Hazard Mitigation Plan update · Section 4 draft · prepared October 3, 2026
Schuyler 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.
Schuyler County's plan, the Schuyler County 2020 Hazard Mitigation Plan, expired June 16, 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 280 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 Schuyler 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
71
24/30
0
2
$1.8M
Hail
35
18/30
0
0
$763K
Tornado
9
8/30
1
12
$3.3M
Flooding
42
19/30
0
2
$2.8M
Winter storms
60
23/30
0
1
$50K
Lightning
1
1/30
0
1
$0
High wind (no storm)
7
4/30
0
0
$0
* 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 wind71 days · 24 of 30 yearsHail35 days · 18 of 30 yearsFlooding42 days · 19 of 30 yearsTornado9 days · 8 of 30 yearsWinter storms60 days · 23 of 30 yearsLightning1 day · 1 of 30 years
Show the numbers behind the charts
Year
Thunderstorm wind
Hail
Tornado
Flooding
Winter storms
Lightning
High wind (no storm)
1996
1
2
0
1
2
0
2
1997
1
0
0
2
7
0
3
1998
7
2
2
3
3
0
1
1999
2
1
1
0
2
0
0
2000
5
3
0
1
0
0
0
2001
4
0
0
1
0
0
0
2002
0
1
0
5
2
0
0
2003
6
4
1
1
2
0
0
2004
5
0
1
2
1
0
0
2005
2
2
0
0
1
0
0
2006
2
3
0
0
3
0
0
2007
0
0
0
0
6
0
0
2008
5
1
0
2
1
0
0
2009
2
0
0
2
0
0
0
2010
3
1
0
4
3
0
0
2011
4
4
1
2
2
0
0
2012
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
2013
3
1
0
6
4
0
0
2014
3
1
0
2
3
0
0
2015
2
0
0
3
1
0
0
2016
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2017
2
2
0
1
0
0
0
2018
2
0
1
1
2
1
0
2019
1
2
1
0
2
0
1
2020
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2021
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
2022
1
2
0
2
4
0
0
2023
1
2
0
0
0
0
0
2024
5
1
0
0
3
0
0
2025
2
0
0
0
4
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
1
3
3
9
23
17
9
1
1
1
2
Hail
3
3
8
9
7
1
2
2
Tornado
4
3
1
1
Flooding
1
3
1
4
11
9
5
3
3
1
1
Winter storms
23
13
5
1
4
14
Lightning
1
High wind (no storm)
1
2
1
1
2
Tornado tracks, 1981–2021
18 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 8 communities, most often Rushville, Littleton and Pleasant View.
Extent
The strongest on record is the F3 of June 21, 1981 (1 death, 12 injuries). Tornadoes rated F2/EF2 or stronger touched down on 4 separate days.
Previous occurrences
18 tornadoes on 15 days from 1981 to 2021. Weather Service survey, December 1, 2018: "A tornado touched down in an open field 1.9 miles southwest of Bluff City at 3:51 PM CST. The tornado tracked northeastward and damaged a couple of outbuildings before knocking a home off its foundation and doing tree damage in Bluff City along Highway 100. It then crossed from …"
Probability
At least one tornado in 8 of 30 years (27%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
1 death, 12 injuries, $3.3M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (8 of 18 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 9 communities, most often Rushville, Littleton and Brooklyn.
Extent
The highest gust on record is 81 knots (93 mph), measured near Rushville on June 22, 2010. 2 reports reached 65 knots (75 mph) or more.
Previous occurrences
95 reports on 78 days since 1980. June 22, 2010: "Many trees, tree limbs, and power lines were blown down."
Probability
Reports in 24 of 30 years (80%) from 1996 to 2025; about 2.4 damaging-wind days a year.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 2 injuries, $1.8M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (35 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 12 communities, most often Rushville, Brooklyn and Camden.
Extent
Largest: 4.5 inches near Littleton on May 12, 1998. 2 reports of 2 inches or more.
Previous occurrences
53 reports on 43 days since 1986.
Probability
Reports in 18 of 30 years (60%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $763K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (2 of 53 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 10 communities, most often Rushville, Birmingham and Ray.
Extent
The costliest entry is April 17, 2013, at $2.0M in property damage.
Previous occurrences
45 flood, flash-flood and heavy-rain reports since 1996. October 24, 2021: "A vehicle was swept off the road by flood waters about 4 miles north of Rushville, leading to a water rescue of the driver."
Probability
Reports in 19 of 30 years (63%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 2 injuries, $2.8M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (5 of 45 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 9 occasions. Zone records rarely give snow or ice totals; the full plan adds station data.
Previous occurrences
61 zone events from 1996 to 2026: 22 heavy snow, 16 winter storm, 10 winter weather, 9 ice storm, 4 blizzard.
Probability
Events in 23 of 30 years (77%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 1 injury, $50K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (1 of 61 reports carries 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 Huntsville.
Extent
0 deaths and 1 injury on record.
Previous occurrences
1 damaging strikes since 2018.
Probability
Damaging strikes in 1 of 30 years (3%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 1 injury, $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: 35 knots (40 mph).
Previous occurrences
7 zone events since 1996.
Probability
Events in 4 of 30 years (13%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $0 in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (0 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 report
Thunderstorm wind
Hail
Flooding
Tornado
Lightning
All
Rushville
39
15
8
3
65
Brooklyn
10
8
2
1
21
Littleton
11
4
1
2
18
Camden
10
5
1
16
Huntsville
6
5
1
1
13
Ray
5
4
9
Birmingham
8
8
Frederick
5
1
1
7
Doddsville
2
3
1
6
Pleasant View
2
1
2
5
Browning
4
4
Bader
1
2
3
Bluff City
2
1
3
Wayland
1
1
2
Camden/Littleton
1
1
Rushville/Browning
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: 0 of 32 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.