Tornadoes and Hail in Illinois, December 18, 1957

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Illinois, December 18, 1957
Start: 1957-12-18T14:40
End: 1957-12-18T18:40
Location: Illinois

December 18, 1957 · 24 events in 15 counties and zones

22 tornado, 1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

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 this ground

The toll

Deaths: 13
Injuries: 269
Property damage: $12 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 24

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.

Event by event

22 tornado, 1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Randolph

When: December 18, 2:40 PM CST
Where: Randolph County
Rating: F3
Path length: 20.2 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 37.970, -89.820

Tornado, Randolph

When: December 18, 3:15 PM CST
Where: Randolph County
Rating: F3
Path length: 17.7 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 37.900, -89.800

Tornado, Madison

When: December 18, 3:20 PM CST
Where: Madison County
Rating: F2
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 38.850, -90.080

Tornado, Mason

When: December 18, 3:35 PM CST
Where: Mason County
Rating: F1
Path width: 33 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 40.200, -89.700

Tornado, Perry

When: December 18, 3:35 PM CST
Where: Perry County
Rating: F3
Path length: 2.5 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 38.080, -89.550

Tornado, Jefferson

When: December 18, 3:45 PM CST
Where: Jefferson County
Rating: F2
Path length: 4.5 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 38.420, -89.020

Tornado, Jefferson

When: December 18, 3:55 PM CST
Where: Jefferson County
Rating: F4
Path length: 16.8 mi
Path width: 250 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 45 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 38.280, -89.080

Hail, St. Clair

When: December 18, 3:55 PM CST
Where: St. Clair County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 38.500, -89.780

Tornado, Jackson

When: December 18, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Jackson County
Rating: F2
Path length: 5.4 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 37.900, -89.500

Tornado, Randolph

When: December 18, 4:15 PM CST
Where: Randolph County
Rating: F3
Path length: 5.7 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 37.830, -89.750

Tornado, Jefferson

When: December 18, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Jefferson County
Rating: F2
Path length: 11.6 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 38.330, -89.020

Tornado, Perry

When: December 18, 4:35 PM CST
Where: Perry County
Rating: F5
Path length: 5.4 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 6 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 38.080, -89.250

Tornado, Jackson

When: December 18, 4:45 PM CST
Where: Jackson County
Rating: F4
Path length: 19.5 mi
Path width: 300 yd
Deaths: 11 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 180 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 37.700, -89.480

Tornado, Wayne

When: December 18, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Wayne County
Rating: F3
Path length: 11.9 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 38.500, -88.630

Tornado, Jackson

When: December 18, 5:25 PM CST
Where: Jackson County
Rating: F2
Path length: 1.5 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Injuries: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 37.700, -89.220

Tornado, Clay

When: December 18, 5:25 PM CST
Where: Clay County
Rating: F3
Path length: 7.7 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 38.600, -88.450

Tornado, Jasper

When: December 18, 5:25 PM CST
Where: Jasper County
Rating: F3
Path length: 4.5 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 38.930, -88.050

Tornado, Hamilton

When: December 18, 5:35 PM CST
Where: Hamilton County
Rating: F3
Path length: 2.5 mi
Path width: 150 yd
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 38.200, -88.700

Tornado, Williamson

When: December 18, 5:35 PM CST
Where: Williamson County
Rating: F4
Path length: 4.5 mi
Path width: 300 yd
Injuries: 10 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 37.830, -89.170

Tornado, Franklin

When: December 18, 5:45 PM CST
Where: Franklin County
Rating: F4
Path length: 4.3 mi
Path width: 300 yd
Injuries: 10 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 37.850, -89.080

Tornado, Johnson

When: December 18, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Johnson County
Rating: F2
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 37.300, -88.920

Tornado, Hamilton

When: December 18, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Hamilton County
Rating: F3
Path length: 19.8 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Injuries: 4 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 38.170, -88.420

Thunderstorm Wind, Jasper

When: December 18, 6:17 PM CST
Where: Jasper County
Coordinates: 39.000, -88.180

Tornado, Vermilion

When: December 18, 6:40 PM CST
Where: Vermilion County
Rating: F1
Path length: 3 mi
Path width: 60 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 39.900, -87.800

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, Jefferson	1957-12-18				Direct
Tornado, Perry	1957-12-18				Direct

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Tornadoes and Hail in Missouri, December 18, 19574 deaths · 4 injured · $3.3 million · F2 · 11 events

Every storm in Illinois in 1957 Every state in 1957 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Illinois, 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. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10008653, 10008654, 10008655, 10008656, 10008657, 10008658, 10008659, 10008660, 10008661, 10008662, 10008663, 10008664, 10008665, 10008666, 10008667, 10008668, 10008669, 10008670, 10008671, 10008672, 10008673, 10008674, 10009528, 10009739.