Tornadoes · United States · Illinois

Tornadoes in Monroe County, Illinois

43 tornadoes have crossed Monroe County since 1950, 2 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 32nd of the 102 counties in Illinois with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.8 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 2. 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
43
Deaths
0
Injuries
2
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, March 11, 2006

The strongest

  1. F3, Monroe and Jefferson counties, Missouri and IllinoisMarch 11, 2006F3, 5.1 mi (8 km)
  2. F3, Monroe County, IllinoisApril 18, 1975F3, 2.0 mi (3 km)
  3. F2, Monroe, Randolph and Saint Clair counties, IllinoisMarch 29, 1960F2, 22.3 mi (36 km)
  4. F2, Monroe and Saint Clair counties, IllinoisApril 3, 1968F2, 19.8 mi (32 km)
  5. F2, Monroe and Saint Clair counties, IllinoisMay 21, 1957F2, 19.7 mi (32 km)
  6. EF2, Monroe County, IllinoisApril 30, 2010EF2, 7.2 mi (12 km)
  7. F2, Monroe County, IllinoisMay 18, 1995F2, 4.2 mi (7 km)
  8. F2, Monroe County, IllinoisMay 18, 1995F2, 4.0 mi (6 km)
  9. EF2, Monroe County, IllinoisApril 22, 2011EF2, 3.5 mi (6 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 24 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Monroe County. Each year links to every tornado in Illinois that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20262EF0
20253EF1
20241EF1
20234EF1
20191EF0
20142EF0
201111EF2
20102EF2
20081EF0
20062F3
20033F1
19982F0
19961F0
19956F2
19941F0
19841F0
197511F3
19731F1
19681F2
19652F1
19641F1
19601F2
19591F1
19572F2

Every tornado that crossed Monroe County

43 tornadoes, newest first. 2 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, 20265:35 PM CDTEF0Monroe8.7160
July 11, 20264:44 PM CDTUnratedMonroe0.60
April 20, 20258:13 PM CDTEF1Monroe0.3100$15,000
April 20, 20258:00 PM CDTEF1Monroe7.3100$75,000
March 14, 20259:52 PM CDTEF1Monroe14.7275$150,000
May 26, 20245:48 PM CDTEF1Saint Louis to IL8.8172$40,000
August 13, 20235:35 PM CDTEF0Monroe0.410
April 15, 20236:43 PM CDTUnratedMonroe0.325
April 15, 20236:39 PM CDTEF0Monroe5.0100
April 15, 20236:34 PM CDTEF1Monroe19.6100
May 21, 20197:01 PM CDTEF0Monroe0.350
June 7, 20145:43 PM CDTEF0Monroe0.330
June 7, 20145:19 PM CDTEF0Monroe0.340
April 22, 20118:50 PM CDTEF2Monroe3.5901
April 30, 20108:57 PM CDTEF0Monroe0.150
April 30, 20108:50 PM CDTEF2Monroe7.2350
March 31, 20084:45 PM CDTEF0Monroe1.830
March 11, 20069:46 PM CSTF1Monroe2.4100
March 11, 20069:42 PM CSTF3Monroe to IL5.1200
June 10, 20036:11 PM CDTF0Monroe1.050
June 10, 20036:10 PM CDTF0Monroe3.050
May 6, 20038:10 PM CDTF1Monroe4.060
April 15, 19987:05 PM CDTF0Monroe16.050$10,000
April 15, 19985:47 PM CDTF0Monroe0.150
April 19, 19965:45 PM CDTF0Monroe1.050$2,000
May 18, 199512:48 PM CDTF1Monroe4.8150$50,000 to $500,000
May 18, 199512:46 PM CDTF2Monroe4.2170$50,000 to $500,000
May 18, 199512:44 PM CDTF1Monroe6.0200$5,000 to $50,000
May 18, 199512:42 PM CDTF1Monroe4.5100$5,000 to $50,000
May 18, 199512:40 PM CDTF2Monroe4.0300$50,000 to $500,000
May 18, 199512:37 PM CDTF1Monroe0.683$50,000 to $500,000
April 15, 19945:15 AM CDTF0Monroe2.540$50,000 to $500,000
April 3, 19845:45 PM CSTF0Monroe0.110$50,000 to $500,000
April 18, 19756:10 PM CDTF3Monroe2.0301$50,000 to $500,000
May 7, 19737:15 PM CDTF1Monroe2.3300$5,000 to $50,000
April 3, 19686:05 PM GMT-6F2Monroe19.850$50,000 to $500,000
September 4, 19658:24 PM GMT-5F1Monroe1.5100$500 to $5,000
May 26, 19654:00 PM GMT-5F1Monroe0.510$5,000 to $50,000
March 8, 19646:05 PM GMT-6F1Monroe3.820$500 to $5,000
March 29, 19609:40 PM GMT-6F2Monroe22.3130$5,000 to $50,000
May 10, 19591:10 AM GMT-5F1Monroe3.650$5,000 to $50,000
May 21, 19574:50 PM GMT-5F2Monroe19.7150$50,000 to $500,000
April 18, 19572:00 PM GMT-6F0Monroe0.110under $50

Nearby

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