IL

Storm restoration across Mercer County

Mercer County sits in the western Illinois corridor where the Quad Cities NWS forecast zone (ILZ024) regularly issues severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings. The county has recorded confirmed tornadoes in June 2025 (two EF1s, one beginning west of Joy and one developing over New Boston) and an EF0 in Viola in April 2026, reflecting a pattern of touchdowns across multiple decades including a deadly F3 passage in 1925. Large hail is a recurring hazard - a 1.25-inch hail event struck Seaton in March 2026, and the broader Quad Cities area ranks among the highest hail-frequency zones in Illinois. The Mississippi River communities of New Boston and Keithsburg face repetitive spring flooding, with documented flood stages that inundate campgrounds and low-lying areas along Lock and Dam 17; winter brings ice storm and blizzard threats from systems tracking across the Iowa-Illinois border, consistent with the freezing-rain belt that affects western Illinois counties.