IL

Storm restoration across Rock Island County

Rock Island County sits at the convergence of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers in northwest Illinois, placing it squarely in a high-frequency severe weather corridor where warm Gulf moisture clashes with cold continental air. The county has recorded 37 tornadoes since 1950, including an F3 in 1988, and remains rated Very High Risk for tornado activity - most recently confirmed by eight tornadoes during a single June 2025 outbreak that struck the county directly. Large hail, damaging straight-line winds, and periodic derechos are a recurring warm-season threat, with Doppler radar detecting hail near Rock Island on more than 70 documented occasions. Both the Mississippi River and Rock River create serious flooding exposure: the Mississippi crested 7.63 feet above flood stage in the historic 1993 flood, over 5,000 parcels sit in the mapped floodplain, and ice jams on the Rock River can trigger rapid flooding from early winter through late spring. Winter storms bring periodic heavy snow and ice events, including the January 1967 storm that dropped 23 inches of snow on Moline and caused 50 deaths across northern Illinois.