Hazard Mitigation Plan update · Section 4 draft · prepared October 3, 2026
Lee County, Illinois Hazard Profiles
Draft. Built from public National Weather Service storm records (NOAA Storm Events, 1980 to June 2026). Not an adopted plan and not reviewed by FEMA.
Lee County's plan, the Lee County 2020 Hazard Mitigation Plan, expired August 24, 2025 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 441 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 Lee County. Thunderstorm wind is the most frequent; tornadoes 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
94
30/30
0
1
$292K
Hail
56
24/30
0
0
$0
Tornado
14
12/30
0
8
$2.2M
Flooding
30
19/30
0
0
$12K
Winter storms
72
27/30
0
0
$0
Lightning
2
2/30
0
0
$5K
High wind (no storm)
15
13/30
0
0
$51K
* 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 wind94 days · 30 of 30 yearsHail56 days · 24 of 30 yearsFlooding30 days · 19 of 30 yearsTornado14 days · 12 of 30 yearsWinter storms72 days · 27 of 30 yearsLightning2 days · 2 of 30 years
Show the numbers behind the charts
Year
Thunderstorm wind
Hail
Tornado
Flooding
Winter storms
Lightning
High wind (no storm)
1996
2
2
0
1
0
0
1
1997
1
1
0
1
1
0
1
1998
4
1
1
1
1
0
1
1999
3
0
0
0
3
0
0
2000
2
2
0
1
3
0
0
2001
2
1
0
0
0
0
2
2002
1
1
0
1
2
0
1
2003
3
7
1
0
1
1
1
2004
3
3
1
0
1
0
0
2005
2
2
0
0
1
0
0
2006
8
8
0
1
3
1
0
2007
7
2
0
2
5
0
0
2008
5
3
0
3
4
0
0
2009
4
0
0
1
3
0
0
2010
6
3
1
2
1
0
1
2011
2
0
0
2
1
0
0
2012
2
1
0
0
1
0
0
2013
4
2
1
0
1
0
0
2014
2
4
0
2
1
0
0
2015
1
2
2
1
3
0
0
2016
2
0
1
3
1
0
2
2017
2
2
0
1
0
0
0
2018
2
2
0
0
2
0
1
2019
2
1
1
2
7
0
1
2020
3
0
1
3
2
0
0
2021
3
1
1
0
4
0
1
2022
5
0
0
0
7
0
1
2023
6
2
2
0
3
0
1
2024
2
2
1
1
4
0
0
2025
3
1
0
1
6
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
1
5
5
18
26
17
12
5
2
3
Hail
3
3
9
21
9
8
3
Tornado
1
1
1
3
4
1
2
1
Flooding
1
1
1
5
8
4
6
2
1
1
Winter storms
26
18
5
1
1
4
17
Lightning
1
1
High wind (no storm)
3
2
3
1
1
2
2
1
Tornado tracks, 1985–2026
28 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 15 communities, most often Harmon, Franklin Grove and Van Petten.
Extent
The strongest on record is the EF2 of June 22, 2015 near Maytown (7 injuries). Tornadoes rated F2/EF2 or stronger touched down on 2 separate days.
Previous occurrences
28 tornadoes on 23 days from 1985 to 2026. The busiest day was June 22, 2015, with 3. Weather Service survey, April 2, 2026: "An NWS damage survey confirmed that an EF-1 tornado with estimated peak winds of 100 mph began in far northeastern Whiteside County west of Palmyra before moving northeast into Lee County. It tracked for over 6.5 miles before lifting near the town of Woosung. The tornado damaged …"
Probability
At least one tornado in 12 of 30 years (40%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 8 injuries, $2.2M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (8 of 28 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 29 communities, most often Dixon, Amboy and West Brooklyn.
Extent
The highest gust on record is 87 knots (100 mph), estimated near Harmon on June 24, 2013. 18 reports reached 65 knots (75 mph) or more.
Previous occurrences
176 reports on 109 days since 1983. June 24, 2013: "Winds were estimated in excess of 80 mph and upwards of 100 mph for a 13 mile swath. A large outbuilding bolted to its foundation was destroyed. One part of the barn wall was lifted taking a portion of the foundation with it. Numerous …"
Probability
Reports in 30 of 30 years (100%) from 1996 to 2025; about 3.1 damaging-wind days a year.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 1 injury, $292K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (22 of 176 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 Dixon, Paw Paw and Amboy.
Extent
Largest: 4 inches near Dixon on July 13, 2004. 8 reports of 2 inches or more.
Previous occurrences
109 reports on 67 days since 1980.
Probability
Reports in 24 of 30 years (80%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $0 in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (0 of 109 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 17 communities, most often Amboy, Dixon and Eldena.
Extent
The costliest entry is May 13, 2010, at $10K in property damage.
Previous occurrences
34 flood, flash-flood and heavy-rain reports since 1996. August 18, 2025: "A couple of rounds of torrential rainfall brought flash flooding to parts of southeast Lee County. A video shared to social media showed a house in the Paw Paw area surrounded by floodwater with significant flooding in …"
Probability
Reports in 19 of 30 years (63%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $12K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (2 of 34 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
73 zone events from 1997 to 2026: 29 winter storm, 23 winter weather, 12 heavy snow, 4 blizzard, 4 ice storm, 1 sleet.
Probability
Events in 27 of 30 years (90%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $0 in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (0 of 73 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 Dixon.
Extent
0 deaths and 0 injuries on record.
Previous occurrences
2 damaging strikes since 2003.
Probability
Damaging strikes in 2 of 30 years (7%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $5K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (1 of 2 reports 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: 62 knots (71 mph).
Previous occurrences
16 zone events since 1996.
Probability
Events in 13 of 30 years (43%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $51K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (2 of 16 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
Dixon
37
22
3
1
2
65
Amboy
28
12
5
45
Paw Paw
8
13
1
2
24
Sublette
10
9
1
20
Harmon
6
7
2
4
19
Franklin Grove
7
8
2
17
West Brooklyn
10
4
2
16
Compton
9
2
1
12
Ashton
6
3
1
1
11
Steward
9
2
11
Nelson
2
4
1
1
8
Walton
1
5
2
8
Maytown
3
1
2
6
Eldena
2
2
4
Twelvemile Corner
2
2
4
Lee
1
1
1
3
The Burg
3
3
Lee Center
1
2
3
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: 0 of 107 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.