Tornadoes · United States · Illinois

Tornadoes in Massac County, Illinois

21 tornadoes have crossed Massac County since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 78th of the 102 counties in Illinois with a tornado on record, an average of one every 3.6 years. They have killed 5 people and injured 72. 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
21
Deaths
5
Injuries
72
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, May 6, 2003

The deadliest in Massac County

  1. EF3, McCracken, Massac, Pope, Livingston and Lyon counties, Kentucky and IllinoisNovember 17, 20133 killed, 34 injured
  2. F4 New Grand Chain–Golconda tornado, IllinoisMay 6, 20032 killed, 33 injured

The strongest

  1. F4 New Grand Chain–Golconda tornado, IllinoisMay 6, 2003F4, 33.0 mi (53 km)
  2. EF3, McCracken, Massac, Pope, Livingston and Lyon counties, Kentucky and IllinoisNovember 17, 2013EF3, 42.5 mi (68 km)
  3. F3, Massac County, IllinoisSeptember 22, 2006F3, 3.5 mi (6 km)
  4. EF2, Pulaski, Massac and Johnson counties, IllinoisMay 25, 2011EF2, 19.9 mi (32 km)
  5. EF2, Livingston, Massac and Pope counties, Illinois and KentuckyApril 2, 2025EF2, 12.0 mi (19 km)
  6. EF2, Massac County, IllinoisFebruary 29, 2012EF2, 2.4 mi (4 km)
  7. EF2, Madison, Pope, Livingston and Massac counties, Indiana and Illinois and KentuckyApril 2, 2025EF2, 2.1 mi (3 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 16 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Massac County. Each year links to every tornado in Illinois that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20261EF1
20252EF2
20231EF1
20201EF0
20181EF1
20171EF0
201612EF1
20131334EF3
20121EF2
20112EF2
200622F3
20051F0
20033233F4
199911F0
19891F1
19731F1

Every tornado that crossed Massac County

21 tornadoes, newest first. 4 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than Illinois. The 1 at the top is this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and its rating is marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 27, 20266:14 PM CDTEF1Massac1.575
April 2, 20259:43 PM EDTEF2Madison to IL, KY2.1250$200,000
April 2, 20258:43 PM CDTEF2Livingston to KY12.0150$235,000
January 12, 20232:03 AM CSTEF1Ballard to IL6.5200$65,000
July 20, 20203:01 PM CDTEF0Massac0.330$15,000
April 3, 20186:29 PM CDTEF1Massac10.675$130,000
November 18, 20171:38 PM CSTEF0Massac0.130$5,000
July 6, 20161:39 PM CDTEF1Massac2.81602$350,000
November 17, 20132:05 PM CSTEF3McCracken to IL42.5500334$6.8 million
February 29, 20125:35 AM CSTEF2Massac2.4150$50,000
May 25, 20116:55 PM CDTEF2Pulaski19.9325$255,000
April 23, 20112:47 PM CDTEF1Massac6.6250$450,000
September 22, 20063:20 PM CDTF3Massac3.51252$500,000
March 12, 20065:31 AM CSTF0Massac0.950$50,000
November 15, 20051:34 PM CSTF0Massac0.150
May 6, 200310:50 PM CDTF0Massac0.230
May 6, 20039:32 PM CDTF4New Grand Chain–Golconda tornado33.01,000233$16 million
May 4, 20039:43 PM CDTF1Ballard to IL3.9100
April 5, 19996:20 PM CDTF0Massac0.2401$10,000
April 3, 19897:45 PM CDTF1Massac0.120
January 18, 19732:15 PM CSTF1Alexander95.910under $50

Nearby

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