Historical Illinois Severe Weather Information Dedicated to the 1,497 who have lost their lives in Illinois Tornadoes Since 1880

| Basic Facts | Tornado Stats | School Stats | Miscellaneous Links | Noteworthy Events | Sources | Illinois is a state with fairly high tornado activity. While some areas in the Plains are in most years more active, Illinois's severe weather is significant in its own right. It is among the most active areas on the planet. The prime tornado "season" is mid-March through June although tornadoes do occur at any time of the year. Most deadly tornadoes tend to occur in March-April-May, but also have occurred all throughout the year. Most tornadoes occur from mid-afternoon through early evening with the peak hour being 5 PM. Tornadoes can occur at any time however. Illinois has been struck by many large outbreaks, and does have a history of long-track, violent tornadoes. The larger tornadoes just don't strike as frequently. Some of the worst severe weather and tornado episodes both meteorologically and socially have impacted Illinois. Most Illinois tornadoes are weak and short-lived. They most often move to the northeast, but often do not. Average forward speed is 30-40 MPH although they can be stationary or move over 70 MPH. They occasionally merge, "skip" (each distinct touchdown considered a separate tornado), exhibit multiple vortices, or change paths. They are not always visible or audible. Also, Illinois falls victim to something that rarely occurs in the southern Plains or Southeast, that is the derecho (widespread, violent convectively-induced windstorm). Illinois averages 30 tornadoes per year, the vast majority of these are weak. FEMA does describe the Illinois tornado risk/threat as high and much of the state lies within Wind Zone 4. A tornado shelter is recommended for all residences in Illinois. In addition to the tornado and straight-line wind threat, Illinois is also subjected to flooding and flash flooding, lightning, extreme heat and cold, hailstorms, blizzards, and ice storms. Thunderstorm winds produce much more damage than tornadoes due to their higher frequency and aerial coverage. While typically not as intense, they sometimes can approach the wind velocities of a F3 tornado (remember most tornadoes don't reach this intensity themselves). Floods and lightning kill many more people than tornadoes, and thunderstorm winds can kill as well. Hail causes much damage annually, and can result in serious injury or even death. Well over 500 were killed by extreme heat statewide in 1995 alone. The most tornadoes ever recorded in Illinois in a month was 53 in May 1995 and 40 in April 1996. The most in a year was 107 in 1974, 99 in 1998, and 76 in 1995. The least in a year was 4 in 1952 and 1953. Official numbers show that from 1950-1995, there were 1,213 tornadoes, 182 deaths, 3,679 injuries, and about $842,000,000 in monetary damages. Annual Tornadoes Year Tornadoes Deaths 1990 50 30 1991 32 0 1992 23 0 1993 34 0 1994 20 0 1995 76 0 1996 62 1 1997 29 0 1998 99 0 1999 64 3 2000 55 0 2001 * * The top ten deadliest tornado disasters in Illinois since 1880 Date Fatalities (IL) Path 18 March 1925 613 Great Tri-State Tornado (S. IL) 27 May 1896 159 E. St. Louis-Mt. Vernon 26 May 1917 102 Mattoon-Charleston 21 April 1967 58 Belvidere-Lake Zurich-Oak Lawn 18 May 1883 52 North and Central IL 19 March 1883 33 Alton-Bunker Hill 28 August 1990 29 Plainfield-Crest Hill-Joliet 28 March 1920 28 Elgin-Maywood-Melrose Park 19 February 1888 24 Mt. Vernon 19 April 1927 21 Hardin-Springfield-Clinton Tornado Statistics Tornado Statistics (1953-1995) Total Tornadoes (rank) Annual Average (rank) Annual Tornadoes per 10,000 sq. mi. (rank) Annual Range most-least Killer Tornadoes (rank) Tornado Deaths (rank) Average Annual Tornado Days (rank) 1,195 (7) 28 (7) 5.00 (11) 107-4 44 (8) 177 (8) 12 (9) Tornado Statistics, cont. (1950-1995) Deaths per 1,000,000 People (rank) Deaths per 10,000 sq. mi. (rank) Killer Tornadoes per 1,000,000 People (rank) Killer Tornadoes per 10,000 sq. mi. (rank) 16 (23) 32 (8) 4.0 (23) 7.9 (9) Tornado Statistics, cont. (1880-1991) Killer Tornadoes (rank) Significant Tornadoes (rank) Total Deaths (rank) F4/F5 Tornadoes F4/F5 Tornadoes per 10,000 sq. mi. F5 Tornadoes (rank) F5 Tornadoes per 10,000 sq. mi. (rank) 162 (7) 546 (9) 1,492 (3) 75 (6) 13.5 (5) 5 (7) 0.90 (6) Tornado Statistics, cont. (1950-1991) Tornadoes with Injuries (rank) Tornadoes with Injuries per 10,000 sq. mi. (rank) Tornadoes with Injuries as a Percentage of All Tornadoes (rank) 198 (10) 35.5 (12) --- (>20) Tornado Statistical Summary (1953-1991) 129 pts. (5) Tornado Recurrence Interval Rank Total Tornadoes State Area (sq. mi.) Average Length (mi.) Average Width (mi./yd.) Annual Average Recurrence Interval 3 827 56,400 8.43 0.100 / 176 2,430 yrs. Tornado Size Statistics Average Length (rank) Average Width (rank) Damage Area (rank) 8.43 (3) 0.100 / 176 (10) 0.84 (3) Tornado Deaths per Million People (1953-1991) Rank Total Deaths Deaths per Million People (1970 census) 22 173 15.7 Tornado Deaths per Million People, cont. (1880-1991) Rank Deaths per Million People 15 134.2 Illinois Tornado-related School Fatalities Illinois has a sad history of tornado deaths at schools, however the Southeast has possibly faired worse. There also have been many close calls. Schools are a safe location in general, although more awareness is needed in some situations. courtesy: The Tornado Project Date Time Deaths City 20 June 1890 1430 7 Paw Paw 18 March 1925 1301 69 9 different schools across MO-IL-IN 19 April 1927 1145 1 Carrollton 18 January 1929 1120 2 Maunie 21 April 1967 1550 13 Belvidere 28 August 1990     3 staff members killed the day before classes were to begin Miscellaneous Links Historic Illinois Tornadoes (UIUC) Historical Tornado Data Archive 1950-1998 (SPC) Historical Hail Data Archive 1955-1998 (SPC) Historical Wind Data Archive 1955-1995 (SPC) Illinois Tornadoes: 1950-1998 (The Tornado Project) Illinois Tornado Statistics (UIUC) Illinois Tornadoes (UIUC) Illinois Weather History (NWS ILX) Central Illinois Storm Data Page (NWS ILX) Chicago Area Monthly Storm Data (NWS LOT) Quad Cities Area Monthly Storm Data (NWS DVN) Storm Damage Reports (UIUC) Illinois Tornadoes Prior to 1916 (Wayne Wendland, Herbert Hoffman - Illinois State Academy of Science) A Climatology of Severe Weather Occurrences in Northeast Illinois (NWS LOT) A Climatology of Severe Weather in the WFO Quad Cities, Iowa-Illinois, Modernized County Warning Area (Jeff Zogg - NWS DVN) The Climatology of Severe Thunderstorm and Flash Flooding Events in the Central Illinois CWA (Mark Britt - NWS ILX) The Tornado Climatology of the St. Louis Weather Forecast Office County Warning Area (Mark Britt - NWS LSX) ver. #2 Searchable Storm Events Database (NCDC) Storm Data - requires a subscription (NCDC) DisasterCenter.com Illinois Page Normalized Damage from Major Tornadoes in the United States: 1890-1999 (Harold Brooks; Chuck Doswell, III - NSSL) Damaging Winds COMET Study - NWS LSX and St. Louis Univ. Severe Thunderstorm Hazards Climatology Map (NSSL) Noteworthy Severe Weather Events 29 June 1998 Derecho 29/Jun/98 Derecho (Scott Kampas) Characteristics of Circulations Associated with the 29 June 1998 Derecho in Eastern Iowa (Ray Wolf - NWS DVN) High Winds Blast Central Illinois (News-Gazette) The June 29th, 1998 Derecho over Eastern Iowa and Northwest Illinois (NWS DVN) Observational Study of a Midwestern Severe Wind Mesoscale Convective System (MCS) on 29 June 1998: A Single Doppler Analysis Study (Jason T. Martinelli, Ron W. Przybylinski, Yeong-Jer Lin) ver. #2 NOAA ESEI Library: #1 19 April 1996 Tornado Outbreak 19/Apr/96 Tornado Outbreak (Scott Kampas) April 19, 1996 - Illinois Tornado Outbreak (UIUC) Case Study: The 19 April 1996 Central Illinois Tornado Outbreak (UIUC) Initiation and Evolution of Severe Convection in the 19 April, 1996 Illinois Tornado Outbreak (Brian Jewett; Bruce Lee; Robert Wilhelmson - UIUC) Monstrous March East (Decatur Herald & Review) Numerical Study of Severe Convection on April 19, 1996 (Brian Jewett; Bruce Lee; Robert Wilhelmson - UIUC) The 19 April 1996 Central Illinois Severe/Tornado Event: A WSR-88D Perspective (NSSL) Satellite Imagery Gallery: Illinois Tornadoes (19 April 96) (NOAA/NESDIS) A Wild Week Across the USA (USA Today) - Violent storms lash South, Midwest - April 20, 1996 (CNN) Galva, IL Tornado (NWS DVN) May 1995 Tornado Outbreaks 9 & 13/May/95 (Scott Kampas) Damage Survey of the May 18, 1995 Tornado Event over East Central Missouri and Southwest Illinois (NSSL) Observations of a Merging Bow Segment and Supercell (Ray Wolf, Ron Pryzbylinski, Pete Berg - NWS) Chase Summary: 5/13/95 in Iowa/Illinois by Gilbert Sebenste 28 August 1990 Supertornado 28/Aug/90 Tornado (Scott Kampas) The Plainfield Tornado of 1990 (Joliet Herald News) Plainfield Recalls Horror of 1990 Tornado (Chicago Tribune) Tornado Disaster -- Illinois, 1990 (Nat'l Ctr. for Environmental Health, CDC) 2 Tornado History (Plainfield Library) A Model for a Multi-County Severe Weather Warning System (Paul Sirvatka; Tom Mefferd) Discriminating Between Tornadic and Non-tornadic Thunderstorms Using Mesoscale Model Output (David Stensrud; John Cortinas, Jr.; Harold Brooks) On the Environments of Tornadic and Nontornadic Mesocyclones (Harold Brooks; Chuck Doswell, III; Jeremy Cooper) 2-3 June 1990 Tornado Outbreak 2/Jun/90 Tornado Outbreak (Scott Kampas) Multiscale Evaluation of the 2 June 1990 Tornado Outbreak (Mark Delisi; Phillip Manuel - NWS) 3-4 April 1974 Super Outbreak 3/Apr/74 Super Outbreak (Scott Kampas) NOAA and the 1974 Tornado Outbreak TWC Storms of the Century: 1974 Tornado Super Outbreak 21 April 1967 Tornado Outbreak 21/Apr/67 Tornado Outbreak (Scott Kampas) The 1967 Oaklawn Tornado (Oaklawn Public Library) Belvidere High School (The Tornado Project) Tornado of 1967 - Belvidere Illinois (ComPortOne of Rockford Illinois) The Tornado of '67 Cuts Path in Oak Lawn History (The Star) Chicago Area Remembers 30th Anniversary of Tornado Outbreak (USA Today) 1967 Tornado Page (Belvidere Community Unit School District #100) The Oak Lawn, Illinois Tornado: 30 years later (Storm Track) 11-12 April 1965 Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak 11/Apr/65 Palm Sunday Outbreak (Scott Kampas) A Look Back - Palm Sunday 1965 (Blake Naftel) TWC Storms of the Century: 1965 Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak NOAA Photo Library: 00217 16 March 1942 Supertornado & Outbreak 16/Mar/42 Outbreak (Scott Kampas) The 1942 tornado - Lacon, Marshall County Illinois - Photos (Marshall Co. History and Genealogy) 18 March 1925 Great Tri-State Supertornado & Outbreak 18/Mar/25 Tri-State Tornado (Scott Kampas) The Tri-State Tornado (NWS PAH) The Tri-State Tornado (The Tornado Project) The Tri-State Tornado (The Tornado Project) 1925 and 1996 Illinois Tornado Events (Decatur Herald and Review) 1925 Monster Tornado Killed Hundreds Led to Development of Warning System (Michael Pearson; AP) Forever Changed (The Southern Illinoisan) Tornado of 1925 (Carolyar.com) Tornado of 1925 (Misty Flannigan, Hamilton Co., IL) Aftermath Photos (Evansville.net) Descriptions (ThinkQuest.org) Great Tri-State Tornado of 1925 (Curtis Westra) TWC Storms of the Century: 1925 "Tri-State" Tornado 1925 Tri-State Tornado Outbreak (USA Today) Storm Spotting and Public Awareness Since the First Tornado Forecasts of 1948 (Chuck Doswell, III; Al Moller; Harold Brooks) NOAA Photo Library: #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 27 May 1896 Great St. Louis Tornado Outbreak 27/May/1896 St. Louis Tornado (Scott Kampas) The 1896 Tornado (St. Clair Co., IL) The Great Cyclone at St. Louis and E. St. Louis, May 27, 1896 (SIU Press) The St. Louis/East St. Louis Tornado of 1896 (The Tornado Project) The St. Louis Cyclone of 1896 (Usgennet.org) The 1896 Tornado! (Illinois Trails) St. Louis, Missouri TORNADO May 27, 1896 (NWS LSX) NOAA Photo Library: Text Pictures 00204 #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13 #14 #15 #16 #17 #18 #19 #20 #21 #22 #23 #24 #25 #26 #27 #28 #29 #30 #31 #32 #33 #34 #35 #36 #37 #38 #39 #40 #41 #42 #43 #44 #45 Miscellaneous Events April 10, 2001 (NWS LSX) The Nature and Impacts of the July 1999 Heat Wave in the Midwest (Midwestern Climate Center) Brief Review of the Extreme Heat in Chicago July 29-31, 1999 (NWS LOT) The 1 June 1999 Tornado Event over parts of Central and South Central Illinois (NWS LSX) Observations of a Tornadic and Non-tornadic Circulation near the KDVN WSR-88D Associated with the 18 June 1998 Squall Line (Ray Wolf - NWS DVN) Severe Bow Echo Event of 14 June 1998 (NWS LSX) Central Illinois Mini-Supercell Event (Tom Frieders; NWS ILX) Observations of Flow Structure and Mesoscale Circulations Associated with the 5 May 1996 Asymmetric Derecho in the Lower Ohio Valley (NWS PAH) A Meteorological Diagnosis of the Chicago Killer Heat Event of July 13, 1995 (NWS LOT) WSR-88D Detection of June 4, 1993 Derecho Event over Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky (Brad Small - NWS DSM) Central Illinois Tornadoes of 1858 (The Courier - Henry, IL) First Confirmed Illinois Tornado - 5 June 1805 (Scott Kampas) If you know of any other links, information, or have an information request please share them with me! I am even interested in personal accounts of severe weather, both from survivors and chasers. I am also more than happy to receive links, so if you know of a page that you feel should be listed, by all means please let me know! A reference list of written works will be posted sometime in the future. This project will continue to grow with more links, weather data from specific events, more severe weather data and resources, and assimilation of the data for better presentation and interpretation. >>>Comments, suggestions, additions, constructive criticism<<< Sources: Storm Data - NOAA/NWS The Tornado Project of Environmental Films University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign NWS ILX Public Information Statement "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics" - Mark Twain