Tornado and Hail in Illinois, March 15, 1984

Name: Tornado and Hail in Illinois, March 15, 1984
Start: 1984-03-15T01:00
End: 1984-03-15T20:50
Location: Illinois

March 15, 1984 · NWS AT · 32 events in 24 counties and zones

28 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 3
Property damage: $250,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 32

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

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

Hail, Champaign

When: March 15, 1:00 AM CST
Where: Champaign County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 40.330, -88.370

Hail, Adams

When: March 15, 5:18 PM CST
Where: Adams County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 39.870, -91.100

Hail, Jersey

When: March 15, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Jersey County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 39.120, -90.320

Thunderstorm Wind, Jersey

When: March 15, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Jersey County
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Coordinates: 39.120, -90.320

Thunderstorm Wind, St. Clair

When: March 15, 6:49 PM CST
Where: St. Clair County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 38.520, -89.980

Thunderstorm Wind, Madison

When: March 15, 6:55 PM CST
Where: Madison County
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Coordinates: 38.820, -89.950

Thunderstorm Wind, Bond

When: March 15, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Bond County
Coordinates: 38.880, -89.320

Thunderstorm Wind, St. Clair

When: March 15, 7:08 PM CST
Where: St. Clair County
Coordinates: 38.520, -89.980

Thunderstorm Wind, Randolph

When: March 15, 7:08 PM CST
Where: Randolph County
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Coordinates: 38.120, -89.700

Thunderstorm Wind, Clinton

When: March 15, 7:08 PM CST
Where: Clinton County
Coordinates: 38.530, -89.700

Thunderstorm Wind, Montgomery

When: March 15, 7:08 PM CST
Where: Montgomery County
Coordinates: 39.320, -89.570

Thunderstorm Wind, Washington

When: March 15, 7:10 PM CST
Where: Washington County
Coordinates: 38.350, -89.380

Thunderstorm Wind, Clinton

When: March 15, 7:10 PM CST
Where: Clinton County
Coordinates: 38.580, -89.450

Thunderstorm Wind, Cook

When: March 15, 7:15 PM CST
Where: Cook County
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 41.870, -87.830

Thunderstorm Wind, Perry

When: March 15, 7:15 PM CST
Where: Perry County
Coordinates: 38.020, -89.230

Thunderstorm Wind, Randolph

When: March 15, 7:27 PM CST
Where: Randolph County
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Coordinates: 38.120, -89.700

Thunderstorm Wind, Clinton

When: March 15, 7:30 PM CST
Where: Clinton County
Coordinates: 38.530, -89.350

Thunderstorm Wind, Perry

When: March 15, 7:30 PM CST
Where: Perry County
Coordinates: 38.030, -89.570

Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson

When: March 15, 7:50 PM CST
Where: Jefferson County
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates: 38.320, -88.870

Thunderstorm Wind, Jackson

When: March 15, 7:55 PM CST
Where: Jackson County
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates: 37.780, -89.250

Thunderstorm Wind, Coles

When: March 15, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Coles County
Coordinates: 39.480, -88.370

Thunderstorm Wind, Franklin

When: March 15, 8:10 PM CST
Where: Franklin County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 37.980, -88.970

Thunderstorm Wind, Clark

When: March 15, 8:15 PM CST
Where: Clark County
Coordinates: 39.320, -87.800

Thunderstorm Wind, Cumberland

When: March 15, 8:15 PM CST
Where: Cumberland County
Coordinates: 39.270, -88.250

Thunderstorm Wind, Hamilton

When: March 15, 8:22 PM CST
Where: Hamilton County
Coordinates: 38.100, -88.530

Tornado, Richland

When: March 15, 8:30 PM CST
Where: Richland County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 38.730, -88.080

Thunderstorm Wind, Lawrence

When: March 15, 8:30 PM CST
Where: Lawrence County
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 38.720, -87.670

Thunderstorm Wind, Crawford

When: March 15, 8:30 PM CST
Where: Crawford County
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates: 39.000, -87.770

Thunderstorm Wind, Jackson

When: March 15, 8:30 PM CST
Where: Jackson County
Coordinates: 37.920, -89.230

Thunderstorm Wind, Wabash

When: March 15, 8:30 PM CST
Where: Wabash County
Coordinates: 38.420, -87.770

Thunderstorm Wind, Wayne

When: March 15, 8:40 PM CST
Where: Wayne County
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates: 38.380, -88.370

Thunderstorm Wind, Crawford

When: March 15, 8:50 PM CST
Where: Crawford County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 39.000, -87.920

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
Thunderstorm Wind, Cook	1984-03-15				Direct

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

Every storm in Illinois in 1984 Every state in 1984 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Illinois, 1984

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: 10005760, 10005761, 10005762, 10005763, 10005764, 10005765, 10005766, 10003299, 10003300, 10004363, 10005767, 10004364, 10004365, 10004366, 10004367, 10004368, 10004369, 10004370, 10004371, 10004372, 10004373, 10004374, 10004375, 10004376, 10004377, 10004378, 10004379, 10004380, 10004381, 10004382, 10004383, 10004384.