IL

Storm restoration across Saline County

Saline County sits in the heart of southern Illinois's severe weather corridor, making it one of the state's most storm-exposed counties. The county has been struck by violent tornadoes on multiple occasions, most notably the February 29, 2012 EF4 that developed near Carrier Mills and tore 26 miles northeast through Harrisburg, killing 8 people, injuring 108, and destroying over 200 homes and 25 businesses - one of the deadliest tornado strikes in modern Illinois history; the county was again under a tornado emergency during the May 16, 2025 outbreak when an EF4 with 190 mph winds tracked through adjacent Williamson County and separate EF1 and EF2 tornadoes touched down within Saline County itself. Large hail and destructive straight-line winds from thunderstorm complexes and derechos are recurring seasonal hazards from spring through late summer, with the Harrisburg area accumulating 15 documented on-the-ground hail reports by trained spotters and 31 severe weather warnings in a recent 12-month window alone. Flooding is a compounding risk: the Saline River watershed runs through the county, and when the Ohio River reaches flood stage its backwater effect can push floodwaters all the way to Harrisburg, as occurred during the June 2008 flood that damaged homes and businesses along the Route 45 corridor. Winter storms bring significant ice and heavy snow, with the January 2025 event toppling hundreds of trees across Harrisburg, knocking out power to roughly 1,000 homes, and prompting a county-wide state of emergency in single-digit temperatures.