High Wind in Illinois

Events

1,308

Deaths

9

Injuries

38

Damage

$55 million

• High Wind in Illinois, March 9, 20024 deaths · 4 injured · $200,000 · 51 kt wind · 18 eventsStrong low pressure moved across the upper midwest on Saturday, March 9th. Winds were sustained between 40 and 50 mph during most the afternoon and evening hours, with wind gusts to 60 mph.
• Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Illinois, June 11, 202613 injured · EF3 · 111 eventsSevere thunderstorms moved across northern Illinois during the afternoon and evening of June 11th producing wind damage, localized flooding and several tornadoes.
• Tornadoes and Flooding in Illinois, November 17, 20135 injured · $14 million · EF2 · 55 eventsA major tornado outbreak impacted the Midwest and Ohio Valley on November 17th. A powerful low pressure system across the plains states steered warmth and moisture northward for nearly two days, with dew points rising into the mid 60s.
• High Wind and Strong Wind in Illinois, May 11, 20081 death · 1 injured · $66,000 · 50 kt wind · 18 eventsA low pressure system over central Illinois intensified rapidly during the early morning hours of May 11. Winds gusts ranged from 45 to 55 mph across the region. There were widespread reports of tree and power line damage.
• High Wind in Illinois, March 5, 20041 death · 6 injured · 50 kt wind · 6 eventsA strong area of low pressure moved from Iowa into Wisconsin during the day on March 5th. This system created gradient winds over Illinois beginning in the mid morning hours.
• Damaging Winds and High Wind in Illinois, April 6, 20161 death · $61,000 · 65 kt wind · 6 eventsStrong to locally damaging winds occurred ahead of a cold front. At the surface, low pressure was centered over northeast Illinois, with a cold front arching across the middle Mississippi Valley.
• Winter Storm and High Wind in Illinois, January 12 to 14, 20241 death · 50 kt wind · 41 eventsA strong double-barreled low pressure system brought two waves of accumulating snow to the region beginning during the early morning hours of January 12th through late morning then again later that evening through the early morning of January 13th.
• High Wind in Illinois, March 25, 19961 death · 35 eventsStrong gradient winds caused minor damage across Central Illinois and caused a bizzare accident which killed one person. Winds gusting to between 40 and 55 mph caused a bedliner and a concrete block to be blown from the bed of the pickup truck.
• High Wind in Illinois, September 14, 2008$41 million · 58 kt wind · 16 eventsFrequent wind gusts from 60 to nearly 70 mph caused considerable damage in southern Illinois. The low pressure center that was the remnant of Hurricane Ike raced northeast at 40 to 50 mph across Missouri and Illinois. The center passed between Carbondale and St.
• High Wind in Illinois, April 7, 20011 death · 1 injured · 50 kt wind · 3 eventsSustained winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts over 50 mph occurred throughout northern Illinois.
• High Wind in Illinois, June 6, 20241 death · 1 injured · 1 eventAn iron worker died and one other was injured after scaffolding collapsed in Chicago. Officials say two men were working on the University of Chicago cancer pavilion when high winds caused the scaffolding to collapse leaving the two to fall eight stories.
• Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Illinois, June 18, 20251 injured · EF2 · 54 eventsA mesoscale convective vortex, or MCV, moved into central Illinois late on the morning of Wednesday, June 18th. Moderate instability developed ahead of this feature, and as scattered storms formed they quickly obtained rotation due to shear from the MCV.
• Damaging Winds and High Wind in Illinois, August 24, 199815 injured · 68 kt wind · 10 eventsA small intense line of thunderstorms raced across north central and northeast Illinois at 55 mph. There were numerous reports of tree limbs and power lines down as well as some structural damage to buildings and some trees uprooted.
• Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Illinois, June 28 to 29, 2017$608,000 · EF1 · 17 eventsSevere thunderstorms produced heavy rain, flash flooding, wind damage and a few tornadoes during the evening hours of June 28th. A wake low after earlier thunderstorms caused high winds across part of central Illinois including a measured gust to 61 mph at Pontiac Airport (KPNT).
• Flash Flooding and High Wind in Illinois, May 4, 2003$3.5 million · 4 eventsSeveral rounds of thunderstorms struck Eastern Iowa, far Northeast Missouri, and Nothern Illinois from mid afternoon through midnight.
• Flooding and Hail in Illinois, April 4, 20233 in hail · 125 eventsScattered thunderstorms moved across portions of northern Illinois during the afternoon of April 4th producing large hail and wind damage. Additional isolated thunderstorms moved across parts of northern Illinois during the evening.
• High Wind in Illinois, February 11, 2009$3.0 million · 52 kt wind · 3 eventsAs low pressure exited the area, strong westerly winds swept across central Illinois during the afternoon and evening of February 11th. Wind gusts as high as 50 to 60 mph were reported, resulting in minor damage.
• High Wind in Illinois, April 6, 1997$1.6 million · 54 kt wind · 13 eventsStrong gradient winds howled across the area during the morning and early afternoon hours. Widespread and significant damage was done to trees and power lines.
• High Wind in Illinois, October 26, 2010$1.4 million · 62 kt wind · 15 eventsRecord setting low pressure over Minnesota produced high winds across northern Illinois on October 26, behind a strong cold front which swept across the state during the morning. The high winds caused around 200,000 Commonwealth Edison customers to lose power.
• Hail and High Wind in Illinois, May 9 to 10, 2003$2.0 million · 1 in hail · 2 eventsThunderstorms developed north of a warm front in Missouri and raced northeast on a strong low level jet. A gravity wave developed off the thunderstorms in Eastern Iowa and Northwest Illinois and produced a concentrated band of high winds across Stephenson County Illinois.
• Damaging Winds and High Wind in Illinois, February 11, 19998 injured · $45,000 · 67 kt wind · 12 eventsA severe thunderstorm quickly moved northeast across Scott County. Numerous power poles in the Glasgow area were blown down. Five miles north of Alsey several trees were blown down, a shed was destroyed, and two homes sustained minor damage.
• High Wind in Illinois, March 31, 20064 injured · $105,000 · 55 kt wind · 3 eventsHigh winds developed across northeast Illinois on Friday, March 31st. Winds gusted as high as 65 mph in some locations.
• High Wind in Illinois, April 2, 2016$265,000 · 52 kt wind · 14 eventsA deepening area of low pressure tracking through the Great Lakes brought high winds to central and southeast Illinois on April 2nd. The winds gusted to between 58 and 62 mph at times from late morning through early evening, creating scattered damage and power outages.
• Lakeshore Flood and High Wind in Illinois, October 31, 2014$350,000 · 50 kt wind · 3 eventsA strong cold front ushered unseasonably cold air into the region along with very gusty winds. Several locations near Lake Michigan reported winds in excess of 60 mph. The strong winds resulted in battering waves along the Lake Michigan shoreline.
• High Wind in Illinois, February 11, 2009$174,000 · 56 kt wind · 16 eventsA powerful low pressure system moved northeast across central Illinois. Damaging southwest winds occurred during the day as solar heating warmed the lower atmosphere.

High Wind everywhereEvery kind of event in Illinois

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.