IL

Storm restoration across Ford County

Ford County sits in the flat agricultural heartland of east-central Illinois, a geography that offers no natural barriers to severe weather and places every community in the direct path of storm systems tracking northeast across the plains. The county experiences a full spectrum of storm hazards: tornadoes (including an EF-1 near Gibson City in June 2024 and an EF-0 south of Gibson City in December 2025), large hail, straight-line winds exceeding 70 mph, and periodic derechos - with a derecho striking roughly every two years across central Illinois and the July 2024 event producing record wind damage locally. Heavy rainfall events can drop several inches in 24 to 48 hours, overwhelming the Iroquois River drainage basin and triggering widespread agricultural and structural flooding, as seen in February 2018 when Paxton recorded 4.52 inches in a single rain event. Winter brings ice storms and freezing rain advisories that damage roofs, gutters, and tree canopy across all nine incorporated communities.