Tornadoes · United States · Illinois

Tornadoes in Knox County, Illinois

39 tornadoes have crossed Knox County since 1950, 6 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 40th of the 102 counties in Illinois with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.9 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 7. 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
39
Deaths
0
Injuries
7
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, June 14, 1974

The strongest

  1. F3, Rock Island, Mercer and Knox counties, IllinoisJune 14, 1974F3, 48.6 mi (78 km)
  2. F2, Knox County, IllinoisMay 13, 1995F2, 14.0 mi (23 km)
  3. EF2, Knox County, IllinoisJune 5, 2010EF2, 5.7 mi (9 km)
  4. F2, Knox County, IllinoisMarch 23, 1975F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)
  5. F2, Knox County, IllinoisMarch 4, 1976F2, 0.1 mi (0 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 23 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Knox County. Each year links to every tornado in Illinois that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20266EF1
20252EF1
20241EF1
20211EF1
20201Unrated
20191EF0
20171EF0
20102EF2
20051F0
20041F0
20031F0
20001F0
19991F0
199811F1
19973F0
199532F2
19871F1
19761F2
197512F2
197452F3
19721F1
19681F1
19672F1

Every tornado that crossed Knox County

39 tornadoes, newest first. The 6 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 10, 20267:22 PM CDTEF1Knox5.0100$300
April 2, 20265:25 PM CDTEF0Knox8.0150$150
April 2, 20266:18 PM CDTEF1Knox5.7100
April 2, 20266:18 PM CDTEF1Knox6.2250$250
April 2, 20266:23 PM CDTEF0Knox3.760
April 17, 20267:15 PM CDTEF1Knox10.3800
April 20, 20258:41 PM CDTEF1Knox4.4120
April 20, 20258:39 PM CDTEF1Knox16.5150
July 15, 20248:07 PM CDTEF1Knox1.3150
June 18, 202111:50 AM CDTEF1Knox10.3250$150,000
March 28, 20205:39 PM CDTUnratedKnox0.110
May 27, 20193:15 PM CDTEF0Knox0.110
May 23, 20178:05 PM CDTEF0Knox0.110
June 5, 20107:56 PM CDTEF2Knox5.750$420,000
June 5, 20107:34 PM CDTEF0Knox0.110
June 8, 20051:58 PM CDTF0Knox0.110
April 20, 20045:40 PM CDTF0Knox2.830
April 30, 20038:30 PM CDTF0Knox1.010
September 11, 20009:45 PM CDTF0Knox0.570
April 22, 199910:27 PM CDTF0Knox0.210
June 29, 19984:20 PM CDTF1Knox3.02001$2.0 million
August 3, 19974:58 PM CDTF0Knox0.250
May 18, 19979:19 PM CDTF0Knox0.150
April 30, 19973:00 PM CDTF0Knox7.050
July 27, 19957:46 PM CDTF0Knox0.110
July 27, 19957:17 PM CDTF0Knox0.110
May 13, 19955:18 PM CDTF2Knox14.08802$500,000 to $5 million
July 6, 19875:18 PM CDTF1Knox0.120$500 to $5,000
March 4, 19765:45 PM CSTF2Knox0.1440$5,000 to $50,000
March 23, 19758:18 PM CDTF2Knox1.0802$5,000 to $50,000
June 20, 19749:20 PM CDTF0Knox0.110
June 20, 19749:00 PM CDTF0Knox0.110
June 20, 19748:15 PM CDTF1Knox0.110
June 20, 19746:45 PM CDTF1Knox0.110$500 to $5,000
June 14, 19744:08 PM CDTF3Rock Island48.64402
July 17, 19727:30 PM CDTF1Warren27.210$5,000 to $50,000
July 17, 19687:30 PM GMT-5F1Warren3.8127$50 to $500
May 7, 19677:15 PM GMT-5F1Knox1.3150$50,000 to $500,000
March 31, 19674:30 PM GMT-6F1Fulton5.2100$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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