Tornadoes · United States · Illinois

Tornadoes in Piatt County, Illinois

37 tornadoes have crossed Piatt County since 1950, 40th of the 102 counties in Illinois with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.1 years. They have killed 1 person and injured 28. 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
37
Deaths
1
Injuries
28
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, March 20, 1976

The deadliest in Piatt County

  1. F1, Piatt County, IllinoisApril 8, 19991 killed, 3 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Macon, Piatt, Champaign and Vermilion counties, IllinoisMarch 20, 1976F4, 63.7 mi (102 km)
  2. F3, Piatt, Macon and Champaign counties, IllinoisApril 22, 1963F3, 31.8 mi (51 km)
  3. F2, McLean, DeWitt, Piatt and Champaign counties, IllinoisJune 4, 1960F2, 56.2 mi (90 km)
  4. EF2, Christian, Macon and Piatt counties, IllinoisDecember 28, 2025EF2, 23.4 mi (38 km)
  5. EF2, Moultrie and Piatt counties, IllinoisMarch 14, 2025EF2, 12.6 mi (20 km)
  6. F2, DeWitt and Piatt counties, IllinoisApril 3, 1956F2, 9.5 mi (15 km)
  7. F2, Piatt County, IllinoisOctober 24, 2001F2, 1.8 mi (3 km)
  8. F2, Piatt County, IllinoisMay 11, 1959F2, 0.1 mi (0 km)

Every year with a tornado

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

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20252EF2
20212EF0
20201Unrated
20191EF1
20151EF0
20121EF0
20066F0
20031F0
20011F2
20002F0
1999313F1
19971F0
199621F1
19931F0
19911F0
19871F1
19861F1
19851F1
1976118F4
19743F1
196315F3
196011F2
19591F2
19561F2

Every tornado that crossed Piatt County

37 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
December 28, 20252:59 PM CSTEF2Christian23.4250
March 14, 202512:01 AM CDTEF2Moultrie12.6200
June 25, 20216:20 PM CDTUnratedPiatt0.925
June 25, 20216:08 PM CDTEF0Piatt1.550
May 19, 20206:07 PM CDTUnratedPiatt0.925
May 23, 20191:10 AM CDTEF1Piatt1.3200
June 7, 20159:03 PM CDTEF0Piatt2.725$85,000
May 1, 20123:59 PM CDTEF0Piatt0.110
July 26, 20067:51 PM CDTF0Piatt0.130
July 26, 20067:50 PM CDTF0Piatt0.130
July 26, 20067:25 PM CDTF0Piatt0.120
July 26, 20067:22 PM CDTF0Piatt0.120
July 26, 20067:10 PM CDTF0Piatt0.130
May 31, 20062:25 PM CDTF0Piatt0.430
May 14, 20037:28 PM CDTF0Piatt0.110
October 24, 20011:35 PM CDTF2Piatt1.8300$2.2 million
June 20, 20009:08 PM CDTF0Piatt2.650$20,000
April 20, 200010:05 AM CDTF0Piatt3.530
June 4, 19995:48 PM CDTF0Piatt0.120
June 4, 19995:38 PM CDTF0Piatt0.120
April 8, 199910:35 PM CDTF1Piatt3.510013$150,000
April 30, 19974:15 PM CDTF0Piatt0.150
April 19, 19968:00 PM CDTF1Piatt2.03001$1.0 million
April 19, 19967:55 PM CDTF1Piatt0.350$500,000
August 16, 19939:31 PM CDTF0Piatt0.110
May 16, 19912:07 PM CDTF0Piatt0.250
April 11, 19874:28 PM CDTF1DeWitt28.023$50,000 to $500,000
May 16, 19866:15 PM CDTF1Piatt0.510$500 to $5,000
November 19, 19853:58 PM CSTF1Piatt5.040$50,000 to $500,000
March 20, 19761:15 PM CSTF4Macon63.780018$500,000 to $5 million
June 19, 19749:15 PM CDTF0Piatt0.110
April 3, 19743:25 PM CDTF0Piatt3.320$500 to $5,000
April 3, 19743:10 PM CDTF1Piatt10.920$500 to $5,000
April 22, 19636:00 PM GMT-6F3Piatt31.82005$50,000 to $500,000
June 4, 196012:37 AM GMT-5F2McLean56.2201$50,000 to $500,000
May 11, 19591:50 AM GMT-5F2Piatt0.130$50,000 to $500,000
April 3, 19564:08 PM GMT-6F2DeWitt9.540$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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