Tornadoes · United States · Illinois

Tornadoes in Adams County, Illinois

37 tornadoes have crossed Adams County since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 43rd of the 102 counties in Illinois with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.1 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 28. None was rated F4 or above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Now

Tornadoes
37
Deaths
0
Injuries
28
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, May 14, 1961

The strongest

  1. F3, Adams, Pike, Schuyler and McDonough counties, IllinoisMay 14, 1961F3, 127.1 mi (205 km)
  2. F2, Adams, Hancock, McDonough and Warren counties, IllinoisMay 10, 2003F2, 69.2 mi (111 km)
  3. F2, Adams, Brown and Schuyler counties, IllinoisMay 10, 2003F2, 30.8 mi (50 km)
  4. F2, Marion and Adams counties, Missouri and IllinoisSeptember 23, 1977F2, 19.5 mi (31 km)
  5. F2, Adams County, IllinoisMay 30, 1974F2, 15.8 mi (25 km)
  6. F2, Brown and Adams counties, IllinoisApril 23, 1955F2, 14.8 mi (24 km)
  7. F2, Adams County, IllinoisMay 26, 1955F2, 1.5 mi (2 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 23 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Adams County. Each year links to every tornado in Illinois that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20261EF1
20253EF0
20241EF0
20231EF1
20091EF0
20083EF1
20071EF0
20052F1
200324F2
199811F1
19974F0
19961F0
19924F0
19911F0
19871F1
19811F0
197713F2
1974112F2
19731F1
19701F1
196128F3
19601F1
19552F2

Every tornado that crossed Adams County

37 tornadoes, newest first. 1 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files it under that state rather than Illinois. The 1 at the top is this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and its rating is marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 15, 20269:26 PM CDTEF1Adams0.750
July 6, 20255:05 PM CDTEF0Adams0.150
April 20, 20257:04 PM CDTEF0Adams8.2100$120,000
April 20, 20256:48 PM CDTEF0Adams4.225$20,000
October 30, 202411:30 PM CDTEF0Adams0.3100$25,000
August 5, 20232:24 AM CDTEF1Adams2.9200
June 2, 20094:25 PM CDTEF0Brown3.050
December 27, 200810:33 AM CSTEF0Adams0.730
December 27, 200810:30 AM CSTEF1Adams0.950
April 10, 20085:55 PM CDTEF0Adams9.150
October 2, 20075:55 PM CDTEF0Adams0.040
September 19, 20055:15 PM CDTF1Adams1.050
May 11, 20056:35 PM CDTF0Adams0.250
May 10, 20037:20 PM CDTF2Adams30.8300
May 10, 20036:36 PM CDTF2Adams69.23004$1.1 million
June 14, 19984:00 PM CDTF1Adams3.0801
April 30, 19971:35 PM CDTF0Adams13.050$10,000
April 30, 19971:25 PM CDTF0Adams8.050
April 30, 19971:22 PM CDTF0Adams1.050
April 5, 19971:30 PM CSTF0Adams1.550$10,000
May 27, 19968:40 PM CDTF0Adams0.550
July 2, 19922:38 PM CDTF0Adams0.2350
July 2, 19922:10 PM CDTF0Adams0.8300$500 to $5,000
July 2, 19922:05 PM CDTF0Adams0.1250
June 17, 19921:54 PM CDTF0Adams0.540$500 to $5,000
May 18, 19913:30 PM CDTF0Adams0.733
June 2, 19872:40 PM CDTF1Adams1.540$500 to $5,000
June 21, 198110:00 PM CDTF0Adams0.110
September 23, 19776:30 PM CDTF2Marion to IL19.51503$50,000 to $500,000
May 30, 197412:30 PM CDTF2Adams15.820012$500,000 to $5 million
June 16, 19737:30 PM CDTF1Adams0.110
September 23, 19703:47 PM CDTF1Adams15.410
July 21, 19613:15 PM GMT-5F1Adams147.410$50,000 to $500,000
May 14, 19616:00 PM GMT-5F3Adams127.11008$500,000 to $5 million
June 23, 19603:00 AM GMT-5F1Adams22.610$5,000 to $50,000
May 26, 195512:50 PM GMT-5F2Adams1.5500$5,000 to $50,000
April 23, 19552:00 AM GMT-6F2Brown14.810$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Adams CountyThe forecast for Adams CountyThe live radar over Adams CountyEvery county in Illinois

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.