IL

Storm restoration across Winnebago County

Winnebago County sits in northern Illinois within the NWS Chicago forecast area and faces a broad range of severe weather threats. Tornadoes are a documented and recurring hazard: the county has recorded 26 tornado events since 1680, including a devastating EF4 in 1928 that tracked 26 miles through downtown Rockford, killing 14 people, and three confirmed tornadoes struck the county in April 2026 from a single supercell that also produced hail exceeding 2 inches in diameter. The county is also vulnerable to derechos and straight-line wind events - a July 2024 derecho produced 27 tornadoes across the greater Rockford region and brought measured gusts of 60 to 70 mph - alongside heavy rainfall and flash flooding, with a 1952 event dumping over 11 inches in 36 hours and submerging 50 city blocks in Rockford. Winter storms bringing significant snow and ice accumulation are a seasonal certainty, and the Rock and Kishwaukee Rivers create localized flood exposure that compounds storm-rainfall events across the county.