Tornadoes · United States · Illinois

Tornadoes in Montgomery County, Illinois

56 tornadoes have crossed Montgomery County since 1950, 5 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 19th of the 102 counties in Illinois with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.4 years. They have killed 3 people and injured 26. 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
56
Deaths
3
Injuries
26
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, June 1, 1999

The deadliest in Montgomery County

  1. F1, Montgomery County, IllinoisApril 28, 19562 killed
  2. F3, Montgomery County, IllinoisJune 1, 19991 killed, 4 injured

The strongest

  1. F3, Montgomery County, IllinoisJune 1, 1999F3, 10.0 mi (16 km)
  2. F3, Perry and Montgomery counties, IllinoisMay 29, 1982F3, 10.0 mi (16 km)
  3. F3, Montgomery and Christian counties, IllinoisMarch 20, 1976F3, 8.8 mi (14 km)
  4. F3, Montgomery County, IllinoisJanuary 3, 1950F3, 3.6 mi (6 km)
  5. F2, Madison, Macoupin, Montgomery and Fayette counties, IllinoisOctober 10, 1959F2, 48.7 mi (78 km)
  6. EF2, Bond, Montgomery, Fayette and Shelby counties, IllinoisDecember 10, 2021EF2, 41.5 mi (67 km)
  7. F2, Macoupin and Montgomery counties, IllinoisMay 12, 1978F2, 34.1 mi (55 km)
  8. F2, Macoupin and Montgomery counties, IllinoisAugust 4, 1959F2, 26.7 mi (43 km)
  9. EF2, Montgomery, Christian and Shelby counties, IllinoisFebruary 20, 2014EF2, 22.4 mi (36 km)
  10. F2, Montgomery County, IllinoisApril 2, 2006F2, 20.0 mi (32 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 35 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Montgomery County. Each year links to every tornado in Illinois that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20265EF1
20231EF0
20221EF1
202111EF2
20205EF0
20191EF0
20184EF2
20172EF1
20161EF0
201411EF2
20132EF1
20112EF2
20101EF0
20064F2
20051F0
20001F0
1999214F3
19981F0
19971F0
19961F0
19953F1
19931F0
19901F2
19881F0
19871F1
198217F3
197811F2
197614F3
19741F2
196414F2
196111F1
19592F2
195612F1
19551F1
195013F3

Every tornado that crossed Montgomery County

56 tornadoes, newest first. The 5 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, 20265:29 PM CDTEF1Macoupin6.3300
March 15, 20265:38 PM CDTEF1Montgomery7.10
March 15, 20265:47 PM CDTEF1Montgomery3.6300$500
March 15, 20265:55 PM CDTEF1Montgomery7.80
March 15, 20266:02 PM CDTEF1Montgomery13.690
March 31, 20236:47 PM CDTEF0Macoupin6.3150$25,000
March 5, 202210:57 PM CSTEF1Montgomery3.940$50,000
December 10, 20218:53 PM CSTEF2Bond41.56901$10,000
July 21, 20204:18 PM CDTUnratedMontgomery0.210
July 15, 20205:18 PM CDTEF0Sangamon4.5300
July 15, 20205:05 PM CDTEF0Montgomery0.650
July 15, 20204:58 PM CDTEF0Montgomery3.275
May 28, 20205:50 PM CDTUnratedMontgomery2.9100
April 30, 20193:52 PM CDTEF0Montgomery1.225
December 1, 20184:47 PM CSTEF0Montgomery3.1200$140,000
December 1, 20184:32 PM CSTEF1Montgomery2.050
December 1, 20184:16 PM CSTEF2Montgomery6.8100
December 1, 20184:09 PM CSTEF1Montgomery8.075
March 7, 20171:14 AM CSTEF1Montgomery7.2100
March 7, 201712:50 AM CSTEF1Macoupin12.9100
April 27, 20166:23 PM CDTEF0Montgomery4.925
February 20, 20144:09 PM CSTEF2Montgomery22.42001$600,000
November 17, 201311:30 AM CSTEF0Macoupin4.050
May 31, 20139:02 PM CDTEF1Montgomery4.350
April 19, 20116:15 PM CDTEF2Montgomery3.5200
April 19, 20116:08 PM CDTEF2Montgomery3.2150
April 5, 20104:14 PM CDTEF0Montgomery0.210
May 24, 20064:05 PM CDTF1Christian3.8150$100,000
April 2, 20065:56 PM CDTF1Montgomery2.2100
April 2, 20065:50 PM CDTF2Montgomery20.0200
April 2, 20065:41 PM CDTF0Montgomery1.050
April 12, 20052:07 PM CDTF0Montgomery0.140
June 20, 20002:40 PM CDTF0Montgomery10.350
June 1, 19997:11 PM CDTF1Montgomery12.60$750,000
June 1, 19996:58 PM CDTF3Montgomery10.020014
May 12, 199810:16 PM CDTF0Montgomery0.150
April 30, 19973:05 PM CDTF0Montgomery0.123
February 26, 19966:15 PM CSTF0Montgomery0.375
May 9, 19957:15 PM CDTF1Montgomery0.770$5,000 to $50,000
May 9, 19957:00 PM CDTF0Montgomery0.240
May 9, 19956:38 PM CDTF0Montgomery0.240
August 19, 19936:12 PM CDTF0Montgomery0.110
May 12, 19906:05 PM CDTF2Montgomery0.2100$50,000 to $500,000
April 22, 19886:39 PM CDTF0Montgomery0.220
April 13, 19878:30 AM CDTF1Montgomery0.510$5,000 to $50,000
May 29, 19822:05 PM CDTF3Perry10.02007$50,000 to $500,000
May 12, 19784:50 PM CDTF2Macoupin34.17001$50,000 to $500,000
March 20, 197612:05 PM CSTF3Montgomery8.8274$50,000 to $500,000
August 10, 19742:50 PM CDTF2Montgomery2.720$500 to $5,000
April 2, 19647:45 PM GMT-6F2Montgomery4.9204$5,000 to $50,000
March 6, 19611:30 AM GMT-6F1Jersey117.9771$50,000 to $500,000
October 10, 19596:15 PM GMT-5F2Madison48.733$50,000 to $500,000
August 4, 19597:15 AM GMT-5F2Macoupin26.710$5,000 to $50,000
April 28, 195611:30 PM GMT-6F1Montgomery4.7102$5,000 to $50,000
November 15, 19553:35 PM GMT-6F1Montgomery0.110$5,000 to $50,000
January 3, 195011:55 AM GMT-6F3Montgomery3.61303$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

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