Hazard Mitigation Plan update · Section 4 draft · prepared October 3, 2026
Christian County, Illinois Hazard Profiles
Draft. Built from public National Weather Service storm records (NOAA Storm Events, 1982 to June 2026). Not an adopted plan and not reviewed by FEMA.
Christian County's plan, the Christian County 2021 Hazard Mitigation Plan, expired January 11, 2026 in FEMA's plan-status data, with no update recorded as in progress on October 3, 2026. This chapter drafts the hazard-profile section of the update from 479 storm reports for the county, every one traceable to a NOAA event ID.
At a glance
7 hazards appear in the federal storm record for Christian County. Thunderstorm wind is the most frequent; flooding accounts for the most recorded deaths and damage.
Hazard
Days with reports, 1996–2025
Years with at least one
Deaths*
Injuries*
Property damage entered*
Thunderstorm wind
112
29/30
0
2
$1.4M
Hail
63
26/30
0
0
$0
Tornado
30
19/30
0
25
$124.3M
Flooding
47
20/30
4
0
$7.2M
Winter storms
47
21/30
3
4
$1.8M
Lightning
1
1/30
0
0
$35K
High wind (no storm)
13
10/30
0
0
$48K
* All years on record (tornado, wind and hail from the 1980s; other hazards from 1996). Dollars are as entered, not adjusted for inflation.
How often, year by year
Days with at least one report, 1996 to 2025. Each panel has its own scale. Hover a bar for the year.
Thunderstorm wind112 days · 29 of 30 yearsHail63 days · 26 of 30 yearsFlooding47 days · 20 of 30 yearsTornado30 days · 19 of 30 yearsWinter storms47 days · 21 of 30 yearsLightning1 day · 1 of 30 years
Show the numbers behind the charts
Year
Thunderstorm wind
Hail
Tornado
Flooding
Winter storms
Lightning
High wind (no storm)
1996
4
0
0
0
4
0
2
1997
2
0
0
0
5
0
3
1998
5
3
2
0
2
0
1
1999
5
3
1
0
2
0
0
2000
5
3
0
1
2
0
0
2001
9
1
0
2
0
0
0
2002
0
3
0
9
2
0
0
2003
3
2
2
1
1
0
0
2004
6
0
0
2
0
0
1
2005
9
1
0
2
0
0
0
2006
4
3
3
0
3
0
0
2007
2
2
1
0
4
0
0
2008
7
2
1
1
2
1
0
2009
4
2
1
3
0
0
1
2010
5
1
1
3
2
0
0
2011
2
2
1
3
1
0
1
2012
2
4
0
0
1
0
1
2013
3
2
2
2
2
0
0
2014
1
1
1
2
2
0
0
2015
2
2
1
2
3
0
0
2016
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
2017
2
4
1
4
0
0
0
2018
2
3
2
3
0
0
0
2019
2
1
3
1
2
0
1
2020
4
2
0
1
0
0
0
2021
5
3
1
0
1
0
0
2022
5
2
1
2
2
0
0
2023
5
6
4
2
0
0
1
2024
1
2
0
0
1
0
0
2025
5
3
1
1
3
0
0
When in the year
Days with reports by month, 1996 to 2025. Darker means more days.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Thunderstorm wind
2
2
7
12
20
19
20
16
6
3
3
2
Hail
8
13
19
11
2
6
1
2
1
Tornado
1
1
1
7
9
5
3
1
2
Flooding
1
4
18
11
3
5
2
1
2
Winter storms
17
11
6
3
10
Lightning
1
High wind (no storm)
1
3
5
1
3
Tornado tracks, 1987–2026
52 tornadoes. Lines run from touchdown to lift within the county; dots are tornadoes recorded at a single point. Hover a track for its date and rating.
F0/EF0F1/EF1F2/EF2F3 or strongerF5Unrated
County outline from the Census Bureau (simplified); community labels sit at the average location of reports naming them.
Hazard profiles
Each profile answers FEMA's questions for hazard identification: what it is, where, how bad (extent), what has happened, and how likely it is to happen again.
Tornado
Description
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground, rated after the fact on the Fujita scale (through January 2007) or the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF0 to EF5, by the damage it leaves.
Location
Countywide; tornado reports name 23 communities, most often Assumption, Taylorville and Osbernville.
Extent
The strongest on record is the EF3 of December 1, 2018 near Palmer (22 injuries). Tornadoes rated F2/EF2 or stronger touched down on 3 separate days.
Previous occurrences
52 tornadoes on 34 days from 1987 to 2026. The busiest day was April 2, 2006, with 5. Weather Service survey, June 17, 2026: "The tornado began in extreme northeast Christian County in the Griswold Conservation Area, causing extensive tree damage throughout the property. It then crossed into Macon County about 0.6 miles north of Route 48."
Probability
At least one tornado in 19 of 30 years (63%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 25 injuries, $124.3M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (14 of 52 reports carry a dollar figure).
Severe thunderstorm wind
Description
Straight-line winds from thunderstorms, including downbursts, measured or estimated at 58 mph (50 knots) or more.
Location
Countywide; reports name 30 communities, most often Taylorville, Pana and Stonington.
Extent
The highest gust on record is 70 knots (81 mph), estimated near Taylorville on March 1, 2007. 8 reports reached 65 knots (75 mph) or more.
Previous occurrences
201 reports on 134 days since 1983. June 29, 2023: "Several trees were blown down, including some that fell onto houses. Two barns were destroyed."
Probability
Reports in 29 of 30 years (97%) from 1996 to 2025; about 3.7 damaging-wind days a year.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 2 injuries, $1.4M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (57 of 201 reports carry a dollar figure).
Hail
Description
Ice stones from thunderstorm updrafts; reported at 3/4 inch and larger in this record.
Location
Countywide; reports name 19 communities, most often Taylorville, Pana and Stonington.
Extent
Largest: 2.75 inches near Assumption on November 17, 2013. 6 reports of 2 inches or more.
Previous occurrences
108 reports on 71 days since 1982.
Probability
Reports in 26 of 30 years (87%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $0 in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (0 of 108 reports carry a dollar figure).
Flooding (river, flash and heavy rain)
Description
River flooding, and flash flooding when heavy rain overwhelms streets, ditches and small streams.
Location
Countywide; reports name 15 communities, most often Sicily, Morrisonville and Roby.
Extent
The deadliest flood on record was December 27, 2015 (4 deaths). The costliest entry is August 26, 2014, at $4.4M in property damage.
Previous occurrences
53 flood, flash-flood and heavy-rain reports since 2000. June 22, 2019: "Heavy rainfall of 2.50 to 4.50 inches on a saturated ground resulted in flash flooding across a large portion of Christian County during the morning of June 22nd. Many rural roads were impassable, with water flowing …"
Probability
Reports in 20 of 30 years (67%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
4 deaths, 0 injuries, $7.2M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (3 of 53 reports carry a dollar figure).
Winter storms and ice
Description
Heavy snow, blizzards, ice storms, sleet and lesser winter weather, recorded by forecast zone rather than by point.
Location
Countywide (forecast-zone records).
Extent
Ice storms on 4 occasions. Zone records rarely give snow or ice totals; the full plan adds station data.
Previous occurrences
48 zone events from 1996 to 2026: 17 heavy snow, 16 winter storm, 7 winter weather, 4 ice storm, 4 blizzard.
Probability
Events in 21 of 30 years (70%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
3 deaths, 4 injuries, $1.8M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (2 of 48 reports carry a dollar figure).
Lightning
Description
Cloud-to-ground strikes that injure people, start fires or damage property. Only damaging strikes are recorded.
Location
Countywide; reports name 1 communities, most often Taylorville.
Extent
0 deaths and 0 injuries on record.
Previous occurrences
1 damaging strikes since 2008.
Probability
Damaging strikes in 1 of 30 years (3%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $35K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (1 of 1 report carries a dollar figure).
High wind (not from thunderstorms)
Description
Strong winds from large storm systems rather than thunderstorms, recorded by forecast zone.
Location
Countywide (forecast-zone records).
Extent
Highest: 52 knots (60 mph).
Previous occurrences
15 zone events since 1996.
Probability
Events in 10 of 30 years (33%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $48K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (6 of 15 reports carry a dollar figure).
Not covered by this record
Extreme heat, extreme cold, drought, earthquake and dam failure are not in the storm archive this chapter draws on. The full chapter profiles them from NOAA climate records, the U.S. Drought Monitor, USGS shaking maps and the state dam inventory, and the planning team decides which belong in the plan.
Previous occurrences by community
FEMA asks for hazard history for each participating jurisdiction. These are the communities the Weather Service names most often as the nearest place to a report.
Nearest community named in the report
Thunderstorm wind
Hail
Flooding
Tornado
Lightning
All
Taylorville
41
31
2
5
1
80
Pana
28
10
2
3
43
Morrisonville
12
7
6
4
29
Stonington
14
9
1
2
26
Kincaid
14
7
2
1
24
Edinburg
13
3
1
1
18
Mt Auburn
6
6
3
2
17
Assumption
5
5
7
17
Sicily
2
2
8
2
14
Rosamond
3
5
2
2
12
Owaneco
5
2
1
3
11
Palmer
3
5
1
9
Roby
3
1
4
1
9
Osbernville
2
1
5
8
Harvel
1
3
2
6
City Park
3
3
6
Tovey
2
2
1
5
Sharpsburg
2
3
5
What this draft covers, and what the full update adds
Covered here
Type, location and extent of each recorded hazard (FEMA review element B1).
Previous occurrences and probability of future events, countywide and by community (element B2).
Added in the full update
Vulnerability and impacts on people, buildings and critical facilities from county parcel and building data (element B3).
National Flood Insurance Program repetitive-loss properties from FEMA (element B4).
Planning-team meetings, public input, capability review, the mitigation strategy and adoption.
Data notes
Before 1996 the storm database records only tornado, thunderstorm wind and hail, so every rate on this page uses 1996–2025.
Recent reports rarely carry a damage estimate: 16 of 140 wind, hail, tornado and flood reports since 2019 do. A missing dollar figure means "not estimated," not "no damage."
Reports follow people. Towns with more spotters and roads show more reports.
Winter storm, high wind and some flood events are recorded by forecast zone, not by point.