Johnson County Hazard Profiles

Hazard	Days with reports, 1996–2025	Years with at least one	Deaths*	Injuries*	Property damage entered*
Thunderstorm wind	74	28/30	0	7	$1.3M
Hail	65	22/30	0	0	$7.2M
Tornado	10	9/30	0	9	$5.6M
Flooding	28	19/30	1	3	$1.9M
Winter storms	111	29/30	0	0	$1.2M
High wind (no storm)	64	22/30	0	0	$1.1M

Year	Thunderstorm wind	Hail	Tornado	Flooding	Winter storms	High wind (no storm)
1996	4	0	0	2	2	1
1997	5	1	0	1	2	1
1998	2	1	2	1	3	0
1999	3	3	0	1	3	1
2000	5	3	0	1	3	1
2001	6	4	0	2	2	0
2002	1	3	1	2	3	1
2003	2	5	1	3	5	0
2004	3	6	1	0	4	0
2005	5	3	0	1	1	0
2006	3	6	0	2	2	4
2007	2	2	0	1	3	0
2008	2	0	0	2	7	5
2009	3	2	0	2	2	5
2010	2	2	0	0	7	1
2011	3	6	1	2	7	2
2012	3	5	0	0	3	1
2013	0	0	1	1	4	0
2014	3	0	0	0	5	5
2015	0	3	1	0	5	2
2016	2	3	0	1	6	2
2017	2	1	0	0	2	5
2018	1	1	0	0	5	7
2019	1	0	0	0	5	6
2020	1	0	0	1	0	2
2021	1	1	0	0	4	1
2022	2	0	0	1	7	2
2023	2	3	0	0	3	6
2024	4	1	1	1	2	0
2025	1	0	1	0	4	3

	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
Thunderstorm wind	7	3	2	7	17	11	13	7	3	2	2
Hail		3	12	14	15	7	4	3	1	3	3
Tornado			1	2	3	2				2
Flooding	3	1	3	4	7	2	1	3		1	1	2
Winter storms	41	34	6	1							5	24
High wind (no storm)	7	13	16	7	2				1	2	7	9

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 Goreville, Cypress and Tunnel Hill.
Extent: The strongest on record is the EF3 of May 26, 2024 near Goreville (1 injury). Tornadoes rated F2/EF2 or stronger touched down on 4 separate days.
Previous occurrences: 16 tornadoes on 11 days from 1986 to 2025. The busiest day was October 18, 2004, with 3. Weather Service survey, March 15, 2025: "An EF-2 Tornado began on Old Cypress Road west of Vienna, moved northeast, crossing Interstate 24 just north of exit 14, and dissipated near Belville Road east of Ozark. The tornado damaged trees and power poles along its path, but also destroyed several barns and did …"
Probability: At least one tornado in 9 of 30 years (30%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses: 0 deaths, 9 injuries, $5.6M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (14 of 16 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 13 communities, most often Vienna, Cypress and Goreville.
Extent: The highest gust on record is 83 knots (96 mph), measured near Buncombe on April 19, 2011. 9 reports reached 65 knots (75 mph) or more.
Previous occurrences: 95 reports on 89 days since 1981. April 19, 2011: "There were numerous reports of downed tree limbs and power lines. Some shingles were blown off houses."
Probability: Reports in 28 of 30 years (93%) from 1996 to 2025; about 2.5 damaging-wind days a year.
Recorded losses: 0 deaths, 7 injuries, $1.3M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (61 of 95 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 16 communities, most often Vienna, Goreville and Cypress.
Extent: Largest: 2.75 inches near Cypress on June 18, 2004. 5 reports of 2 inches or more.
Previous occurrences: 85 reports on 73 days since 1982.
Probability: Reports in 22 of 30 years (73%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses: 0 deaths, 0 injuries, $7.2M 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 9 communities, most often Vienna, Buncombe and Belknap.
Extent: The deadliest flood on record was July 7, 2016 (1 death). The costliest entry is March 18, 2008, at $1.6M in property damage.
Previous occurrences: 30 flood, flash-flood and heavy-rain reports since 1996. July 7, 2016: "Just northwest of Vienna, an elderly lady drowned after her vehicle was driven into a flooded creek. The 75-year-old woman died after her family drove off a section of the road that was covered in floodwater from …"
Probability: Reports in 19 of 30 years (63%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses: 1 death, 3 injuries, $1.9M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (9 of 30 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 5 occasions. Zone records rarely give snow or ice totals; the full plan adds station data.
Previous occurrences: 113 zone events from 1996 to 2026: 68 winter weather, 26 winter storm, 14 heavy snow, 5 ice storm.
Probability: Events in 29 of 30 years (97%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses: 0 deaths, 0 injuries, $1.2M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (3 of 113 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: 52 knots (60 mph).
Previous occurrences: 64 zone events since 1996.
Probability: Events in 22 of 30 years (73%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses: 0 deaths, 0 injuries, $1.1M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (59 of 64 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.

Johnson County, Illinois
Hazard Profiles

At a glance

How often, year by year

When in the year

Tornado tracks, 1986–2025

Hazard profiles

Tornado

Severe thunderstorm wind

Hail

Flooding (river, flash and heavy rain)

Winter storms and ice

High wind (not from thunderstorms)

Not covered by this record

Previous occurrences by community

What this draft covers, and what the full update adds

Covered here

Added in the full update

Data notes

Nearest community named in the report	Thunderstorm wind	Hail	Flooding	Tornado	All
Vienna	29	19	10	1	59
Goreville	11	14	1	4	30
Cypress	12	10	1	3	26
Tunnel Hill	3	8	1	2	14
Belknap	6	4	2	1	13
Buncombe	7	3	3		13
New Burnside	5	6	1		12
Simpson	3	3	1		7
West Vienna	3	4			7
Crossroads	1	1		1	3
Reevesville		1		1	2
Ozark		1	1		2
Many Areas	1				1
Ganntown		1			1
Sandburn		1			1
Bloomfield	1				1
Parker		1			1
Hollins Spur	1				1