Hail, Carroll
- When
- April 3, 7:08 AM CST
- Where
- Carroll County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 42.120, -90.000
Tornado and Hail in Illinois, April 3, 1981
15 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 32
- Property damage
- $25 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 19
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
15 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, McLean
- When
- April 3, 7:50 AM CST
- Where
- McLean County
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 40.370, -89.130
Thunderstorm Wind, Adams
- When
- April 3, 8:40 PM CST
- Where
- Adams County
- Measured
- 62 kt (71 mph)
- Coordinates
- 39.950, -91.280
Thunderstorm Wind, Stark
- When
- April 3, 9:25 PM CST
- Where
- Stark County
- Coordinates
- 41.120, -89.970
Thunderstorm Wind, De Kalb
- When
- April 3, 9:30 PM CST
- Where
- De Kalb County
- Measured
- 54 kt (62 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.930, -88.750
Thunderstorm Wind, Fulton
- When
- April 3, 9:40 PM CST
- Where
- Fulton County
- Coordinates
- 40.570, -90.030
Thunderstorm Wind, Marshall
- When
- April 3, 9:50 PM CST
- Where
- Marshall County
- Measured
- 59 kt (68 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.020, -89.400
Tornado, Madison
- When
- April 3, 10:50 PM CST
- Where
- Madison County
- Rating
- F4
- Path length
- 11.9 mi
- Path width
- 567 yd
- Injuries
- 32 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $25 million
- Coordinates
- 38.720, -90.130
Thunderstorm Wind, Moultrie
- When
- April 3, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Moultrie County
- Coordinates
- 39.450, -88.500
Thunderstorm Wind, McHenry
- When
- April 3, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- McHenry County
- Measured
- 76 kt (87 mph)
- Coordinates
- 42.320, -88.450
Thunderstorm Wind, Madison
- When
- April 3, 11:05 PM CST
- Where
- Madison County
- Coordinates
- 38.720, -90.130
Thunderstorm Wind, Cook
- When
- April 3, 11:10 PM CST
- Where
- Cook County
- Coordinates
- 42.020, -87.980
Thunderstorm Wind, Kane
- When
- April 3, 11:17 PM CST
- Where
- Kane County
- Coordinates
- 42.030, -88.280
Hail, Madison
- When
- April 3, 11:20 PM CST
- Where
- Madison County
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 38.730, -89.670
Thunderstorm Wind, De Kalb
- When
- April 3, 11:23 PM CST
- Where
- De Kalb County
- Measured
- 71 kt (82 mph)
- Coordinates
- 41.930, -88.750
Thunderstorm Wind, Sangamon
- When
- April 3, 11:25 PM CST
- Where
- Sangamon County
- Coordinates
- 39.580, -89.750
Thunderstorm Wind, Kane
- When
- April 3, 11:30 PM CST
- Where
- Kane County
- Coordinates
- 41.770, -88.320
Thunderstorm Wind, St. Clair
- When
- April 3, 11:32 PM CST
- Where
- St. Clair County
- Measured
- 51 kt (59 mph)
- Coordinates
- 38.550, -89.850
Thunderstorm Wind, Washington
- When
- April 3, 11:45 PM CST
- Where
- Washington County
- Coordinates
- 38.350, -89.380
What these are
- 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.
- 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.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Hail in Nebraska, April 3, 1981
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Kansas, April 3, 1981
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, April 3, 1981
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Arkansas, April 3, 1981
- Tornado and Hail in Wisconsin, April 3, 1981
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, April 3, 1981
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Missouri, April 3, 1981
- Damaging Winds in Texas, April 3, 1981
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Minnesota, April 3, 1981
More
Every storm in Illinois in 1981Every state in 1981This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Illinois, 1981
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: 10005308, 10005309, 10005310, 10005311, 10005312, 10005313, 10005314, 10005315, 10005316, 10005317, 10005318, 10005319, 10005320, 10005321, 10005322, 10005323, 10005324, 10005325, 10005326.