Macon County, Illinois
Tornadoes, hail, floods and severe storms recorded here between 1956 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see which tornadoes came closest to it.
81
Tornado reports
158
Hail reports
46
Floods since 1996
716
All events
3
Deaths
$50.9M
Property damage
Tornado paths in Macon County
The part of each tornado’s path NOAA recorded in this county, 80 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 F3 Tornado
Tornado F3 Tornado
A 23-year old Ohio woman died when her car skidded on icy roads and struck the concrete wall of the I-72 overpass near Oreana in Macon County at around 9am on March 14th. A light rain/snow mix was falling at the time with temperatures hovering near freezing.
A severe thunderstorm produced 2.00 to 3.00 of rain within one hour in parts of central Macon County, including the cities of Decatur and Mt. Zion. The flash flooding resulted in the closure of numerous streets and viaducts in Decatur, as well as basement flooding to numerous hom…
Declared state and federal disaster area. Snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches fell on top of 1 to 2 inches of ice accumulation.
A downburst occurred in Forsyth damaging 43 homes (one home was destroyed, three homes had major damage, and four businesses had minor damage). There was also some minor damage to a public park. Damage was estimated around $1,400,000.
Tornado EF1 Tornado
The tornado crossed from Christian County into Macon County 0.6 miles north of State Route 48, damaging trees and structures in Blue Mound, including the roof of Meridian Elementary School. It also destroyed 2 grain bins south of the school. It tracked east-southeast, taking down…
Hail Hail
A photo showed ping pong-sized hail measured with a ruler.
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Gust measured at Decatur ASOS.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A powerline was blown down at Shadow Ridge in Decatur.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Ten trees were snapped.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Sheet metal was blown into a field near Niantic.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A shed was destroyed by high winds.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Numerous powerlines were blown down across Macon county.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Trees were damaged and some siding was torn off homes.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Six two-foot diameter trees were blown down and shingles were peeled off a roof.
Hail Hail
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
An emergency manager estimated wind gusts of 60mph.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A 61mph wind gust was measured by a personal weather station.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A large tree limb was blown down onto Main Street.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Several tree limbs were blown down, including one that fell onto a vehicle.
Tornado EF1 Tornado
This tornado crossed from Logan County into Macon County along 2400th Avenue between West Hampshire Road and West School Road at 11:32pm CDT. It continued southeastward, causing mostly minor tree damage before dissipating just west of the intersection of US-51 and West Wise Road …
Tornado EF0 Tornado
A tornado touched down along East Hampshire Road about 2 miles west-northwest of Argenta at 11:50pm CDT. It tracked east-southeastward damaging an outbuilding and trees before passing through Argenta and snapping numerous trees. The tornado then produced additional tree damage be…
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Trees and powerlines were blown down in Maroa.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Trees and powerlines were blown down in Oreana.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Powerlines were blown down in Blue Mound.
Dust Storm Dust Storm
A plume of blowing dust impacted portions of Macon County, severely reducing visibility to near-zero at times. Broadcast media shared a photo of dust blowing across IL-121 between Latham and Warrensburg. A security camera west of Warrensburg also showed reduced visibility. Simila…
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Power lines were blown down on Florida Court.
Flash Flood Flash Flood
A couple viaducts flooded in Decatur...with at least 5 vehicles stalling in the high water.
Drought Drought
Due to a multi-month precipitation deficit dating back to Fall of 2025, Extreme Drought (D3) was in place at the start of the month. Impacts included Stage 1 voluntary water rationing for the city of Decatur and water levels on Lake Decatur being several feet below normal. Howeve…
Drought Drought
Due to a multi-month precipitation deficit dating back to the Fall of 2025, Severe (D2) Drought was ongoing at the start of the month. The cooperative observer in Decatur measured 0.61 inches of precipitation for the month, which was 1.39 inches below normal. Dating back to last …
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Bitterly cold wind-chill values of -20 to -30 occurred across Macon County during the morning of January 26th. The coldest hourly wind-chill reading observed at the Decatur Airport (KDEC) was -23.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Weather observers measured 6 to 8 inches of snow across Macon County...including 6.0 inches in Decatur. Due to both falling and drifting snow, travel became extremely hazardous...leading to numerous traffic accidents on area roadways.
Drought Drought
Due to a multi-month precipitation deficit dating back to the Fall of 2025, Severe (D2) Drought was ongoing at the start of the month. The cooperative observer in Decatur measured 0.81 inches of precipitation during the month of January, which was 1.59 inches below normal. The co…
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A few tree branches were blown down.
Events by year, as a table
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 36 | 3 |
| 2025 | 38 | 2 |
| 2024 | 44 | 3 |
| 2023 | 43 | 5 |
| 2022 | 25 | 0 |
| 2021 | 8 | 1 |
| 2020 | 23 | 1 |
| 2019 | 22 | 2 |
| 2018 | 12 | 3 |
| 2017 | 7 | 1 |
| 2016 | 8 | 0 |
| 2015 | 15 | 1 |
| 2014 | 14 | 3 |
| 2013 | 26 | 1 |
| 2012 | 10 | 0 |
| 2011 | 12 | 2 |
| 2010 | 22 | 0 |
| 2009 | 13 | 0 |
| 2008 | 19 | 0 |
| 2007 | 15 | 1 |
| 2006 | 29 | 8 |
| 2005 | 14 | 2 |
| 2004 | 11 | 0 |
| 2003 | 13 | 1 |
| 2002 | 11 | 0 |
| 2001 | 16 | 1 |
| 2000 | 14 | 3 |
| 1999 | 26 | 3 |
| 1998 | 13 | 1 |
| 1997 | 16 | 2 |
| 1996 | 21 | 2 |
| 1995 | 5 | 1 |
| 1994 | 2 | 0 |
| 1992 | 7 | 0 |
| 1991 | 7 | 0 |
| 1990 | 3 | 0 |
| 1988 | 2 | 0 |
| 1987 | 3 | 0 |
| 1986 | 14 | 1 |
| 1985 | 2 | 0 |
| 1984 | 4 | 2 |
| 1983 | 2 | 0 |
| 1982 | 5 | 0 |
| 1981 | 5 | 0 |
| 1980 | 4 | 1 |
| 1979 | 2 | 0 |
| 1978 | 3 | 1 |
| 1977 | 2 | 0 |
| 1976 | 1 | 1 |
| 1975 | 4 | 1 |
| 1974 | 21 | 16 |
| 1973 | 1 | 0 |
| 1970 | 2 | 0 |
| 1969 | 1 | 0 |
| 1965 | 1 | 0 |
| 1963 | 6 | 3 |
| 1961 | 3 | 0 |
| 1960 | 4 | 1 |
| 1959 | 1 | 0 |
| 1958 | 2 | 0 |
| 1956 | 1 | 1 |
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Macon County, measured to its path.
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