Hazard Mitigation Plan update · Section 4 draft · prepared October 3, 2026
Monroe 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.
Monroe County's plan, the Monroe County 2021 Hazard Mitigation Plan, expires October 31, 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 357 storm reports for the county, every one traceable to a NOAA event ID.
At a glance
6 hazards appear in the federal storm record for Monroe 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
73
24/30
0
0
$1.2M
Hail
58
24/30
0
0
$10K
Tornado
15
12/30
0
1
$1.4M
Flooding
31
19/30
0
0
$1K
Winter storms
50
25/30
0
0
$750K
High wind (no storm)
9
7/30
0
0
$3K
* 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 wind73 days · 24 of 30 yearsHail58 days · 24 of 30 yearsFlooding31 days · 19 of 30 yearsTornado15 days · 12 of 30 yearsWinter storms50 days · 25 of 30 years
Show the numbers behind the charts
Year
Thunderstorm wind
Hail
Tornado
Flooding
Winter storms
High wind (no storm)
1996
5
2
1
2
1
1
1997
2
0
0
2
3
1
1998
5
1
1
1
3
0
1999
0
2
0
0
2
0
2000
1
3
0
0
3
0
2001
1
0
0
2
1
2
2002
1
1
0
3
3
1
2003
1
2
2
2
2
0
2004
2
3
0
1
1
0
2005
3
1
0
1
1
0
2006
2
9
1
0
2
0
2007
0
1
0
0
3
0
2008
3
4
1
4
6
2
2009
0
1
0
0
1
1
2010
6
4
1
2
0
0
2011
3
4
1
2
2
0
2012
6
2
0
0
0
0
2013
2
0
0
1
2
0
2014
0
1
1
1
2
0
2015
3
1
0
1
2
0
2016
2
3
0
2
0
0
2017
4
2
0
0
1
0
2018
4
2
0
1
1
0
2019
4
0
1
1
2
1
2020
2
0
0
1
0
0
2021
0
1
0
0
1
0
2022
0
0
0
1
3
0
2023
5
2
2
0
1
0
2024
4
4
1
0
0
0
2025
2
2
2
0
1
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
5
9
15
15
11
7
2
1
4
2
Hail
5
9
19
12
5
2
1
1
1
2
1
Tornado
3
6
3
2
1
Flooding
1
5
8
6
3
3
2
1
1
1
Winter storms
19
12
5
1
2
11
High wind (no storm)
1
2
2
1
1
1
1
Tornado tracks, 1984–2026
32 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 18 communities, most often Waterloo, Fults and Ames.
Extent
The strongest on record is the F2 of May 18, 1995 near Burksville To. Tornadoes rated F2/EF2 or stronger touched down on 4 separate days.
Previous occurrences
32 tornadoes on 19 days from 1984 to 2026. The busiest day was May 18, 1995, with 6. Weather Service survey, April 20, 2025: "A brief and weak tornado touched down along EE Road just south of Gilmore Lake and quickly moved northeast before dissipating at the intersection of EE Road and Gilmore Lake Road at 8:13 PM. When the tornado touched down it overturned an outbuilding, and was rated at 99 mph …"
Probability
At least one tornado in 12 of 30 years (40%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 1 injury, $1.4M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (14 of 32 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 21 communities, most often Waterloo, Columbia and Valmeyer.
Extent
The highest gust on record is 87 knots (100 mph), estimated near Hecker on April 15, 2023. 10 reports reached 65 knots (75 mph) or more.
Previous occurrences
120 reports on 90 days since 1981. April 15, 2023: "Widespread wind damage occurred in Hecker just to the south of the tornado. Several homes in town suffered minor to moderate roof damage. Also, several large trees were snapped off, a couple of power poles were broken off as well and …"
Probability
Reports in 24 of 30 years (80%) from 1996 to 2025; about 2.4 damaging-wind days a year.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $1.2M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (18 of 120 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 21 communities, most often Waterloo, Columbia and Valmeyer.
Extent
Largest: 2.75 inches near Burksville Station on March 14, 2024. 2 reports of 2 inches or more.
Previous occurrences
113 reports on 70 days since 1982.
Probability
Reports in 24 of 30 years (80%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $10K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (3 of 113 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 8 communities, most often Bixby, Columbia and Waterloo.
Extent
The costliest entry is May 25, 2008, at $1K in property damage.
Previous occurrences
33 flood, flash-flood and heavy-rain reports since 1996. August 3, 2022: "Up to 3.5 inches of rain fell in a short amount of time across the northern portions of Monroe County causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded."
Probability
Reports in 19 of 30 years (63%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $1K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (1 of 33 reports carries 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 3 occasions. Zone records rarely give snow or ice totals; the full plan adds station data.
Previous occurrences
50 zone events from 1996 to 2025: 29 winter storm, 13 heavy snow, 3 ice storm, 3 winter weather, 2 sleet.
Probability
Events in 25 of 30 years (83%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $750K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (1 of 50 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: 61 knots (70 mph).
Previous occurrences
9 zone events since 1996.
Probability
Events in 7 of 30 years (23%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $3K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (2 of 9 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
All
Waterloo
32
24
2
6
64
Columbia
18
23
5
1
47
Valmeyer
11
10
2
2
25
Hecker
7
8
1
1
17
Bixby
4
1
7
1
13
Renault
5
4
2
11
Maeystown
5
4
1
10
Columbia Gebhardt Ar
2
7
1
10
New Hanover
1
8
9
Fults
3
1
3
7
Ames
3
1
3
7
Burksville
3
3
6
Chalfin Bridge
1
4
1
6
Foster Pond
3
1
1
5
Harrisonville
1
1
1
2
5
Red Bud
2
1
3
Burksville To
2
2
Fountain
1
1
2
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: 8 of 58 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.