IL

Storm restoration across Edwards County

Edwards County sits in southeastern Illinois within the eastward-shifted corridor of Tornado Alley, where warm, moist Gulf air colliding with Midwest wind shear produces tornadoes - including historically violent F3 and F4 events that have tracked across the county - as well as large hail and damaging straight-line winds during peak spring and early-summer storm seasons. Derechos are a documented regional hazard; the 2009 southern Illinois derecho brought 90 mph winds and spawned several tornadoes across the area. The Wabash River and its tributaries border the county to the east, making heavy-rain events a recurring flooding threat, with levee overflows and widespread inundation recorded after major multi-day rainfall. Winter weather brings ice storms that down trees and power lines, with temperatures capable of dropping below 0°F and occasional ice-jam flooding along river corridors.