Storms in Illinois in 1956

63 events in 30 episodes

Every storm the National Weather Service filed in Illinois in 1956, with each episode’s narrative and every event in it. Before 1996 the record holds tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind only, without narratives; floods, heat, winter storms and the other kinds begin in 1996.

Illinois in 1956 on the map

Every episode with a place to put it, colored by kind of event.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over Illinois

The year

Events: 63
Deaths: 8
Injuries: 34
Damage: $12 million
Episodes: 30

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

By kind of event

Kind of event	Events	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
Tornado	30	8	34	$12 million
Thunderstorm Wind	22	0	0
Hail	11	0	0

Every episode, month by month

February 1956

Tornadoes in Illinois, February 25, 19566 deaths · 22 injured · $10 million · F4 · 4 events

March 1956

April 1956

May 1956

June 1956

July 1956

August 1956

September 1956

Tornado and Hail in Illinois, September 15, 1956$25,000 · F2 · 2 events

Every year in Illinois Every state in 1956 Tornadoes in Illinois in 1956 1955 1957

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24.