Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Illinois, April 6, 1972

Name: Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Illinois, April 6, 1972
Start: 1972-04-06T18:45
End: 1972-04-06T21:50
Location: Illinois

April 6, 1972 · 14 events in 6 counties and zones

7 tornado, 7 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

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The toll

Deaths: 2
Injuries: 31
Property damage: $1.3 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 14

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

7 tornado, 7 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Ogle

When: April 6, 6:45 PM CST
Where: Ogle County
Rating: F2
Path length: 10.9 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 42.050, -89.600

Thunderstorm Wind, Lee

When: April 6, 6:45 PM CST
Where: Lee County
Coordinates: 41.880, -89.500

Thunderstorm Wind, Ogle

When: April 6, 6:45 PM CST
Where: Ogle County
Measured: 87 kt (100 mph)
Coordinates: 42.000, -89.580

Thunderstorm Wind, Lee

When: April 6, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Lee County
Coordinates: 41.780, -89.280

Tornado, Lee

When: April 6, 7:05 PM CST
Where: Lee County
Rating: F2
Path length: 16.6 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Injuries: 6 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 41.900, -89.520

Tornado, Will

When: April 6, 8:10 PM CST
Where: Will County
Rating: F2
Path length: 6.8 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 22 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 41.530, -88.200

Thunderstorm Wind, La Salle

When: April 6, 8:17 PM CST
Where: La Salle County
Coordinates: 41.280, -89.000

Tornado, Kendall

When: April 6, 8:30 PM CST
Where: Kendall County
Rating: F1
Path length: 10.7 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 41.620, -88.330

Tornado, Will

When: April 6, 8:30 PM CST
Where: Will County
Rating: F1
Path length: 3.6 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 41.550, -88.130

Tornado, Will

When: April 6, 8:30 PM CST
Where: Will County
Rating: F2
Path length: 5.1 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 41.520, -88.180

Thunderstorm Wind, Will

When: April 6, 8:45 PM CST
Where: Will County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 41.500, -88.180

Thunderstorm Wind, Will

When: April 6, 8:50 PM CST
Where: Will County
Coordinates: 41.580, -88.080

Tornado, Iroquois

When: April 6, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Iroquois County
Rating: F0
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $250
Coordinates: 40.920, -87.650

Thunderstorm Wind, Iroquois

When: April 6, 9:50 PM CST
Where: Iroquois County
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Coordinates: 40.880, -88.000

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, Ogle	1972-04-06				Direct
Tornado, Will	1972-04-06				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.
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 1972 Every state in 1972 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Illinois, 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. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10010123, 10010124, 10010125, 10010126, 10010127, 10010128, 10010129, 10010130, 10010131, 10010132, 10010133, 10010134, 10010135, 10010136.