Jump links: Storm Data Reports, Yearly Statistics, Top 10 Illinois Tornado Disasters, F4/EF4 & F5/EF5 Tornadoes in Illinois
This section provides monthly summaries of significant weather reports across central and southeast Illinois. (Click here to see a map of the coverage area included in these reports.) These files are in PDF format. Reports can involve severe weather, unusual heat or cold, flooding, winter weather, and excessive wind. Data on this page is available back to 2016.
IMPORTANT: These reports are preliminary, unofficial, and uncertified. For official, certified reports, please refer to the Storm Events Database published by the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) in Asheville, NC. NCEI can be contacted by calling (828) 271-4800, by e-mail to ncei.orders@noaa.gov .
Please note that there is usually a lag time of a few months for the most recent data.
Specific breakdowns of tornado events over central and southeast Illinois are available in the links below. These classify each tornado by location, intensity, path length and width, and time of occurrence.
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
National monthly and yearly tornado statistics are available from the Storm Prediction Center's storm reports page.
 Illinois tornadoes by month, 1950-2022 |
Illinois tornadoes by time of day, 1950-2022 |
| Rank | Date | Main locations affected | Casualties | Peak Intensity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar. 18, 1925 | Murphysboro, West Frankfort, DeSoto, Gorham | 541 dead, >1500 injured | F5 |
| The Great Tri-State Tornado traveled 219 miles from near Ellington, MO, across southern Illinois to near Princeton, IN. A collective 695 people were killed across the 3 states, with over 2,000 injured. In the first 120 mile stretch across Illinois, 541 people were killed, including 234 at Murphysboro, 148 at West Frankfort, and 60 at De Soto. An overview of the event can be found at the Paducah NWS's Tri-State Tornado page. | ||||
| 2 | May 27, 1896 | East St. Louis, Belleville, New Baden, Nashville | 140 dead, ~500 injured | F4 |
| The deaths were the result of 3 separate tornadoes. The first tornado, which had already killed 137 people in St. Louis, crossed the Mississippi River into East St. Louis and killed another 113 people. Another tornado touched down southeast of East St. Louis and killed 24 people in the Belleville and Mascoutah areas. A third tornado killed 3 people between Nashville and Mt. Vernon. | ||||
| 3 | May 26, 1917 | White Hall, Westervelt, Mattoon, Charleston | 101 dead, 638 injured | F4 |
| Once believed to be a single tornado with a path 293 miles long, this was later determined to be at least 4 to 8 separate tornadoes. The main damage occurred in the Mattoon/Charleston area. Mattoon lost 700 houses in a path about 2.5 blocks by 2.5 miles; Charleston lost 220 houses in an area 600 yards by 1.5 miles. The death total included 53 at Mattoon and 38 at Charleston. An overview of the event can be found on our Mattoon/Charleston Tornado page. | ||||
| 4 | Apr. 21, 1967 | Belvidere, Elgin, Lake Zurich, Palos Hills, Chicago | 57 dead, 1123 injured | F4 |
| This was the result of 3 separate tornadoes. One affected Belvidere and vicinity, killing 24 people and destroying about 400 cars at the Chrysler plant. A second tornado touched down in Elgin and moved to Lake Zurich, causing $10 million damage. The third tornado touched down near Palos Hills and moved across southern Chicago onto Lake Michigan. This tornado killed 33 people and injured 500; many of these casualties were in vehicles stopped at traffic lights during rush hour. Each of the 3 tornadoes were rated at peak intensities of F4. An overview of the event can be found at the Chicago NWS's web page on the event. | ||||
| 5 | May 18, 1883 | Jacksonville, Literberry, Springfield, Kenney, Capron | 52 dead, 200 injured | F4 |
| At least 14 strong to violent tornadoes touched down in this outbreak. The two strongest ones tracked from near Jacksonville to near Petersburg (12 killed), and from Springfield to Kenney (11 killed). | ||||
| 6 | Mar. 19, 1948 | Alton, Bunker Hill, Fosterburg, Gillespie | 33 dead, 449 injured | F4 |
| This tornado touched down in the early morning near Alton and moved northeast. The death toll included 19 at Bunker Hill, 9 at Fosterburg, and 5 at Gillespie. The tornado destroyed about half of Fosterburg and 80% of Bunker Hill. | ||||
| 7 | June 3, 1860 | Albany, Colo, Coloma, Tampico, Shabbona | 31 dead, ~110 injured | Unknown |
| Originally called "The Great Tornado of the West", this was later determined to be a complex family of tornadoes. The majority of the 124 overall deaths from these tornadoes occurred in Iowa. The Illinois casualties mostly occurred with a tornado crossing the Mississippi River at Albany, later affecting areas northeast to the Sterling and Dixon areas. A separate tornado further east killed 8 people. | ||||
| 8 | Aug. 28, 1990 | Plainfield, Joliet, Crest Hill | 29 dead, 350 injured | F5 |
| The worst of this tornado affected the Plainfield and Crest Hill areas, where F5 level damage produced losses around $165 million. Three schools were destroyed (school was not in session at the time), and millions of dollars in damage also occurred to shopping malls and apartment complexes. An overview of the event can be found on the Chicago NWS's Plainfield Tornado page. | ||||
| 9 | Feb. 19, 1888 | Mount Vernon | 24 dead, 80 injured | F4 |
| On the ground for about 20 miles, this tornado devastated the southeast half of Mount Vernon, damaged or destroyed 300 homes and 50 businesses. Overturned wood stoves ignited many fires. | ||||
| 10 | Apr. 19, 1927 | Carrollton, Springfield, Riverton, Chestnut, Cornland | 21 dead, 60 injured | F4 |
| This was the result of two separate tornadoes. The first one began in Missouri and moved into Illinois near Hardin, and moved across Carrollton before lifting west of Springfield near Loami. Eleven people were killed in Illinois. The second tornado touched down on the southeast side of Springfield and moved northeast, destroying Buffalo Hart and much of Cornland. This tornado killed 10 people. | ||||
|
Violent Tornadoes (F4 or F5) in Illinois since 1950 |
Mag: Dth: Inj: PrD: |
Magnitude Deaths Injuries Property Damage |
| Location Affected (County) | Date | Time of Initial Touchdown (CST) |
Mag | Dth | Inj | PrD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Lemay MO, Dupo IL (St Louis MO, St. Clair IL) | 02/25/1956 | 12:25 AM | F4 | MO 3, IL 0 | 14 | 2.5M |
| 2 Summerfield (St. Clair, Clinton) | 02/25/1956 | 01:15 AM | F4 | 3 | 6 | 2.5M |
| 3 Springfield (Sangamon) | 06/14/1957 | 02:00 PM | F4 | 2 | 50 | 2.5M |
| 4 Mt. Vernon (Jefferson) | 12/18/1957 | 03:55 PM | F4 | 1 | 45 | 2.5M |
| 5 Sunfield (Perry) | 12/18/1957 | 04:35 PM | F5 | 1 | 6 | N/A |
| 6 Gorham, Murphysboro (Jackson, Williamson, Franklin) | 12/18/1957 | 04:45 PM | F4 | 11 | 200 | 2.5M |
| 7 St. Louis MO, Venice IL (St. Louis MO, Madison IL) | 02/10/1959 | 02:15 AM | F4 | MO 21, IL 0 | MO 345, IL 0 |
MO 10.0M, IL 250K |
| 8 Essex, Bourbonnais, Bradley (Kankakee IL, Newton IN, Jasper IN, Pulaski IN) | 04/17/1963 | 03:55 PM | F4 | IL 1, IN 0 |
IL 50, IN 20 | 2.5M |
| 9 Illiopolis, Niantic (Sangamon, Macon) | 04/22/1963 | 05:30 PM | F4 | 1 | 5 | N/A |
| 10 Crystal Lake, Wauconda (McHenry, Lake) | 04/11/1965 | 03:20 PM | F4 | 6 | 75 | 1.5M |
| 11 Cherry Valley, Belvidere (Boone, McHenry) | 04/21/1967 | 03:50 PM | F4 | 24 | 500 | 25.0M |
| 12 Elgin, Barrington Hills, Lake Zurich (Kane, Cook, Lake) | 04/21/1967 | 05:10 PM | F4 | 1 | 123 | 10.0M |
| 13 Palos Hills, Oak Lawn, Chicago (Cook) | 04/21/1967 | 05:24 PM | F4 | 33 | 500 | 25.0M |
| 14 Bement, Ivesdale, Sadorus, Ogden, Danville (Macon, Piatt, Champaign, Vermilion) | 03/20/1976 | 01:15 PM | F4 | 0 | 18 | 10.0M |
| 15 Lemont, Downers Grove (Cook, DuPage) | 06/13/1976 | 04:18 PM | F4 | 2 | 23 | 13.0M |
| 16 Kickapoo, Dunlap (Peoria) | 06/29/1976 | 01:45 PM | F4 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| 17 Granite City, Edwardsville (Madison) | 04/03/1981 | 10:50 PM | F4 | 0 | 32 | 25.0M |
| 18 Carterville, Marion (Williamson) | 05/29/1982 | 02:05 PM | F4 | 10 | 181 | 250.0M |
| 19 Allendale IL, Patton IL, Frichton IN (Wabash IL, Knox IN) | 01/07/1989 | 05:24 PM | F4 | 0 | IL 50, IN 5 | 25.0M |
| 20 Rinard, Clay City, Noble, Olney (Wayne, Clay, Richland) | 06/02/1990 | 04:45 PM | F4 | 0 | 2 | N/A |
| 21 Newton, Hunt City (Jasper) | 06/02/1990 | 05:07 PM | F4 | 0 | 6 | N/A |
| 22 Aden, Albion, Mt. Carmel IL; Hazleton, Bowman, Huron IN (Hamilton, Wayne, Edwards, Wabash IL; Knox, Gibson, Pike, Daviess, Martin, Orange IN) | 06/02/1990 | 05:20 PM | F4 | IL 1, IN 0 |
IL 1, IN 10 |
2.5M |
| 23 Oswego, Joliet, Plainfield, Crest Hill (Kendall, Will) | 08/28/1990 | 02:37 PM | F5 | 29 | 350 | 250.0M |
| 24 Dallas City, Disco, Raritan (Hancock, Henderson, Warren) | 05/13/1995 | 03:18 PM | F4 | 0 | 7 | 10.0M |
| 25 Ipava, Lewistown (Fulton) | 05/13/1995 | 04:55 PM | F4 | 0 | 45 | 6.0M |
| 26 Grand Chain, Hillerman (Massac, Pulaski, Pope) | 05/06/2003 | 08:32 PM | F4 | 1 | 33 | 10.0M |
| 27 Metamora, Roanoke (Woodford) | 07/13/2004 | 01:34 PM | F4 | 0 | 3 | N/A |
| 28 Harrisburg, Ridgway (Saline, Gallatin) | 02/29/2012 | 04:51 AM | EF4 | 7 | 108 | 3.0 M |
| 29 Washington (Tazewell, Woodford, La Salle, Livingston) | 11/17/2013 | 10:59 AM | EF4 | 3 | 125 | 1.1 B |
| 30 New Minden (Washington, Clinton) | 11/17/2013 | 12:04 PM | EF4 | 2 | 2 | N/A |
| 31. Rochelle, Fairdale, Kirkland (Lee, Ogle, DeKalb, Boone) | 04/09/2015 | 05:39 PM | EF4 | 2 | 22 | N/A |
Other Severe Weather Links:
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on YouTube
ILX RSS Feed
