Lightning Risk in Illinois

All Illinois counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index lightning score

Lightning risk — electrical discharges from storms that ignite fires and cause casualties — is rated for 102 of 102 Illinois counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Cook County carries the state's highest lightning score at 98.2, with $3M in expected annual lightning losses.

12 Illinois counties are rated High or Very High for lightning, and expected annual losses from lightning total roughly $37M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Lightning

#CountyLightning ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Cook County
98.2
Very High 41.54 / yr $3M
2 DuPage County
96.1
High 42.29 / yr $3M
3 Lake County
93.7
High 36.72 / yr $2M
4 St. Clair County
93.7
High 51.93 / yr $2M
5 Madison County
93.2
High 49.90 / yr $2M
6 Will County
89.9
High 44.55 / yr $2M
7 Rock Island County
89.5
High 44.04 / yr $1M
8 Winnebago County
89.2
High 40.01 / yr $1M
9 Macoupin County
88.7
High 48.68 / yr $1M
10 Peoria County
88.6
High 45.47 / yr $1M
11 Sangamon County
88.5
High 47.67 / yr $1M
12 Kane County
88.0
High 42.34 / yr $1M
13 Jackson County
80.2
Medium 53.69 / yr $551K
14 Champaign County
79.4
Medium 47.57 / yr $753K
15 Adams County
76.2
Medium 47.25 / yr $679K
16 Macon County
75.7
Medium 47.63 / yr $574K
17 McHenry County
73.5
Medium 39.18 / yr $871K
18 Shelby County
73.0
Medium 48.35 / yr $642K
19 Washington County
72.3
Medium 51.73 / yr $539K
20 LaSalle County
71.2
Medium 44.02 / yr $527K
21 Boone County
68.6
Medium 39.98 / yr $515K
22 Livingston County
68.3
Medium 45.72 / yr $500K
23 Williamson County
67.7
Medium 52.94 / yr $409K
24 Knox County
66.4
Medium 45.43 / yr $401K
25 Tazewell County
65.5
Medium 46.28 / yr $481K
26 Franklin County
60.5
Medium 52.59 / yr $247K
27 Henry County
59.6
Medium 43.43 / yr $416K
28 Vermilion County
59.4
Medium 47.49 / yr $264K
29 Hancock County
58.2
Medium 46.44 / yr $259K
30 Mercer County
58.1
Medium 44.82 / yr $492K
31 McLean County
57.4
Medium 46.83 / yr $386K
32 Montgomery County
56.8
Medium 49.01 / yr $270K
33 Clinton County
54.6
Low 51.04 / yr $304K
34 Kankakee County
54.0
Low 44.98 / yr $253K
35 Randolph County
53.6
Low 53.21 / yr $239K
36 Morgan County
52.0
Low 46.73 / yr $240K
37 Massac County
51.2
Low 55.74 / yr $202K
38 Pike County
51.1
Low 48.37 / yr $238K
39 Whiteside County
50.4
Low 41.47 / yr $231K
40 DeKalb County
50.1
Low 42.03 / yr $253K
41 Marion County
49.8
Low 50.42 / yr $192K
42 Perry County
49.4
Low 52.13 / yr $193K
43 McDonough County
47.3
Low 46.26 / yr $180K
44 Stephenson County
47.2
Low 39.74 / yr $187K
45 Saline County
46.8
Low 52.54 / yr $148K
46 Jefferson County
46.1
Low 51.62 / yr $186K
47 Moultrie County
45.4
Low 47.85 / yr $145K
48 Christian County
44.5
Low 48.89 / yr $235K
49 Coles County
44.2
Low 47.72 / yr $203K
50 Fulton County
43.0
Low 46.63 / yr $186K
51 Bond County
43.0
Low 49.59 / yr $176K
52 Fayette County
41.6
Low 49.18 / yr $166K
53 Kendall County
41.2
Low 44.18 / yr $295K
54 Jersey County
41.0
Low 48.88 / yr $257K
55 Ogle County
40.1
Low 41.29 / yr $195K
56 Monroe County
39.7
Low 53.37 / yr $272K
57 Union County
38.1
Low 55.47 / yr $120K
58 Effingham County
37.5
Low 48.85 / yr $169K
59 Warren County
36.7
Low 45.57 / yr $164K
60 Logan County
36.5
Low 47.26 / yr $143K
61 Bureau County
36.3
Low 43.13 / yr $139K
62 Douglas County
34.8
Low 47.99 / yr $115K
63 White County
34.5
Low 51.82 / yr $108K
64 Johnson County
33.8
Low 55.10 / yr $91K
65 Henderson County
33.2
Low 45.59 / yr $91K
66 Iroquois County
33.1
Low 45.80 / yr $128K
67 Lawrence County
29.2
Low 51.20 / yr $92K
68 Lee County
28.8
Low 42.04 / yr $119K
69 Richland County
26.8
Low 49.94 / yr $80K
70 Menard County
26.0
Low 46.80 / yr $80K
71 Greene County
25.1
Low 47.79 / yr $98K
72 Clay County
24.0
Low 49.91 / yr $77K
73 Wayne County
23.2
Very Low 50.02 / yr $84K
74 Edgar County
23.2
Very Low 48.24 / yr $84K
75 Jo Daviess County
22.7
Very Low 39.70 / yr $73K
76 Crawford County
22.6
Very Low 49.79 / yr $95K
77 Clark County
22.6
Very Low 48.47 / yr $76K
78 De Witt County
21.0
Very Low 47.22 / yr $72K
79 Woodford County
20.8
Very Low 45.66 / yr $125K
80 Schuyler County
19.1
Very Low 46.70 / yr $52K
81 Grundy County
18.4
Very Low 44.17 / yr $122K
82 Carroll County
18.0
Very Low 41.16 / yr $55K
83 Marshall County
17.2
Very Low 44.92 / yr $57K
84 Hardin County
17.1
Very Low 53.52 / yr $50K
85 Mason County
16.8
Very Low 47.41 / yr $52K
86 Alexander County
16.7
Very Low 55.73 / yr $39K
87 Cass County
16.6
Very Low 46.22 / yr $57K
88 Piatt County
16.6
Very Low 47.69 / yr $64K
89 Ford County
15.8
Very Low 46.17 / yr $54K
90 Wabash County
15.2
Very Low 51.92 / yr $47K
91 Pulaski County
15.1
Very Low 55.46 / yr $36K
92 Gallatin County
14.8
Very Low 52.47 / yr $32K
93 Cumberland County
14.0
Very Low 48.00 / yr $41K
94 Hamilton County
12.3
Very Low 52.75 / yr $52K
95 Brown County
12.0
Very Low 46.87 / yr $43K
96 Jasper County
11.4
Very Low 48.63 / yr $52K
97 Edwards County
11.0
Very Low 49.79 / yr $27K
98 Calhoun County
10.3
Very Low 49.23 / yr $41K
99 Stark County
8.7
Very Low 44.41 / yr $33K
100 Pope County
8.2
Very Low 54.71 / yr $24K
101 Putnam County
7.2
Very Low 44.02 / yr $24K
102 Scott County
6.0
Very Low 47.07 / yr $29K

102 Illinois counties with measurable lightning risk. See the national lightning ranking or all Illinois counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Illinois county has the highest lightning risk?

Cook County has the highest FEMA lightning risk score in Illinois at 98.2 (Very High), with $3M in expected annual losses and about 41.54 events per year.

How many Illinois counties face significant lightning risk?

102 Illinois counties record measurable lightning risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 12 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in Illinois

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