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

Randolph 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.

Randolph County's plan, the Randolph County 2020 Hazard Mitigation Plan, expired December 3, 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 452 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 Randolph County. Thunderstorm wind is the most frequent; tornadoes account for the most recorded deaths and damage.

HazardDays with reports, 1996–2025Years with at least oneDeaths*Injuries*Property damage entered*
Thunderstorm wind8728/3003$466K
Hail8028/3002$7K
Tornado1613/3014$6.4M
Flooding3116/3000$41K
Winter storms4122/3000$0
Lightning11/3002$0
High wind (no storm)74/3011$4K

* 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 wind87 days · 28 of 30 years
0361996200520152025
Hail80 days · 28 of 30 years
05101996200520152025
Flooding31 days · 16 of 30 years
0241996200520152025
Tornado16 days · 13 of 30 years
0241996200520152025
Winter storms41 days · 22 of 30 years
0241996200520152025
Lightning1 day · 1 of 30 years
0121996200520152025
Show the numbers behind the charts
YearThunderstorm windHailTornadoFloodingWinter stormsLightningHigh wind (no storm)
19965422000
19972300101
19985500300
19994100300
20004100310
20014213002
20023513200
20032512200
20045410200
20054200100
20062911200
20070100100
20086614303
20093310101
20103301000
20114404200
20124100000
20131301200
20140110200
20152001300
20162202000
20172211100
20181102000
20191100100
20201102000
20213111100
20224300300
20235000100
20244410000
20251231100

When in the year

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

JFMAMJJASOND
Thunderstorm wind32411171613124122
Hail14111822962223
Tornado132311311
Flooding124685311
Winter storms14115110
Lightning1
High wind (no storm)1111111

Tornado tracks, 1985–2026

30 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.

SpartaChesterRed BudEvansvilleRumaBaldwinSteelevilleTildenApril 5, 1985 · F2 · 1 deaths
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 19 communities, most often Chester, Tilden and Baldwin.
Extent
The strongest on record is the F2 of April 5, 1985 (1 death, 3 injuries). Tornadoes rated F2/EF2 or stronger touched down on 4 separate days.
Previous occurrences
30 tornadoes on 19 days from 1985 to 2026. The busiest day was April 19, 1996, with 4. Weather Service survey, May 19, 2025: "A brief tornado touched down just south of Prairie du Rocher, destroying an outbuilding before heading north-northeast. From there the tornado caused tree damage and damaged another farm outbuilding before dissipating just southwest of Route 155."
Probability
At least one tornado in 13 of 30 years (43%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
1 death, 4 injuries, $6.4M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (13 of 30 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 27 communities, most often Sparta, Chester and Menard.
Extent
The highest gust on record is 70 knots (81 mph), estimated near Kellogg on July 23, 2009. 5 reports reached 65 knots (75 mph) or more.
Previous occurrences
177 reports on 125 days since 1980. September 16, 2016: "Thunderstorm winds blew down several corn fields. Also, about a mile northeast of Houston, a farm outbuilding's roof was blown off by downburst winds estimated to be around 80 mph."
Probability
Reports in 28 of 30 years (93%) from 1996 to 2025; about 2.9 damaging-wind days a year.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 3 injuries, $466K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (24 of 177 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 18 communities, most often Sparta, Red Bud and Evansville.
Extent
Largest: 2.75 inches near Sparta on May 6, 2003. 6 reports of 2 inches or more.
Previous occurrences
164 reports on 90 days since 1980.
Probability
Reports in 28 of 30 years (93%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 2 injuries, $7K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (1 of 164 reports carries 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 12 communities, most often Danley, Red Bud and Coulterville.
Extent
The costliest entry is April 4, 2025, at $30K in property damage.
Previous occurrences
32 flood, flash-flood and heavy-rain reports since 1996. April 4, 2025: "Heavy rain caused several feet of water over County Road 18, leading to a vehicle becoming submerged. The occupant was safe. Route 4 north of Sparta also had water over the roadway. During the event, up to 4.5 inches of …"
Probability
Reports in 16 of 30 years (53%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $41K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (3 of 32 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 2 occasions. Zone records rarely give snow or ice totals; the full plan adds station data.
Previous occurrences
41 zone events from 1997 to 2025: 28 winter storm, 7 heavy snow, 3 sleet, 2 ice storm, 1 winter weather.
Probability
Events in 22 of 30 years (73%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $0 in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (0 of 41 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 Coulterville.
Extent
0 deaths and 2 injuries on record.
Previous occurrences
1 damaging strikes since 2000.
Probability
Damaging strikes in 1 of 30 years (3%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 2 injuries, $0 in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (0 of 1 report 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: 47 knots (54 mph).
Previous occurrences
7 zone events since 1997.
Probability
Events in 4 of 30 years (13%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
1 death, 1 injury, $4K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (3 of 7 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
Sparta1927248
Chester18141336
Red Bud8213133
Evansville920130
Ruma910221
Baldwin511218
Steeleville610117
Prairie Du Rocher681116
Coulterville743115
Tilden741315
Ellis Grove41115
Menard122115
Percy6219
Modoc257
Eden2316
Danley55
Rockwood2125
Griggs314

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