Tornado and Hail in Illinois, April 23, 1961

Name: Tornado and Hail in Illinois, April 23, 1961
Start: 1961-04-23T13:10
End: 1961-04-23T16:10
Location: Illinois

April 23, 1961 · 7 events in 4 counties and zones

3 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 4
Property damage: $2.5 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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

3 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Carroll

When: April 23, 1:10 PM CST
Where: Carroll County
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Coordinates: 42.080, -90.080

Hail, Will

When: April 23, 3:40 PM CST
Where: Will County
Measured: 3 in hail
Coordinates: 41.500, -88.080

Tornado, Will

When: April 23, 3:45 PM CST
Where: Will County
Rating: F3
Path length: 36.3 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Injuries: 4 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 41.350, -88.220

Thunderstorm Wind, Will

When: April 23, 3:50 PM CST
Where: Will County
Coordinates: 41.500, -88.080

Hail, Kankakee

When: April 23, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Kankakee County
Measured: 6 in hail
Coordinates: 41.280, -87.780

Thunderstorm Wind, Kankakee

When: April 23, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Kankakee County
Coordinates: 41.280, -87.780

Thunderstorm Wind, Grundy

When: April 23, 4:10 PM CST
Where: Grundy County
Coordinates: 41.380, -88.280

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.
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

Every storm in Illinois in 1961 Every state in 1961 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Illinois, 1961

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: 10007626, 10007627, 10007628, 10007629, 10007630, 10007631, 10007632.