Tornadoes · United States · Illinois

Tornadoes in Jackson County, Illinois

42 tornadoes have crossed Jackson County since 1950, 2 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 35th of the 102 counties in Illinois with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.8 years. They have killed 12 people and injured 249. 3 were 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
42
Deaths
12
Injuries
249
F4 and above
3
Worst on record
F4, December 18, 1957

The deadliest in Jackson County

  1. F4, Jackson, Williamson and Franklin counties, IllinoisDecember 18, 195711 killed, 200 injured
  2. EF4, Perry, Randolph, Jackson and Franklin counties, Missouri and IllinoisFebruary 28, 20171 killed, 12 injured

The strongest

  1. EF4, Perry, Randolph, Jackson and Franklin counties, Missouri and IllinoisFebruary 28, 2017EF4, 53.5 mi (86 km)
  2. F4, Jackson, Williamson and Franklin counties, IllinoisDecember 18, 1957F4, 28.3 mi (46 km)
  3. F4, Perry and Jackson counties, Missouri and IllinoisSeptember 22, 2006F4, 27.5 mi (44 km)
  4. F3, Jackson, Perry and Franklin counties, IllinoisApril 5, 1958F3, 20.6 mi (33 km)
  5. F3, Union and Jackson counties, IllinoisMay 21, 1957F3, 8.5 mi (14 km)
  6. EF2, Cape Girardeau, Union and Jackson counties, Missouri and IllinoisFebruary 29, 2012EF2, 31.9 mi (51 km)
  7. EF2, Jackson and Perry counties, IllinoisMarch 14, 2025EF2, 15.2 mi (24 km)
  8. F2, Jackson and Perry counties, IllinoisNovember 13, 1951F2, 7.1 mi (11 km)
  9. F2, Jackson County, IllinoisDecember 18, 1957F2, 5.4 mi (9 km)
  10. F2, Jackson County, IllinoisDecember 18, 1957F2, 1.5 mi (2 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 26 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Jackson County. Each year links to every tornado in Illinois that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20262EF1
20252EF2
202421EF1
20231EF0
20172112EF4
20152EF1
20142EF1
201231EF2
20111EF0
20101EF0
20093EF1
20081EF0
200616F4
20041F0
20021F0
19982F0
19951F0
19901F1
19881F1
19842F1
19731F0
19711F1
197026F2
1958111F3
1957411205F4
195117F2

Every tornado that crossed Jackson County

42 tornadoes, newest first. 3 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than Illinois. The 2 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, 20266:46 PM CDTEF1Jackson0.175
March 15, 20267:02 PM CDTEF0Jackson0.150
April 20, 20259:42 PM CDTEF1Jackson1.725$125,000
March 14, 202512:10 AM CDTEF2Jackson15.2250$1.8 million
May 8, 20243:10 PM CDTEF1Jackson4.675$12,000
May 8, 202412:01 PM CDTEF1Jackson1.31001$75,000
August 5, 20235:15 PM CDTEF0Jackson0.525
March 1, 20174:08 AM CSTEF0Jackson4.125$2,000
February 28, 20177:51 PM CSTEF4Perry to IL53.51,100112$15 million
December 23, 201511:15 AM CSTEF0Jackson6.050$5,000
June 19, 20154:53 PM CDTEF1Jackson0.275$25,000
April 24, 201410:45 PM CDTEF1Jackson2.2100$35,000
February 20, 20144:40 PM CSTEF1Jackson0.450$10,000
March 23, 201212:24 PM CDTEF1Jackson7.5125$75,000
March 23, 201212:14 PM CDTEF0Jackson1.850
February 29, 20123:47 AM CSTEF2Cape Girardeau to IL31.93001$350,000
April 19, 20118:35 PM CDTEF0Jackson3.9100$70,000
April 7, 20104:28 PM CDTEF0Jackson1.950$5,000
May 8, 20091:12 PM CDTEF0Jackson0.140$10,000
May 8, 200911:32 AM CDTEF0Jackson0.430
May 8, 200911:30 AM CDTEF1Jackson3.1100$80,000
May 25, 20086:35 PM CDTEF0Jackson0.220
September 22, 20064:13 PM CDTF4Perry to IL27.52256$7.8 million
May 30, 20046:32 PM CDTF0Jackson0.550
November 10, 20021:32 PM CSTF0Jackson9.0100$4,000
April 15, 199810:34 PM CDTF0Jackson0.430
April 15, 19989:36 PM CDTF0Jackson0.330
August 19, 19955:00 PM CDTF0Jackson0.223
June 14, 199011:06 AM CDTF1Jackson0.250$5,000 to $50,000
May 8, 19884:40 PM CDTF1Jackson0.213$500 to $5,000
November 9, 19849:47 PM CSTF0Jackson0.110
November 9, 19846:00 PM CSTF1Jackson0.110
June 2, 19736:04 PM CDTF0Jackson0.110
August 21, 19712:30 PM CDTF1Jackson0.110$5,000 to $50,000
June 1, 19706:00 PM CDTF2Jackson0.11605$5,000 to $50,000
March 25, 19706:10 PM CSTF2Jackson0.1101$50,000 to $500,000
April 5, 19584:10 PM GMT-6F3Jackson20.610011$50,000 to $500,000
December 18, 19575:25 PM GMT-6F2Jackson1.5105$5,000 to $50,000
December 18, 19574:45 PM GMT-6F4Jackson28.330011200$500,000 to $5 million
December 18, 19574:00 PM GMT-6F2Jackson5.410$5,000 to $50,000
May 21, 19577:07 PM GMT-5F3Union8.5200$50,000 to $500,000
November 13, 19512:50 PM GMT-6F2Jackson7.12507$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

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