Franklin County, Illinois
Tornadoes, hail, floods and severe storms recorded here between 1955 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see which tornadoes came closest to it.
19
Tornado reports
116
Hail reports
125
Floods since 1996
962
All events
6
Deaths
$31.7M
Property damage
Tornado paths in Franklin County
The part of each tornado’s path NOAA recorded in this county, 18 in all. Zoom in and the paths widen to their surveyed width.
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated
Year by year
All storm eventsTornadoes
NOAA's storm database records tornadoes back to 1950 and hail and thunderstorm wind back to 1955, but floods only from 1996 on. Older floods are missing here. For those, the U.S. Geological Survey's stream gauge records and flood reports are the place to look.
Most significant events
The strongest tornadoes, deadliest events and biggest damage here, up to 50.
Tornado EF3 Tornado
This large tornado entered Franklin County from Jackson County. The tornado originally formed near Perryville, Missouri. The most intense damage in Franklin County was located south of Mulkeytown, where the tornado was rated EF-3 based on a house that was swept clean off its foun…
One fatality occurred just west of the Rural King in West City when a man slipped into a pond and could not climb out. The official cause of death was drowning with hypothermia as a plausible alternative cause. The air temperature was around 13 degrees Fahrenheit.
A man lost his life when he was stuck outside with temperatures as low as 29 degrees Fahrenheit. The fatality occurred in a field along Cyril James Road northeast of Benton.
Widespread damaging winds across southern Franklin County caused lots of power outages. At the peak of the outages, 49 percent of the county was without power. A state disaster declaration was granted for Franklin County. Among the hardest hit cities was West Frankfort. Peak wind…
Residents were evacuated from their homes and taken to a shelter. Flooding was most serious in West Frankfort, where there were concerns about the safety of the drinking water. It was later determined that no contamination occurred. The city's sewer plant was shut down after it f…
Hail Hail
Hail measured to quarter size fell on the southwest side of Christopher.
Hail Hail
Hail estimated to quarter size fell north of Macedonia. Report submitted via mPING.
Strong Wind Strong Wind
Dense Fog Dense Fog
Drought Drought
Cold/Wind Chill Cold/Wind Chill
Cold/Wind Chill Cold/Wind Chill
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Cold/Wind Chill Cold/Wind Chill
Strong Wind Strong Wind
Dense Fog Dense Fog
Dense Fog Dense Fog
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A large tree limb was snapped and fell onto the roof of a house in Christopher.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A large tree limb was snapped off and fell onto a pickup truck in West Frankfort.
Drought Drought
Dense Fog Dense Fog
Hail Hail
Hail up to the size of quarters was reported on the west side of Benton.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A powerful storm tracked southward through Franklin County. The worst of the damage was at the South Marcum Campground on Rend Lake where numerous trees fell, including a group of half a dozen large trees. One of the trees at South Marcum Campground fell onto an RV. A tree was bl…
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A couple of trees were blown down in North City by thunderstorm winds. Nearby wind speeds were estimated at 50-60 mph.
Drought Drought
Heat Heat
Excessive Heat Excessive Heat
Heat Heat
Flash Flood Flash Flood
Multiple roads were flooded in West Frankfort with stormwater drainage systems overloaded. Some structures were impacted. Radar estimated hourly rainfall amounts for West Frankfort peaked at just over 1.
Flash Flood Flash Flood
Multiple roads were flooded in Benton with stormwater drainage systems overloaded. Some structures were impacted. Radar estimated hourly rainfall amounts for Benton peaked at just over 1.
Flood Flood
Heavy rainfall rates of around an inch in a 45 minute span resulted in large amounts of water ponding on roadways in Benton.
Heat Heat
Dense Fog Dense Fog
Hail Hail
Estimated hail size, reported via mPING, from the north end of a supercell storm.
Dense Fog Dense Fog
Hail Hail
Hail ranging in size from nickels to ping pong balls fell around Sesser.
Hail Hail
Nickel hail fell near Zeigler.
Hail Hail
Ping pong ball size hail fell near Cleburne.
Strong Wind Strong Wind
Strong Wind Strong Wind
Strong Wind Strong Wind
Strong winds tore the roof off of a mobile home in Buckner.
Strong Wind Strong Wind
Increasing winds in the late evening blew a tree down into a house in Sesser.
Strong Wind Strong Wind
Events by year, as a table
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 10 | 0 |
| 2025 | 38 | 0 |
| 2024 | 41 | 0 |
| 2023 | 35 | 0 |
| 2022 | 33 | 1 |
| 2021 | 29 | 1 |
| 2020 | 30 | 0 |
| 2019 | 30 | 0 |
| 2018 | 34 | 0 |
| 2017 | 30 | 1 |
| 2016 | 34 | 1 |
| 2015 | 38 | 1 |
| 2014 | 27 | 0 |
| 2013 | 31 | 1 |
| 2012 | 45 | 0 |
| 2011 | 53 | 2 |
| 2010 | 35 | 0 |
| 2009 | 35 | 3 |
| 2008 | 39 | 0 |
| 2007 | 40 | 0 |
| 2006 | 31 | 0 |
| 2005 | 18 | 0 |
| 2004 | 23 | 1 |
| 2003 | 13 | 0 |
| 2002 | 23 | 1 |
| 2001 | 18 | 0 |
| 2000 | 14 | 0 |
| 1999 | 20 | 0 |
| 1998 | 26 | 0 |
| 1997 | 19 | 0 |
| 1996 | 19 | 1 |
| 1995 | 6 | 0 |
| 1994 | 3 | 1 |
| 1992 | 4 | 0 |
| 1991 | 2 | 0 |
| 1990 | 4 | 0 |
| 1989 | 2 | 1 |
| 1987 | 1 | 0 |
| 1986 | 3 | 0 |
| 1984 | 4 | 0 |
| 1981 | 1 | 0 |
| 1980 | 1 | 0 |
| 1976 | 2 | 0 |
| 1975 | 3 | 0 |
| 1974 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973 | 2 | 0 |
| 1971 | 1 | 1 |
| 1967 | 1 | 0 |
| 1964 | 2 | 0 |
| 1962 | 5 | 0 |
| 1960 | 1 | 1 |
| 1957 | 1 | 1 |
| 1955 | 1 | 0 |
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Franklin County, measured to its path.
We couldn’t get your location. Check that location access is allowed for this site, or type an address.