Storms in Illinois in 1996

1,262 events in 783 episodes

Every storm the National Weather Service filed in Illinois in 1996, with each episode’s narrative and every event in it. From 1996 the record holds 48 kinds of event with each office’s narrative; before that, tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind only, and before 1955 tornadoes alone.

Illinois in 1996 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: 1,262
Deaths: 19
Injuries: 106
Damage: $189 million
Episodes: 783

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	318	0	9	$10.0 million
Hail	221	0	0	$1.7 million
Winter Storm	216	1	6
High Wind	131	1	0	$178,000
Cold/Wind Chill	98	5	0
Flash Flood	94	2	0	$104 million
Flood	78	0	0	$1.9 million
Tornado	71	1	84	$71 million
Lightning	20	2	7	$505,000
Drought	7	0	0
Funnel Cloud	3	0	0
Heat	2	7	0
Heavy Rain	2	0	0
Wildfire	1	0	0

Every episode, month by month

January 1996

February 1996

March 1996

April 1996

May 1996

June 1996

July 1996

August 1996

September 1996

October 1996

November 1996

December 1996

Every year in Illinois Every state in 1996 Tornadoes in Illinois in 1996 Warnings in Illinois in 1996 1995 1997

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.