Tornadoes · United States · Illinois

Tornadoes in Christian County, Illinois

62 tornadoes have crossed Christian County since 1950, 4 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 16th of the 102 counties in Illinois with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.2 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 36. 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
62
Deaths
0
Injuries
36
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
EF3, December 1, 2018

The strongest

  1. EF3, Christian County, IllinoisDecember 1, 2018EF3, 12.5 mi (20 km)
  2. F3, Montgomery and Christian counties, IllinoisMarch 20, 1976F3, 8.8 mi (14 km)
  3. EF2, Sangamon and Christian counties, IllinoisAugust 6, 2023EF2, 25.3 mi (41 km)
  4. EF2, Christian, Macon and Piatt counties, IllinoisDecember 28, 2025EF2, 23.4 mi (38 km)
  5. EF2, Montgomery, Christian and Shelby counties, IllinoisFebruary 20, 2014EF2, 22.4 mi (36 km)
  6. EF2, Christian County, IllinoisDecember 1, 2018EF2, 8.4 mi (13 km)
  7. F2, Montgomery and Christian counties, IllinoisApril 2, 1964F2, 4.9 mi (8 km)
  8. F2, Christian County, IllinoisFebruary 16, 1976F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)
  9. F2, Christian County, IllinoisJuly 8, 1975F2, 0.1 mi (0 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 28 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Christian County. Each year links to every tornado in Illinois that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20264EF1
20251EF2
20238EF2
20221EF1
20211EF0
20196EF1
2018422EF3
20171EF0
20151EF0
201411EF2
20132EF1
20113EF1
20101EF0
20091EF1
20081EF0
20071EF0
200691F1
20032F1
19991F1
19982F0
198712F1
19772F1
197624F3
197522F2
19741F1
196414F2
19611F1
19551F1

Every tornado that crossed Christian County

62 tornadoes, newest first. The 4 at the top are this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and their ratings are marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 15, 20266:02 PM CDTEF1Montgomery13.690
March 15, 20266:18 PM CDTEF1Christian1.480$300
June 17, 20265:05 PM CDTEF1Christian10.7700
June 21, 20267:27 PM CDTUnratedChristian0.10
December 28, 20252:59 PM CSTEF2Christian23.4250
August 6, 20236:09 PM CDTEF2Sangamon25.3450
June 29, 202312:38 PM CDTEF1Christian10.4200
June 29, 202312:33 PM CDTEF1Christian1.0150
June 29, 202312:29 PM CDTEF1Christian3.5200
June 29, 202312:27 PM CDTUnratedChristian0.840
March 31, 20237:13 PM CDTEF1Christian1.730
March 31, 20237:06 PM CDTEF0Christian4.120
January 3, 20235:05 PM CSTUnratedChristian0.110
April 24, 20225:49 PM CDTEF1Christian0.950
May 6, 20212:11 PM CDTEF0Christian0.220$25,000
August 12, 20199:40 PM CDTEF0Christian1.975$20,000
August 12, 20199:08 PM CDTEF1Christian6.3200$75,000
June 19, 20196:40 PM CDTEF0Christian0.110
May 29, 20194:35 PM CDTEF0Christian0.320
May 29, 20194:30 PM CDTEF0Christian0.220
May 29, 20194:28 PM CDTEF0Christian0.220
December 1, 20185:34 PM CSTEF2Christian8.4400$3.3 million
December 1, 20185:01 PM CSTEF3Christian12.590022$119 million
December 1, 20184:47 PM CSTEF0Montgomery3.1200$140,000
May 15, 20184:37 PM CDTEF0Christian1.825
May 23, 20174:30 PM CDTEF0Christian0.110
April 9, 20157:47 PM CDTEF0Christian0.110
February 20, 20144:09 PM CSTEF2Montgomery22.42001$600,000
November 17, 201312:15 PM CSTEF1Christian2.5100$300,000
May 9, 20135:41 PM CDTEF0Christian0.620
April 19, 20116:32 PM CDTEF1Christian0.9100$60,000
April 19, 20116:30 PM CDTEF0Christian3.5100$95,000
April 19, 20116:17 PM CDTEF1Christian2.0100$90,000
June 3, 20101:06 PM CDTEF0Christian0.115
May 13, 200912:04 AM CDTEF1Christian0.860$50,000
May 30, 20088:20 PM CDTEF0Christian0.010
April 25, 20072:40 PM CDTEF0Christian0.110
May 24, 20064:05 PM CDTF1Christian3.8150$100,000
April 16, 20063:07 PM CDTF0Christian0.130
April 16, 20063:05 PM CDTF0Christian0.130
April 16, 20062:53 PM CDTF0Christian0.130
April 2, 20066:20 PM CDTF1Christian1.0100
April 2, 20066:17 PM CDTF0Christian0.150
April 2, 20066:14 PM CDTF1Christian6.0150
April 2, 20066:08 PM CDTF1Christian6.33001
April 2, 20065:56 PM CDTF1Montgomery2.2100
August 31, 20034:14 PM CDTF1Christian5.0100
May 10, 20038:08 AM CDTF0Christian0.320
June 1, 19997:11 PM CDTF1Montgomery12.60$750,000
June 14, 19987:52 PM CDTF0Christian0.130
April 7, 19986:14 PM CDTF0Christian0.130
April 13, 198710:30 AM CDTF1Christian3.0232$5,000 to $50,000
August 6, 19775:00 PM CDTF1Christian2.840
August 6, 19774:55 PM CDTF0Christian1.117
March 20, 197612:05 PM CSTF3Montgomery8.8274$50,000 to $500,000
February 16, 19763:45 PM CSTF2Christian1.080$50,000 to $500,000
July 8, 19757:30 PM CDTF2Christian0.110$50 to $500
May 11, 19756:00 PM CDTF1Christian0.2502$500 to $5,000
April 3, 19742:45 PM CDTF1Christian8.570$50,000 to $500,000
April 2, 19647:45 PM GMT-6F2Montgomery4.9204$5,000 to $50,000
September 30, 19612:45 PM GMT-5F1Christian0.1150$5,000 to $50,000
November 15, 19554:45 PM GMT-6F1Christian0.110

Nearby

Warnings in force in Christian CountyThe forecast for Christian CountyThe live radar over Christian 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.