IL

Storm restoration across Jersey County

Jersey County sits in the southwestern Illinois River valley at the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, placing it in a well-documented tornado corridor with 17 recorded tornado events since 1880, including an F4 in 1880 and multiple F2 events near Jerseyville and Grafton. Severe thunderstorms regularly produce large hail and straight-line winds exceeding 70 mph, and the county lies within the track zone for Midwest derechos that have driven widespread wind damage across the region. The riverfront city of Grafton faces near-annual Mississippi River flooding; the 1993 flood destroyed or severely damaged over 100 homes, and the 2019 flood kept the river above flood stage for more than 120 days with a crest of 35.17 feet. Winter brings significant ice storm and heavy snow risk, as the county falls within Illinois's primary severe freezing-rain belt, making ice accumulation a recurring threat to trees, power lines, and structures from November through March.