Tornadoes · United States · Illinois

Tornadoes in Clark County, Illinois

13 tornadoes have crossed Clark County since 1950, 94th of the 102 counties in Illinois with a tornado on record, an average of one every 5.8 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 0. 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
13
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
EF2, April 2, 2025

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 11 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Clark County. Each year links to every tornado in Illinois that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20253EF2
20161EF0
20071EF0
19991F0
19941F0
19901F1
19871F0
19851F0
19821F0
19761F1
19701F1

Every tornado that crossed Clark County

13 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 16, 20256:38 PM CDTEF1Crawford to IN10.7100$15,000
April 2, 20257:02 PM CDTEF1Clark8.1200
April 2, 20256:33 PM CDTEF2Cumberland to IN48.91,200$200,000
September 9, 20166:44 PM CDTEF0Clark0.110
May 25, 20072:53 PM CDTEF0Clark2.530
June 1, 19999:45 PM CDTF0Clark6.050$350,000
May 14, 19948:15 PM CDTF0Clark0.110
June 2, 19905:05 PM CDTF1Clark0.550$5,000 to $50,000
June 13, 19873:15 PM CDTF0Clark0.210
June 24, 19854:40 PM CDTF0Clark0.210$500 to $5,000
July 10, 19826:05 PM CDTF0Clark0.110under $50
March 20, 19763:25 PM CSTF1Crawford3.517$5,000 to $50,000
June 16, 197011:03 PM CDTF1Clark2.0100$500 to $5,000

Nearby

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