Tornado in Illinois, April 19, 1996

Name: Tornado in Illinois, April 19, 1996
Start: 1996-04-19T22:32
End: 1996-04-19T22:35
Location: Illinois

April 19, 1996 · NWS LOT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The roof was torn off an apartment building. Over 400 homes and businesses sustained damage and 32 received major damage.

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: 0
Injuries: 2
Property damage: $6.6 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS LOT wrote it up.

The roof was torn off an apartment building. Over 400 homes and businesses sustained damage and 32 received major damage. Five trucks were overturned at a plant. Homes and garages had roof damage. Numerous trees were damaged or blown down. Injuries included a child with a broken leg and a woman cut by glass.

The radar

The Milwaukee radar (KMKX), 82 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:31 UTC.

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Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Lake

When: April 19, 10:32 PM CST to 10:35 PM CST
Where: Lake County, Zion
Rating: F2
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $6.6 million
Coordinates: 42.450, -87.830

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.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Illinois in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Illinois, 1996 Warnings in Illinois, April 1996

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: 5541169.