Hazard Mitigation Plan update · Section 4 draft · prepared October 3, 2026
Clay County, Illinois Hazard Profiles
Draft. Built from public National Weather Service storm records (NOAA Storm Events, 1981 to June 2026). Not an adopted plan and not reviewed by FEMA.
Clay County's plan, the Clay County 2021 Hazard Mitigation Plan, expired January 27, 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 412 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 Clay County. Thunderstorm wind is the most frequent; winter storms account 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
104
29/30
0
7
$2.5M
Hail
55
23/30
0
0
$6K
Tornado
11
10/30
0
13
$13.0M
Flooding
57
24/30
0
0
$9.1M
Winter storms
31
17/30
2
1
$800K
Lightning
5
4/30
0
0
$160K
High wind (no storm)
6
6/30
0
0
$22K
* 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 wind104 days · 29 of 30 yearsHail55 days · 23 of 30 yearsFlooding57 days · 24 of 30 yearsTornado11 days · 10 of 30 yearsWinter storms31 days · 17 of 30 yearsLightning5 days · 4 of 30 years
Show the numbers behind the charts
Year
Thunderstorm wind
Hail
Tornado
Flooding
Winter storms
Lightning
High wind (no storm)
1996
1
3
1
0
4
0
1
1997
1
1
0
0
5
0
1
1998
7
1
2
2
0
0
0
1999
4
3
0
1
1
0
0
2000
6
3
0
1
2
0
0
2001
2
1
0
1
0
0
0
2002
4
4
1
5
1
0
0
2003
3
4
1
2
1
0
0
2004
2
3
1
2
2
0
0
2005
6
3
0
1
0
0
0
2006
4
2
0
1
0
0
0
2007
4
1
0
0
0
0
1
2008
4
4
0
1
3
0
1
2009
2
0
1
4
1
0
0
2010
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
2011
10
4
1
4
2
0
0
2012
5
4
0
0
0
1
1
2013
4
0
0
5
1
2
0
2014
2
0
0
2
2
1
0
2015
1
0
0
6
1
0
0
2016
3
1
0
1
1
1
0
2017
3
2
0
5
0
0
0
2018
3
2
0
3
0
0
0
2019
2
3
1
2
0
0
1
2020
0
1
0
2
0
0
0
2021
1
2
1
2
1
0
0
2022
3
0
0
1
2
0
0
2023
3
2
0
2
0
0
0
2024
3
1
1
0
0
0
0
2025
3
0
0
1
1
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
3
2
15
18
31
10
16
3
3
1
Hail
1
3
4
10
18
11
2
2
1
1
2
Tornado
1
3
6
1
Flooding
2
3
3
12
14
12
9
2
Winter storms
12
6
4
1
8
Lightning
1
1
3
High wind (no storm)
2
1
1
2
Tornado tracks, 1990–2026
18 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 9 communities, most often Flora, Clay City and Xenia.
Extent
The strongest on record is the F4 of June 2, 1990. Tornadoes rated F2/EF2 or stronger touched down on 3 separate days.
Previous occurrences
18 tornadoes on 14 days from 1990 to 2026. Weather Service survey, June 21, 2026: "The tornado was observed 2 miles south-southwest of Louisville|just south of Grover Creek Ln. The tornado moved northeast|entering the south side of town, removing a large portion of the|roof of a business storage building and attached residence. The|tornado continued through …"
Probability
At least one tornado in 10 of 30 years (33%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 13 injuries, $13.0M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (9 of 18 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 14 communities, most often Flora, Xenia and Louisville.
Extent
The highest gust on record is 78 knots (90 mph), estimated near Ingraham on July 13, 2016. 3 reports reached 65 knots (75 mph) or more.
Previous occurrences
192 reports on 116 days since 1981. July 13, 2016: "A mobile home was blown over and destroyed, injuring one person inside. A grain bin was blown 200 feet."
Probability
Reports in 29 of 30 years (97%) from 1996 to 2025; about 3.5 damaging-wind days a year.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 7 injuries, $2.5M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (85 of 192 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 14 communities, most often Flora, Xenia and Louisville.
Extent
Largest: 3.5 inches near Flora on April 24, 2002. 4 reports of 2 inches or more.
Previous occurrences
85 reports on 65 days since 1984.
Probability
Reports in 23 of 30 years (77%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $6K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (3 of 85 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 12 communities, most often Cruse, Xenia and Flora.
Extent
The costliest entry is June 23, 2013, at $9.0M in property damage.
Previous occurrences
72 flood, flash-flood and heavy-rain reports since 1998. August 3, 2020: "Water was flowing across Blue Mound Road from surrounding fields, prompting the road to be barricaded. Flooding also occurred on Hanging Rock Road southwest of Flora."
Probability
Reports in 24 of 30 years (80%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $9.1M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (3 of 72 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
32 zone events from 1996 to 2026: 11 winter storm, 11 heavy snow, 4 ice storm, 4 winter weather, 2 sleet.
Probability
Events in 17 of 30 years (57%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
2 deaths, 1 injury, $800K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (1 of 32 reports carries 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 3 communities, most often Flora, Ingraham and Xenia.
Extent
0 deaths and 0 injuries on record.
Previous occurrences
5 damaging strikes since 2012.
Probability
Damaging strikes in 4 of 30 years (13%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $160K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (5 of 5 reports carry 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: 56 knots (64 mph).
Previous occurrences
8 zone events since 1996.
Probability
Events in 6 of 30 years (20%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $22K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (3 of 8 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
Flora
75
19
7
4
3
108
Xenia
29
17
11
2
1
60
Louisville
24
10
2
2
38
Clay City
13
9
3
3
28
Cruse
16
16
Bible Grove
4
3
7
1
15
Mc Cabe
7
1
7
15
Ingraham
10
2
1
1
14
Camp Travis
2
8
2
1
13
Iola
8
3
1
12
Oskaloosa
2
1
4
2
9
Hord
3
2
3
8
Sailor Spgs
3
2
1
6
Hoosier
1
1
2
Riffle
2
2
Cisne
1
1
Wendelin
1
1
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: 6 of 92 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.