Storms in Illinois in 1971

85 events in 36 episodes

Every storm the National Weather Service filed in Illinois in 1971, 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 1971 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: 85
Deaths: 1
Injuries: 48
Damage: $4.2 million
Episodes: 36

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
Thunderstorm Wind	42	0	0
Hail	26	0	0
Tornado	17	1	48	$4.2 million

Every episode, month by month

February 1971

March 1971

April 1971

May 1971

June 1971

July 1971

August 1971

September 1971

November 1971

Tornadoes in Illinois, November 1, 1971$50,000 · F1 · 2 events

December 1971

Every year in Illinois Every state in 1971 Tornadoes in Illinois in 1971 1970 1972

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.