States › Illinois › Cook County

Cook County, Illinois

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 17031 · 5,173,146 residents (2021) · 945 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 643Tornado · 87Flood · 420Wind · 1,582Winter · 78

Cook County within Illinois. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Cook County, Illinois, has 3,111 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 329.2 events per 100 square miles, above the Illinois figure of 120.2, and 6.0 per 10,000 residents against 52.7 statewide.

302 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 568 deaths and 935 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $1.7B.

FEMA has designated the county in 24 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Floodng (major disaster, 20 Sep 2024).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 15,260 claims since 1978, of which 10,976 were paid, totalling $140M (about $13K per paid claim). FEMA counts 6,353 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Very High" and its expected annual loss as "Very High" ($2.4B a year across 18 hazards).

4 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

302events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

3,111events since 1950568 deaths, 935 injuries recorded

24disaster declarationslast 20 Sep 2024

15,260NFIP flood claims$140M paid

Compared with Illinois and the United States

Measure	Cook County	Illinois	US
Recorded events since 1950	3,111	66,722	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	329.2	120.2	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	6.0	52.7	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	302	3,232	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	568	1,148	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$1.7B	$6.9B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	2.9	4.2	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$13K	$14K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	15.6	21.1	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Hail: 8Tornado: 8Wind: 12

Hail: 23Tornado: 11Wind: 59

Hail: 20Tornado: 15Wind: 47

Hail: 19Tornado: 5Wind: 62

Hail: 34Tornado: 2Flood: 11Wind: 64Winter: 8Heat: 12Cold: 8Lightning: 7

Hail: 206Tornado: 7Flood: 90Wind: 294Winter: 29Heat: 27Cold: 48Drought: 9Wildfire: 1Lightning: 19Other: 11

Hail: 206Tornado: 7Flood: 146Wind: 326Winter: 37Heat: 19Cold: 51Lightning: 29Other: 19

Hail: 127Tornado: 32Flood: 173Wind: 718Winter: 4Drought: 1Lightning: 2Other: 38

281950s931960s821970s861980s1461990s7412000s8402010s1,0952020s

Recorded events in Cook County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 2,171 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 495 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind1,582

Hail643

Flood420

Cold107

Tornado87

Winter78

Other68

Heat58

Lightning57

Drought10

Wildfire1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	1,582	17	6.4%	detail
■ Hail	643	—	5.2%	detail
■ Flood	420	3	6.5%	detail
■ Cold	107	149	4.0%
■ Tornado	87	39	2.4%	detail
■ Winter	78	15	1.0%	detail
■ Other	68	1	7.0%
■ Heat	58	341	1.8%
■ Lightning	57	3	12.8%
■ Drought	10	—	0.6%
■ Wildfire	1	—	4.5%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
28 Jul 1999	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	93	—	Forecast zone
21 Apr 1967	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$25M	—	33	500	County
4 Jul 2012	Excessive Heat	Heat	—	$750K	—	25	—	Forecast zone
1 Aug 2006	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	24	—	Forecast zone
21 Jun 1997	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	16	—	Forecast zone
17 Jul 2011	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	16	—	Forecast zone
6 Aug 2001	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	14	—	Forecast zone
21 Jul 1999	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	12	—	Forecast zone
1 Jul 2002	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	12	—	Forecast zone
15 Jul 2002	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	11	—	Forecast zone
24 Jun 1998	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	10	—	Forecast zone
21 Jul 2001	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	10	—	Forecast zone
1 Feb 2007	Extreme Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	10	—	Forecast zone
15 Jul 2006	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	9	—	Forecast zone
2 Dec 2006	Extreme Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	7	5	Forecast zone
21 Jun 2002	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	7	—	Forecast zone
29 Jul 2001	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	6	—	Forecast zone
1 Feb 2011	Blizzard	Winter	—	$200K	—	5	—	Forecast zone
5 Aug 1996	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	5	—	Forecast zone
14 Jul 1997	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	5	—	Forecast zone

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
20 Sep 2024	DR-4819	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Floodng	Individual assistance
20 Nov 2023	DR-4749	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance
15 Aug 2023	DR-4728	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance
26 Mar 2020	DR-4489	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3435	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
10 May 2013	DR-4116	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Individual assistance
17 Mar 2011	DR-1960	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm	Public assistance
19 Aug 2010	DR-1935	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance
3 Oct 2008	DR-1800	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
25 Sep 2007	DR-1729	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
7 Sep 2005	EM-3230	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
17 Jan 2001	EM-3161	Emergency	Snowstorm	Illinois Winter Snow Storms	Public assistance
8 Jan 1999	EM-3134	Emergency	Snowstorm	Il-Winter Storm 1/1/99	Public assistance
17 Sep 1997	DR-1188	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance
25 Jul 1996	DR-1129	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
9 Jul 1993	DR-997	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance
21 Aug 1987	DR-798	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
7 Oct 1986	DR-776	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
30 Jun 1981	DR-643	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding & Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
16 Jan 1979	EM-3068	Emergency	Snowstorm	Blizzards & Snowstorms	Public assistance
18 Jun 1976	DR-509	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
26 Apr 1973	DR-373	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
4 Sep 1972	DR-351	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
25 Apr 1967	DR-227	Major disaster	Tornado	Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Cook County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 197815,260

Paid claims10,976

Total paid$140M

Average paid claim$13K

Repetitive-loss properties1,612115 severe

Residential policies in force6,3530.5% of 1,241,949 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	91	44	$341,616	$7,764
2025	43	21	$326,534	$15,549
2024	41	20	$153,523	$7,676
2023	124	75	$638,827	$8,518
2022	23	12	$498,925	$41,577
2021	67	43	$641,125	$14,910
2020	290	208	$4,919,026	$23,649
2019	84	56	$912,446	$16,294
2018	86	55	$1,011,322	$18,388
2017	140	91	$1,062,881	$11,680
2016	68	45	$584,208	$12,982
2015	214	148	$2,075,817	$14,026
2014	384	254	$2,177,973	$8,575
2013	1,981	1,687	$35,669,068	$21,143
2012	41	15	$86,326	$5,755
2011	608	446	$7,289,421	$16,344
2010	1,559	1,330	$18,054,988	$13,575
2009	117	81	$610,165	$7,533
2008	2,048	1,713	$33,837,196	$19,753
2007	330	242	$2,199,794	$9,090
2006	356	233	$2,333,765	$10,016
2005	34	14	$70,884	$5,063
2004	66	39	$154,177	$3,953
2003	210	135	$503,172	$3,727
2002	138	88	$320,411	$3,641

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskVery Highscore 100.0 of 100

Expected annual loss$2.4BVery High

Social vulnerabilityRelatively High

Community resilienceRelatively High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Very High	$1,096,923,384
Cold wave	Very High	$699,974,247
Tornado	Very High	$344,681,902
Heat wave	Very High	$193,392,334
Earthquake	Relatively High	$57,293,394
Strong wind	Very High	$11,628,974
Hail	Relatively High	$11,089,642
Winter weather	Very High	$4,407,765
Lightning	Very High	$2,714,511
Ice storm	Very High	$2,035,016
Hurricane	Very Low	$56,776
Wildfire	Very Low	$56,110
Coastal flooding	Relatively Low	$36,524
Drought	Very Low	$12,060
Landslide	Very Low	$1,810

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles4

Tracks within 50 miles0

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1941	96 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	96 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1923	94 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1900	69 mi	58 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

60104 1,495
60016 1,452
60426 886
60473 780
60154 595
60164 571
60409 552
60419 478
60165 461
60160 420
60093 398
60018 366
60131 364
60438 322
60025 311
60076 275
60428 240
60090 208
60411 206
60546 197
60056 177
60176 172
60445 148
60091 143
60171 143
60422 143
60068 140
60062 127
60513 122
60070 100
60067 98
60637 94
60452 93
60453 88
60707 83
60465 80
60430 79
60477 77
60469 72
60625 72
60619 70
60462 67
60429 65
60525 60
60077 59
60714 56
60074 54
60628 51
60004 50
60007 49
60472 45
60620 44
60053 43
60443 43
60458 42
60005 41
60461 40
60712 40
60153 38
60634 38

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Cook County, IL?

NCEI records 643 hail events in Cook County since 1950, in 68 different years; that is about 8.4 recorded events a year. 93 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Cook County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 87 tornadoes in Cook County since 1950, 20 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 39.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Cook County?

20 Sep 2024: Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Floodng, a major disaster declaration for flood. The county appears in 24 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Cook County, and how much was paid?

15,260 NFIP claims since 1978, 10,976 of them paid, for $140M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Cook County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Very High" for overall risk, "Very High" for expected annual loss, "Relatively High" for social vulnerability and "Relatively High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Cook County compare with the rest of Illinois?

329.2 recorded events per 100 square miles against 120.2 statewide, and 2.9 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 4.2. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.