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Schuyler County, Illinois severe weather history spans 212 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 46.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,373 nationally and #88 in Illinois.
212
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
15
Direct injuries
$8.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Schuyler County, Illinois severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Schuyler County, Illinois severe weather history averages 3.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 66 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 18 events fall before 1990 and 194 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Schuyler County, Illinois record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $3.4M 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 Schuyler County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 98 | 0 | $1.8M | 81 | 1966–2025 |
| Hail | 54 | 0 | $763K | 4.5 | 1972–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 32 | 0 | $2.7M | 0 | 1996–2022 |
| Tornado | 21 | 1 | $3.4M | F3 | 1957–2021 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 2013–2022 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2018–2018 |
Decade by decade
Schuyler County, Illinois severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
25 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 20 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981-06-21 | EF3 | 1 | 12 | 8.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-05-14 | EF3 | 0 | 8 | 127.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2003-05-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-11-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-03-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 42.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-04-13 | EF2 | 0 | 10 | 19.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1957-03-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-12-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-12-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 15.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1985-03-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Schuyler County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 22, 1981 | Tornado | 1 | 12 | $2.5M | |
| Mar 27, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | CAMDEN | 0 | 2 | $1.0M |
| Dec 1, 2018 | Lightning | HUNTSVILLE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Torrential rainfall of 3.00 to 8.00 inches resulted in damage to hundreds of houses in the county, which included several basement walls which collapsed. Nearly every creek and stream in the county was flooded, which damaged a few bridges and culverts. Nearly every road in the county was also impassable with water one to two feet deep in spots. Several water rescues were made.
As thunderstorms moved through Schuyler county, they destroyed several barns and grain bins in Camden. A Camden couple sustained injuries after being struck by a tree limb while they were standing in their yard watching the storm pass. Numerous windows were blown out in Rushville and a roof was torn off of a recycling plant 5 miles east of Rushville. The winds caused the rear wall of one business to collapse and another lost its roof in Rushville. Also, numerous cars at two dealerships were damaged, 2 satellite dishes and communications antennas were torn off the roof of a radio station and a storage building was demolished. In total, approximately $1 million dollars worth of damage was sustained in Schuyler county.
Slow moving thunderstorms produced copious amounts of rainfall in much of Schuyler County late in the evening of July 28th. Nearly 5.00 of rain was measured in 90 minutes which produced nearly two feet of water on many rural roads. This rainfall event, combined with the heavy rain and flooding nine days earlier, produced extensive damage to 24 box culverts and bridges in northern and eastern Schuyler County.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
6,787
Population (ACS)
$110K
Median home value
18
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 |
| Aug 19, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Schuyler County, Illinois?
212 events are on record between 1957 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $8.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Schuyler County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 98 recorded events — 46.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Schuyler County?
25 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 20 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Schuyler County?
18 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Schuyler County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Schuyler County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Schuyler County as very low risk, placing it in the 11 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Schuyler 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
- Sangamon County 943
- Scott County 167
- Saline County 318
- Shelby County 312
- St. Clair County 895
- Stark County 166
Cite this page
“Schuyler County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/schuyler-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.