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Whiteside County, Illinois severe weather history spans 557 recorded events between 1961 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 49.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #699 nationally and #24 in Illinois.
557
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
9
Direct injuries
$9.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Whiteside County, Illinois severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Whiteside County, Illinois severe weather history averages 8.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 171 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 74 events fall before 1990 and 483 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $5.6M 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 Whiteside County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 273 | 0 | $1.0M | 80 | 1962–2026 |
| Hail | 163 | 0 | $99K | 2 | 1964–2026 |
| Tornado | 43 | 0 | $5.6M | F4 | 1961–2026 |
| Flood | 30 | 0 | $1.6M | 0 | 2000–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 23 | 0 | $1.3M | 0 | 1997–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 14 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2018 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $2K | 0.8 | 2001–2011 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $220K | 0 | 2003–2010 |
Decade by decade
Whiteside County, Illinois severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
46 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 39 touched down inside it and 7 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981-03-29 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 5.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-03-13 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 15.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1995-07-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 20.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1966-03-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-05-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-05-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-08-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2023-03-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 13.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2023-04-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-03-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Whiteside County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2, 1961 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $25K | |
| Jun 18, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | YEOWARD ADDITION | 0 | 2 | $25K |
| Aug 20, 2010 | Lightning | MORRISON | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | COLETA | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Feb 11, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | STERLING | 0 | 1 | $28K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rains during the middle of the month resulted in the Rock River at Joslin going above the moderate flood stage level of 14 feet on June 22nd around 12 am. It crested around 14.73 feet around 830 pm on June 23. It fell below the moderate flood stage level around 5 pm June 24.
Lightning struck the chimney of the Montmorency School south of Rock Falls while students were being dismissed for the day. Luckily the chimney was located in the back of the school and the school bus boarding area is in the front so there were no injuries. The chimney had to be toppled by a wrecking company that evening for safety reasons. Repairs from the lightning strike and subsequent damage to part of the roof and a boiler were briefly put on hold when asbestos was discovered in the damaged area.
Heavy rains during the last week of April resulted in the Rock River at Joslin and Moline going above their respective moderate flood stage levels during the first few days of May.||The Rock River at Joslin surpassed its moderate flood stage level of 14 feet on May 1 around 6 pm. It crested around 14.5 feet around 12 am May 3. It fell back below its moderate flood stage level around 6 pm on May 4.||The Rock River at Moline surpassed its moderate flood stage level of 13 feet on May 2 around 3 pm. It crested around 13.14 feet around 3 pm May 3. It fell back below its moderate flood stage level around 9 am on May 4.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
54,947
Population (ACS)
$127K
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 |
| 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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Whiteside County, Illinois?
557 events are on record between 1961 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $9.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Whiteside County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 273 recorded events — 49.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Whiteside County?
46 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 39 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Whiteside County?
14 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Whiteside County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Whiteside County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Whiteside County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 66 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Whiteside 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
- White County 413
- Will County 1,250
- Wayne County 312
- Williamson County 375
- Washington County 326
- Winnebago County 692
Cite this page
“Whiteside County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/whiteside-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.