 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 6.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-06-14 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 48.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-04-19 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-03-15 | EF2 | 0 | 10 | 4.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-06-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-05-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-04-21 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 30.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1959-08-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-06-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.8 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Rock Island County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 10, 1999 | Lightning | MILAN | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 1, 2019 | Flood | ROCK IS | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 3, 1999 | Flood | ROCK IS | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 16, 2016 | Tornado | BARSTOW | 0 | 10 | $750K |
| Apr 4, 1981 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 18, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | PORT BYRON | 0 | 3 | $20K |
| Jun 18, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | ILLINIWEK PARK | 0 | 3 | $20K |
| Apr 21, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Mississippi River remained above its major flood stage of 18 feet through the month of April. The river crested at 20.68 feet on April 8th. Preliminarily this would be the 10th highest crest of record.|On April 29, a man drowned when his car went off Illinois 92 between 18th and 31st Avenues in Rock Island, and into a ditch flooded with water from the Mississippi River. The car was overturned in 6 to 8 feet of water in a normally dry ditch.
Two to three inches of rain fell in one hour to cause localized flooding of streets and houses from 3rd Street andRiver Drive in Davenport to 9th Street and 17th Avenue in Rock Island. A fatality occurred when a 39 year old male drove from dry ground into the flooded intersection of 5th Avenue and 40th Street in Rock Island. The victims car began floating and became lodged underneath a railroad viaduct, at which time he left his vehicle and was swept away. The water depth underneath the railroad viaduct was estimated at six to seven feet.
An EF-2 tornado tracked north then curved to the east through upper Rock Island county. An estimated 40 homes were damaged with the most severe damage to a neighborhood in rural East Moline where 10 homes were completely destroyed. Ten people reported minor injuries. The maximum wind with this tornado were estimated at 130 mph.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
142,757
Population (ACS)
$150K
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 |
| Sep 19, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 10, 2013 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 17, 2011 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Jun 24, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Moline 112
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Rock Island County, Illinois?
629 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 4 direct deaths and $16.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Rock Island County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 301 recorded events — 47.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Rock Island County?
48 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 36 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Rock Island County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Rock Island County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Rock Island County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Rock Island County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 84 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Rock Island 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
- Richland County 212
- St. Clair County 895
- Randolph County 426
- Saline County 318
- Putnam County 187
- Sangamon County 943
Cite this page
“Rock Island County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/rock-island-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.