IL

Storm restoration across Pulaski County

Pulaski County sits at the southern tip of Illinois in the "Little Egypt" region, bounded by the Ohio River to the south and dissected by the Cache River, placing it squarely in a corridor where Gulf moisture clashes with cold continental air to produce tornadoes, large hail, and destructive straight-line winds across a long season spanning February through late spring. The county has recorded at least 12 tornadoes since 1950, including violent F4 events, and lies within a portion of the country where Tornado Alley's center of gravity has measurably shifted eastward, bringing more frequent and intense supercell activity. Derechos and straight-line winds regularly track across southern Illinois, capable of producing gusts that down trees and destroy roofs with little warning, while severe thunderstorms yield hailstones routinely reaching golf-ball size and occasionally tennis-ball size. Ohio River and Cache River flooding represents a persistent secondary threat: the 1937 Ohio River flood submerged Mound City under 12 feet of water and displaced the majority of county residents, and the 2011 Ohio River flood again inundated the Cache River valley; heavy precipitation events exceeding 500-year storm thresholds have been recorded in the county in the modern era. Winter storms, including ice storms documented as far back as the major January 1967 event that downed trees and power lines across Pulaski County, add a further seasonal dimension to the county's storm-damage exposure.