Tornadoes · United States · Illinois

Tornadoes in Fayette County, Illinois

30 tornadoes have crossed Fayette County since 1950, 3 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 58th of the 102 counties in Illinois with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.5 years. They have killed 1 person and injured 22. 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
30
Deaths
1
Injuries
22
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, April 5, 1958

The deadliest in Fayette County

  1. F3, Saint Clair, Clinton, Bond and Fayette counties, IllinoisApril 5, 19581 killed, 8 injured

The strongest

  1. F3, Saint Clair, Clinton, Bond and Fayette counties, IllinoisApril 5, 1958F3, 60.5 mi (97 km)
  2. F2, Madison, Macoupin, Montgomery and Fayette counties, IllinoisOctober 10, 1959F2, 48.7 mi (78 km)
  3. EF2, Bond, Montgomery, Fayette and Shelby counties, IllinoisDecember 10, 2021EF2, 41.5 mi (67 km)
  4. F2, Bond and Fayette counties, IllinoisNovember 9, 1984F2, 30.0 mi (48 km)
  5. F2, Fayette County, IllinoisJuly 21, 1954F2, 26.1 mi (42 km)
  6. EF2, Bond and Fayette counties, IllinoisApril 2, 2025EF2, 22.8 mi (37 km)
  7. EF2, Fayette and Effingham counties, IllinoisApril 3, 2018EF2, 18.2 mi (29 km)
  8. EF2, Fayette and Effingham counties, IllinoisNovember 17, 2013EF2, 11.4 mi (18 km)
  9. F2, Fayette County, IllinoisJune 1, 1999F2, 10.0 mi (16 km)
  10. EF2, Fayette County, IllinoisApril 30, 2025EF2, 4.3 mi (7 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 22 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Fayette County. Each year links to every tornado in Illinois that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20263EF0
202541EF2
202111EF2
20181EF2
20141EF1
20131EF2
20113EF2
20081EF0
20041F0
20022F0
20001F0
19991F2
19981F1
19961F1
19941F1
1984111F2
19831F1
19741F1
19601F0
19591F2
1958118F3
195411F2

Every tornado that crossed Fayette County

30 tornadoes, newest first. 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
June 21, 20263:49 PM CDTEF0Fayette1.20
June 21, 20265:27 PM CDTEF0Fayette3.425
June 25, 202612:41 PM CDTUnratedFayette0.28
April 30, 20256:48 PM CDTEF2Fayette4.3150$50,000
April 30, 20256:30 PM CDTEF0Fayette5.050$8,000
April 2, 20255:05 PM CDTEF2Bond22.82001$385,000
March 14, 202511:11 PM CDTEF1Fayette13.4400$110,000
December 10, 20218:53 PM CSTEF2Bond41.56901$10,000
April 3, 20184:20 PM CDTEF2Fayette18.2100
February 20, 20144:36 PM CSTEF1Fayette4.850
November 17, 201312:22 PM CSTEF2Fayette11.4200$400,000
February 28, 201112:33 AM CSTEF2Fayette0.150
February 28, 201112:32 AM CSTEF1Fayette0.110
February 28, 201112:27 AM CSTEF2Fayette1.390
June 27, 20083:58 PM CDTEF0Fayette1.540
May 30, 20045:10 PM CDTF0Fayette0.140
June 11, 20025:05 PM CDTF0Fayette0.740
June 11, 20025:00 PM CDTF0Fayette2.550
May 12, 20007:10 PM CDTF0Fayette1.540$10,000
June 1, 19998:03 PM CDTF2Fayette10.0150
June 29, 19987:20 PM CDTF1Fayette0.280$80,000
April 19, 19968:20 PM CDTF1Marion11.580$150,000
April 15, 19946:22 AM CDTF1Fayette2.560$50,000 to $500,000
November 9, 19844:45 PM CSTF2Bond30.015011$500,000 to $5 million
May 1, 198310:25 PM CDTF1Fayette0.333$50,000 to $500,000
August 18, 19742:54 PM CDTF1Fayette0.110$50 to $500
June 4, 19601:18 PM GMT-5F0Fayette0.110
October 10, 19596:15 PM GMT-5F2Madison48.733$50,000 to $500,000
April 5, 19582:20 PM GMT-6F3Saint Clair60.510018$50,000 to $500,000
July 21, 19547:45 PM GMT-5F2Fayette26.12001$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

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