Tornadoes · United States · Illinois

Tornadoes in Peoria County, Illinois

41 tornadoes have crossed Peoria County since 1950, 3 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 36th 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 40. 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
41
Deaths
0
Injuries
40
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, June 29, 1976

The strongest

  1. F4, Peoria County, IllinoisJune 29, 1976F4, 4.9 mi (8 km)
  2. F3, Peoria County, IllinoisSeptember 14, 1965F3, 6.6 mi (11 km)
  3. EF2, Peoria County, IllinoisMarch 15, 2016EF2, 7.5 mi (12 km)
  4. EF2, Tazewell and Peoria counties, IllinoisNovember 17, 2013EF2, 2.3 mi (4 km)
  5. EF2, Peoria County, IllinoisJune 5, 2010EF2, 2.1 mi (3 km)
  6. F2, Peoria County, IllinoisJuly 25, 1981F2, 2.0 mi (3 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 21 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Peoria County. Each year links to every tornado in Illinois that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20263EF1
20243EF1
20202EF1
20173EF0
20162EF2
20151EF0
2013110EF2
20105EF2
20091EF0
19981F0
19971F0
19962F0
19957F1
19901F0
19812F2
19761F4
19741F0
19731F1
1965130F3
19621F0
19601F1

Every tornado that crossed Peoria County

41 tornadoes, newest first. The 3 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
April 2, 20266:18 PM CDTEF1Knox6.2250$250
April 2, 20266:23 PM CDTEF0Knox3.760
August 9, 202610:53 PM CDTUnratedPeoria0.20
July 15, 20248:25 PM CDTEF0Peoria2.5100
July 15, 20248:21 PM CDTEF1Peoria2.4150
July 15, 20248:15 PM CDTEF0Peoria4.380
May 28, 20204:10 PM CDTUnratedPeoria1.725
March 28, 20208:58 PM CDTEF1Peoria3.350$300,000
July 10, 20175:45 PM CDTEF0Peoria1.650
February 28, 20175:15 PM CSTEF0Peoria0.9100$75,000
February 28, 20175:10 PM CSTEF0Peoria0.125
March 15, 20168:05 PM CDTEF0Peoria3.7200$260,000
March 15, 20167:42 PM CDTEF2Peoria7.5440$1.0 million
April 9, 20151:32 PM CDTEF0Peoria0.110
November 17, 201310:52 AM CSTEF2Tazewell2.310010$45 million
June 5, 20108:32 PM CDTEF0Peoria2.0100$100,000
June 5, 20108:18 PM CDTEF1Peoria3.975$170,000
June 5, 20108:10 PM CDTEF1Peoria4.9100$85,000
June 5, 20108:04 PM CDTEF2Peoria2.150$85 million
May 25, 20102:10 PM CDTEF0Peoria0.715
July 8, 20094:55 PM CDTEF0Peoria0.110
April 7, 19984:01 PM CDTF0Peoria0.130
April 30, 19973:12 PM CDTF0Peoria24.050$140,000
June 6, 19967:45 PM CDTF0Peoria0.5200
April 19, 19966:10 PM CDTF0Peoria4.0100
July 27, 19959:15 PM CDTF0Peoria0.110
July 27, 19958:48 PM CDTF0Peoria0.110
July 27, 19958:42 PM CDTF0Peoria0.110
July 27, 19958:22 PM CDTF0Peoria0.110
May 27, 19957:47 PM CDTF0Peoria0.110
May 13, 19956:44 PM CDTF0Peoria0.110
May 13, 19956:15 PM CDTF1Peoria7.0220
June 13, 19908:13 PM CDTF0Peoria7.020$500 to $5,000
July 25, 19819:40 PM CDTF2Peoria2.020$50,000 to $500,000
May 27, 19812:00 PM CDTF0Peoria0.513
June 29, 19762:45 PM CDTF4Peoria4.940$50,000 to $500,000
June 8, 19746:15 PM CDTF0Peoria0.110
March 31, 19735:50 PM CSTF1Peoria0.110$500 to $5,000
September 14, 19653:40 PM GMT-5F3Peoria6.620030$500,000 to $5 million
May 28, 19627:30 PM GMT-5F0Peoria0.110
May 16, 19605:45 PM GMT-5F1McDonough0.110$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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