Storms in Illinois in 1987

232 events in 40 episodes

Every storm the National Weather Service filed in Illinois in 1987, 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 1987 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: 232
Deaths: 2
Injuries: 69
Damage: $1.2 million
Episodes: 40

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	153	2	6
Hail	55	0	2
Tornado	24	0	61	$1.2 million

Every episode, month by month

April 1987

May 1987

June 1987

July 1987

August 1987

Every year in Illinois Every state in 1987 Tornadoes in Illinois in 1987 Warnings in Illinois in 1987 1986 1988

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.