Tornadoes · United States · Illinois

Tornadoes in Clinton County, Illinois

31 tornadoes have crossed Clinton County since 1950, 3 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 54th of the 102 counties in Illinois with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.5 years. They have killed 9 people and injured 44. 1 was rated F4 or EF4 and 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
31
Deaths
9
Injuries
44
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, February 24, 1956

The deadliest in Clinton County

  1. F4, Franklin, Saint Louis, Saint Clair and Clinton counties, Missouri and IllinoisFebruary 24, 19566 killed, 36 injured
  2. F3, Clinton County, IllinoisDecember 2, 19822 killed
  3. F3, Saint Clair, Clinton, Bond and Fayette counties, IllinoisApril 5, 19581 killed, 8 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Franklin, Saint Louis, Saint Clair and Clinton counties, Missouri and IllinoisFebruary 24, 1956F4, 77.6 mi (125 km)
  2. F3, Saint Clair, Clinton, Bond and Fayette counties, IllinoisApril 5, 1958F3, 60.5 mi (97 km)
  3. F3, Clinton County, IllinoisDecember 2, 1982F3, 10.5 mi (17 km)
  4. EF2, Madison, Clinton and Bond counties, IllinoisApril 22, 2011EF2, 18.2 mi (29 km)
  5. F2, Clinton County, IllinoisMarch 8, 1964F2, 13.1 mi (21 km)
  6. EF2, Saint Clair and Clinton counties, IllinoisMarch 14, 2025EF2, 11.0 mi (18 km)
  7. F2, Clinton County, IllinoisDecember 21, 1967F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 21 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Clinton County. Each year links to every tornado in Illinois that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20263EF1
20251EF2
20242EF1
20222EF1
20201Unrated
20132EF1
20122EF0
20111EF2
20062F1
20042F1
20032F1
20001F0
19901F0
198212F3
19791F1
19751F1
19681F1
19671F2
19641F2
1958218F3
19561636F4

Every tornado that crossed Clinton County

31 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 3 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, 20266:29 PM CDTEF1Clinton4.250
April 27, 20267:53 PM CDTEF1Saint Clair9.7350
April 27, 20268:06 PM CDTEF1Clinton11.7350
March 14, 202510:30 PM CDTEF2Saint Clair11.0700$960,000
May 26, 20246:50 PM CDTEF1Clinton18.5325$123,000
May 26, 20246:34 PM CDTEF0Saint Clair10.5500$26,000
May 19, 20225:57 PM CDTEF1Clinton16.6250$70,000
May 19, 20225:53 PM CDTEF0Clinton1.650$30,000
May 27, 20207:34 PM CDTUnratedClinton0.110
November 17, 201312:13 PM CSTEF1Washington4.8100
November 17, 201311:47 AM CSTEF1Clinton0.450
September 25, 20125:17 PM CDTEF0Clinton0.230
March 2, 201210:11 AM CSTEF0Clinton0.750
April 22, 20118:55 PM CDTEF2Madison18.2700
July 21, 200611:55 AM CDTF1Clinton2.560
July 21, 200611:42 AM CDTF0Saint Clair6.060
May 30, 20044:50 PM CDTF1Clinton7.080
May 19, 20044:50 PM CDTF0Clinton0.120
June 10, 20036:30 PM CDTF0Clinton1.240
April 4, 20034:08 PM CSTF1Clinton4.0100
June 16, 200012:25 PM CDTF0Clinton1.550
November 26, 19907:35 PM CSTF0Clinton0.550$5,000 to $50,000
December 2, 19829:10 PM CSTF3Clinton10.51002$5 million to $50 million
October 22, 19798:00 AM CDTF1Clinton2.030$5,000 to $50,000
April 18, 19757:00 PM CDTF1Clinton2.550$50,000 to $500,000
April 3, 19686:40 PM GMT-6F1Clinton8.350$50,000 to $500,000
December 21, 196710:15 AM GMT-6F2Clinton1.050$500,000 to $5 million
March 8, 19646:55 PM GMT-6F2Clinton13.140$5,000 to $50,000
May 3, 19582:15 PM GMT-5F1Randolph75.9100$5,000 to $50,000
April 5, 19582:20 PM GMT-6F3Saint Clair60.510018$50,000 to $500,000
February 24, 195611:45 PM GMT-6F4Franklin to IL77.6500636$500,000 to $5 million

Nearby

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