IL

Storm restoration across Iroquois County

Iroquois County sits in the heart of the Illinois severe weather corridor, recording tornadoes in every season including a rare four-tornado outbreak on December 28, 2025, with EF-0 and EF-1 twisters striking near Clifton and Martinton. The county's flat, open farmland accelerates straight-line winds and derechos - a 2012 derecho produced a three-mile swath of downed utility poles north of Watseka and dumped nearly four inches of rain in 24 hours, while large hail events are a recurring threat across every growing season. Spring and early summer flooding along the Iroquois River, which drains the entire county westward to the Kankakee system, regularly inundates low-lying agricultural land and road corridors. Winter brings significant blizzard and ice storm risk: northeastern Illinois sits along a high-frequency freezing rain band that has historically caused widespread power outages across Iroquois and Vermilion Counties, and whiteout conditions on I-57 have prompted temporary road closures.