← Hazard Plan Desk

Hazard Mitigation Plan update · Section 4 draft · prepared October 3, 2026

Gallatin 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.

Gallatin County's plan, the Gallatin County HMP Update, expired October 30, 2024 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 469 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 Gallatin County. Flooding is the most frequent; thunderstorm wind accounts for the most recorded deaths and damage.

HazardDays with reports, 1996–2025Years with at least oneDeaths*Injuries*Property damage entered*
Thunderstorm wind5322/3000$3.4M
Hail2112/3000$2K
Tornado66/30013$1.6M
Flooding17330/3000$3.0M
Winter storms10929/3000$690K
Lightning22/3000$120K
High wind (no storm)6824/3000$1.1M

* 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 wind53 days · 22 of 30 years
0361996200520152025
Hail21 days · 12 of 30 years
0241996200520152025
Flooding173 days · 30 of 30 years
06121996200520152025
Tornado6 days · 6 of 30 years
0121996200520152025
Winter storms109 days · 29 of 30 years
0481996200520152025
Lightning2 days · 2 of 30 years
0121996200520152025
Show the numbers behind the charts
YearThunderstorm windHailTornadoFloodingWinter stormsLightningHigh wind (no storm)
19962209202
19972004301
19981017300
19994104201
20002006501
20012003201
20022115301
20030109400
20042208400
20054006100
20065303203
20071106300
20081007405
20090002203
20100004801
201140111613
20122414301
20130008400
20142008304
20152208601
20162107602
20170005205
20184006707
201910010507
20200008013
20211101401
20220005702
20234204306
20243013103
20250012404

When in the year

Days with reports by month, 1996 to 2025. Darker means more days.

JFMAMJJASOND
Thunderstorm wind2116141183223
Hail344631
Tornado1221
Flooding22293026181310221416
Winter storms343572427
Lightning11
High wind (no storm)91417821278

Tornado tracks, 1989–2025

9 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.

ShawneetownRidgwayJunctionEqualityOmahaCottonwoodElbaInmanFebruary 29, 2012 · EF4
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 6 communities, most often Equality, Junction and Ridgway.
Extent
The strongest on record is the EF4 of February 29, 2012 near Equality (13 injuries). Tornadoes rated F2/EF2 or stronger touched down on 2 separate days.
Previous occurrences
9 tornadoes on 7 days from 1989 to 2025. The busiest day was April 2, 2024, with 3. Weather Service survey, May 16, 2025: "An EF-2 tornado, with estimated peak winds of 115mph for the Gallatin County portion of the tornado and the tornado as a whole, began in far southeast Saline County and then crossed into southern Gallatin County along a 10 mile path. The most severe damage occurred near the …"
Probability
At least one tornado in 6 of 30 years (20%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 13 injuries, $1.6M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (8 of 9 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 7 communities, most often Shawneetown, Ridgway and Junction.
Extent
The highest gust on record is 90 knots (104 mph), estimated on May 27, 2004. 9 reports reached 65 knots (75 mph) or more.
Previous occurrences
64 reports on 60 days since 1981. May 25, 2011: "A microburst with estimated peak winds near 90 mph struck the south side of Equality and continued northeast to the intersection of Highways 13 and 1. The path width averaged about one-half mile. Two mobile homes were destroyed and a barn …"
Probability
Reports in 22 of 30 years (73%) from 1996 to 2025; about 1.8 damaging-wind days a year.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $3.4M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (48 of 64 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 6 communities, most often Ridgway, Shawneetown and Junction.
Extent
Largest: 2.5 inches near Equality on April 24, 2002. 1 report of 2 inches or more.
Previous occurrences
31 reports on 24 days since 1995.
Probability
Reports in 12 of 30 years (40%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $2K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (2 of 31 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 9 communities, most often Shawneetown, Junction and Equality.
Extent
The costliest entry is March 18, 2008, at $1.2M in property damage.
Previous occurrences
180 flood, flash-flood and heavy-rain reports since 1996. March 1, 2025: "Late February flooding continued into early March along the Ohio River at Shawneetown. Minor flooding of bottomland and surrounding low-lying areas continued. River levels fell just below flood stage in the late evening …"
Probability
Reports in 30 of 30 years (100%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $3.0M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (27 of 180 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 6 occasions. Zone records rarely give snow or ice totals; the full plan adds station data.
Previous occurrences
111 zone events from 1996 to 2026: 63 winter weather, 28 winter storm, 14 heavy snow, 6 ice storm.
Probability
Events in 29 of 30 years (97%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $690K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (7 of 111 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 Shawneetown.
Extent
0 deaths and 0 injuries on record.
Previous occurrences
2 damaging strikes since 2011.
Probability
Damaging strikes in 2 of 30 years (7%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $120K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (2 of 2 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
68 zone events since 1996.
Probability
Events in 24 of 30 years (80%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $1.1M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (61 of 68 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 reportThunderstorm windHailFloodingTornadoLightningAll
Shawneetown177992125
Ridgway1392125
Junction7510123
Equality545317
Omaha62210
Cottonwood4419
Elba112
Inman112
Gibsonia11
Saline Mines11
Kedron11

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