Hazard Mitigation Plan update · Section 4 draft · prepared October 3, 2026
Union 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.
Union County's plan, the Union County 2021 Hazard Mitigation Plan, expired January 3, 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 439 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 Union County. Winter storms are the most frequent; flooding accounts 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
65
27/30
1
2
$2.0M
Hail
24
16/30
0
20
$50K
Tornado
12
12/30
1
8
$5.7M
Flooding
72
22/30
2
0
$3.9M
Winter storms
111
29/30
1
1
$1.5M
Lightning
2
2/30
0
0
$21K
High wind (no storm)
95
24/30
2
0
$1.1M
* 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 wind65 days · 27 of 30 yearsHail24 days · 16 of 30 yearsFlooding72 days · 22 of 30 yearsTornado12 days · 12 of 30 yearsWinter storms111 days · 29 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
0
0
3
3
0
1
1997
2
1
0
2
2
0
1
1998
3
0
0
4
3
0
0
1999
2
0
1
5
3
0
1
2000
0
2
0
1
3
0
1
2001
2
1
0
5
2
0
0
2002
3
1
1
4
3
0
1
2003
3
2
0
3
5
0
0
2004
3
1
1
2
3
0
0
2005
2
1
0
3
1
0
0
2006
5
3
0
3
2
1
4
2007
2
1
1
0
3
0
0
2008
2
0
1
3
7
0
5
2009
3
0
0
3
2
1
6
2010
1
0
0
0
7
0
2
2011
3
2
1
5
6
0
2
2012
3
1
1
0
3
0
1
2013
2
0
0
0
3
0
1
2014
1
0
1
2
5
0
5
2015
1
1
0
8
7
0
2
2016
0
0
0
4
4
0
3
2017
3
0
0
1
2
0
8
2018
2
2
1
0
6
0
9
2019
3
0
0
6
5
0
6
2020
0
0
1
3
0
0
7
2021
1
0
0
0
5
0
7
2022
2
3
0
0
7
0
5
2023
4
1
0
1
3
0
8
2024
3
1
1
1
2
0
4
2025
2
0
1
0
4
0
5
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
4
1
2
6
14
8
12
7
2
5
3
1
Hail
1
1
6
6
4
5
1
Tornado
3
1
1
2
4
1
Flooding
8
4
9
8
16
12
8
2
1
1
3
Winter storms
38
36
7
1
4
25
Lightning
1
1
High wind (no storm)
8
17
21
19
4
1
1
3
7
14
Tornado tracks, 1999–2025
16 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 12 communities, most often Wolf Lake, Anna and Lick Creek.
Extent
The strongest on record is the F3 of April 28, 2002 near Dongola (1 death, 8 injuries). Tornadoes rated F2/EF2 or stronger touched down on 3 separate days.
Previous occurrences
16 tornadoes on 12 days from 1999 to 2025. The busiest day was April 3, 2014, with 3. Weather Service survey, May 20, 2025: "An EF1 tornado touched down along Hwy 146 approximately 6.5 miles northeast of Dongola. It uprooted and snapped several trees along with causing some minor shingle and siding damage to a few homes. Peak winds were 100 mph and max width was 50 yards along its approximately 2 mile …"
Probability
At least one tornado in 12 of 30 years (40%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
1 death, 8 injuries, $5.7M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (16 of 16 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 14 communities, most often Anna, Jonesboro and Cobden.
Extent
The highest gust on record is 83 knots (96 mph), estimated near Alto Pass on June 26, 2013. 10 reports reached 65 knots (75 mph) or more.
Previous occurrences
87 reports on 80 days since 1980. June 26, 2013: "At least 15 trees, some of which were very large, were blown down. About ten houses were damaged by falling trees. Some of these houses sustained major damage. There were also vehicles damaged by falling trees."
Probability
Reports in 27 of 30 years (90%) from 1996 to 2025; about 2.2 damaging-wind days a year.
Recorded losses
1 death, 2 injuries, $2.0M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (58 of 87 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 Jonesboro, Anna and Cobden.
Extent
Largest: 1.75 inches near Anna on June 30, 2023.
Previous occurrences
47 reports on 34 days since 1984.
Probability
Reports in 16 of 30 years (53%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 20 injuries, $50K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (1 of 47 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 Ware, Cobden and Wolf Lake.
Extent
The deadliest flood on record was June 16, 2019 (1 death). The costliest entry is March 18, 2008, at $1.3M in property damage.
Previous occurrences
75 flood, flash-flood and heavy-rain reports since 1996. June 30, 2020: "Numerous roads were closed or washed out in rural areas near Anna and Jonesboro. Near Ware, water covered both lanes of Highway 146."
Probability
Reports in 22 of 30 years (73%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
2 deaths, 0 injuries, $3.9M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (22 of 75 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
113 zone events from 1996 to 2026: 66 winter weather, 30 winter storm, 12 heavy snow, 5 ice storm.
Probability
Events in 29 of 30 years (97%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
1 death, 1 injury, $1.5M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (8 of 113 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 2 communities, most often Anna and Cobden.
Extent
0 deaths and 0 injuries on record.
Previous occurrences
2 damaging strikes since 2006.
Probability
Damaging strikes in 2 of 30 years (7%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
0 deaths, 0 injuries, $21K in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (2 of 2 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: 52 knots (60 mph).
Previous occurrences
97 zone events since 1996.
Probability
Events in 24 of 30 years (80%) from 1996 to 2025.
Recorded losses
2 deaths, 0 injuries, $1.1M in property damage as entered by the Weather Service (92 of 97 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
Anna
20
11
5
2
1
39
Jonesboro
12
13
4
1
30
Cobden
10
6
7
1
24
Ware
5
3
8
1
17
Dongola
8
1
3
1
13
Wolf Lake
2
7
3
12
Alto Pass
6
3
9
Reynoldsville
2
1
1
1
5
Lick Creek
2
1
2
5
Aldridge
3
1
4
Mt Pleasant
1
1
1
3
Saratoga
1
1
2
Kaolin
1
1
2
Cobden To Anna
1
1
Carbondale
1
1
Wayside
1
1
Larue
1
1
Western Saratoga
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: 22 of 36 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.