Hazard Mitigation Plan update · Section 4 draft · prepared October 3, 2026
Pulaski 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.
Pulaski County's plan, the Pulaski County 2020 Hazard Mitigation Plan, expired October 13, 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 445 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 Pulaski County. Flooding is the most frequent, and also the source of the most recorded deaths and damage.
Hazard
Days with reports, 1996–2025
Years with at least one
Deaths*
Injuries*
Property damage entered*
Thunderstorm wind
54
24/30
1
1
$800K
Hail
38
20/30
0
0
$0
Tornado
7
7/30
1
13
$3.8M
Flooding
136
28/30
1
0
$5.9M
Winter storms
98
29/30
0
0
$11.1M
High wind (no storm)
66
22/30
0
0
$3.1M
* 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 wind54 days · 24 of 30 yearsHail38 days · 20 of 30 yearsFlooding136 days · 28 of 30 yearsTornado7 days · 7 of 30 yearsWinter storms98 days · 29 of 30 years
Show the numbers behind the charts
Year
Thunderstorm wind
Hail
Tornado
Flooding
Winter storms
High wind (no storm)
1996
3
0
0
8
2
0
1997
4
1
0
4
2
1
1998
1
1
0
6
3
0
1999
2
0
0
4
3
1
2000
1
6
0
0
2
1
2001
3
0
0
7
2
0
2002
0
0
0
10
2
1
2003
4
2
1
4
4
0
2004
3
1
0
7
2
0
2005
3
1
1
2
1
0
2006
5
5
0
0
2
4
2007
2
1
0
2
1
0
2008
2
2
0
7
6
4
2009
1
0
0
1
2
5
2010
1
1
0
5
7
1
2011
3
5
1
9
5
2
2012
1
1
1
2
3
1
2013
0
1
1
8
3
0
2014
1
1
0
2
4
5
2015
0
2
0
8
5
2
2016
2
2
0
3
5
2
2017
1
1
0
3
2
6
2018
1
2
0
5
5
7
2019
3
0
1
10
5
6
2020
0
0
0
7
0
1
2021
0
0
0
2
4
1
2022
0
0
0
3
7
3
2023
4
1
0
4
3
6
2024
1
0
0
1
2
3
2025
2
1
1
2
4
3
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
2
5
5
12
9
8
4
3
3
1
Hail
1
1
4
13
9
3
4
2
1
Tornado
1
1
1
1
2
1
Flooding
22
20
23
18
20
11
8
2
1
11
Winter storms
38
29
5
1
5
20
High wind (no storm)
8
14
17
8
2
1
1
6
9
Tornado tracks, 2003–2025
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.
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 Pulaski, Grand Chain and Mound City.
Extent
The strongest on record is the F4 of May 6, 2003 near Grand Chain (1 death, 13 injuries). Tornadoes rated F2/EF2 or stronger touched down on 2 separate days.
Previous occurrences
9 tornadoes on 7 days from 2003 to 2025. The busiest day was May 25, 2011, with 3. Weather Service survey, March 30, 2025: "An EF-1 tornado began near the Mississippi River just northwest of Fayville in Alexander County and moved east northeast into Pulaski County just northeast of Sandusky. The tornado uprooted and snapped the trunks of numerous trees along its path. A few buildings sustained roof …"
Probability
At least one tornado in 7 of 30 years (23%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
1 death, 13 injuries, $3.8M 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 13 communities, most often Mounds, Pulaski and Ullin.
Extent
The highest gust on record is 87 knots (100 mph), estimated near Olmsted on March 30, 2025. 7 reports reached 65 knots (75 mph) or more.
Previous occurrences
70 reports on 63 days since 1988. March 30, 2025: "A few power poles were snapped near Olmsted."
Probability
Reports in 24 of 30 years (80%) from 1996 to 2025; about 1.8 damaging-wind days a year.
Recorded losses
1 death, 1 injury, $800K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (41 of 70 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 10 communities, most often Ullin, Mound City and Karnak.
Extent
Largest: 2.75 inches near Mounds on May 16, 2025. 2 reports of 2 inches or more.
Previous occurrences
55 reports on 46 days since 1980.
Probability
Reports in 20 of 30 years (67%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $0 in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (0 of 55 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 11 communities, most often Olmsted, New Grand Chain and Mound City.
Extent
The deadliest flood on record was January 3, 2015 (1 death). The costliest entry is March 1, 1997, at $2.5M in property damage.
Previous occurrences
139 flood, flash-flood and heavy-rain reports since 1996. March 1, 2025: "Late February flooding continued into early March along the Ohio River at Olmsted. Minor flooding of low-lying fields and woodlands in the flood plain continued. River levels fell just below flood very early on the 2nd."
Probability
Reports in 28 of 30 years (93%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
1 death, 0 injuries, $5.9M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (26 of 139 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
100 zone events from 1996 to 2026: 57 winter weather, 26 winter storm, 12 heavy snow, 5 ice storm.
Probability
Events in 29 of 30 years (97%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $11.1M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (4 of 100 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
66 zone events since 1997.
Probability
Events in 22 of 30 years (73%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $3.1M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (62 of 66 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
Olmsted
3
6
42
51
Ullin
10
11
4
25
Mound City
4
8
12
1
25
Mounds
12
5
3
1
21
Pulaski
11
4
2
4
21
New Grand Chain
1
14
1
16
Karnak
6
7
1
14
Grand Chain
3
3
3
1
10
Villa Ridge
5
4
9
America
1
5
6
Perks
4
1
1
6
Wetaug
2
1
3
Levings
3
3
Many Areas
1
1
Western
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: 19 of 51 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.