Tornadoes · United States · Illinois

Tornadoes in Pike County, Illinois

35 tornadoes have crossed Pike County since 1950, 46th of the 102 counties in Illinois with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.2 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 35. 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
35
Deaths
0
Injuries
35
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, May 14, 1961

The strongest

  1. F3, Adams, Pike, Schuyler and McDonough counties, IllinoisMay 14, 1961F3, 127.1 mi (205 km)
  2. F3, Pike, Scott and Morgan counties, IllinoisApril 24, 1961F3, 64.2 mi (103 km)
  3. F2, Calhoun, Greene, Pike and Scott counties, IllinoisMarch 12, 2006F2, 67.0 mi (108 km)
  4. F2, Pike, Scott, Morgan and Cass counties, IllinoisJune 10, 1957F2, 42.3 mi (68 km)
  5. F2, Pike, Pike and Scott counties, Missouri and IllinoisApril 8, 1999F2, 27.3 mi (44 km)
  6. F2, Calhoun, Pike and Pike counties, Missouri and IllinoisFebruary 11, 1999F2, 21.1 mi (34 km)
  7. F2, Pike County, IllinoisJune 14, 1957F2, 18.5 mi (30 km)
  8. F2, Pike County, IllinoisJune 19, 1956F2, 14.0 mi (23 km)
  9. EF2, Pike County, IllinoisFebruary 20, 2014EF2, 12.1 mi (19 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 17 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Pike County. Each year links to every tornado in Illinois that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20211Unrated
20184EF1
201411EF2
20083EF1
200722EF0
2006620F2
20043F1
20021F0
20002F0
19993F2
19961F0
19931F1
19921F0
19821F0
1961211F3
195721F2
19561F2

Every tornado that crossed Pike County

35 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.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 23, 20217:19 PM CDTUnratedPike1.510
December 1, 20182:40 PM CSTEF1Pike0.6110
December 1, 20182:29 PM CSTEF0Pike0.125
December 1, 20181:54 PM CSTEF1Pike1.625
May 15, 20186:21 PM CDTEF0Greene0.950
February 20, 20142:25 PM CSTEF2Pike12.1801
May 30, 20086:15 PM CDTEF0Pike3.940
May 30, 20084:25 PM CDTEF1Pike1.450$5,000
January 7, 20088:40 PM CSTEF0Pike2.440
September 30, 20079:15 PM CDTEF0Pike2.0402
September 30, 20079:05 PM CDTEF0Pike0.130
September 22, 20065:20 PM CDTF0Pike0.120
March 30, 200611:10 PM CSTF1Pike2.7250
March 30, 200610:55 PM CSTF1Pike4.5200
March 12, 20067:04 PM CSTF2Calhoun67.088020
March 11, 20065:20 PM CSTF0Pike0.150
March 11, 20065:15 PM CSTF0Pike0.140
May 24, 200411:15 PM CDTF1Pike3.050
May 24, 200411:05 PM CDTF1Pike5.050
May 24, 200411:00 PM CDTF0Pike1.040
June 11, 20023:15 PM CDTF0Pike0.760
May 26, 200011:14 PM CDTF0Scott4.360
May 26, 200011:13 PM CDTF0Scott6.360
August 12, 19998:13 PM CDTF0Pike0.150
April 8, 19997:34 PM CDTF2Pike to IL27.3120$150,000
February 11, 19991:59 PM CSTF2Calhoun to IL21.10$700,000
May 27, 19968:30 PM CDTF0Pike1.050
June 24, 19938:35 PM CDTF1Pike0.220$500 to $5,000
July 2, 19924:55 PM CDTF0Pike0.1250
July 4, 19826:35 PM CDTF0Pike0.110under $50
May 14, 19616:00 PM GMT-5F3Adams127.11008$500,000 to $5 million
April 24, 19617:30 PM GMT-6F3Pike64.2103$50,000 to $500,000
June 14, 19572:00 PM GMT-5F2Pike18.5101$50,000 to $500,000
June 10, 195711:05 PM GMT-5F2Pike42.310$5,000 to $50,000
June 19, 19569:00 PM GMT-5F2Pike14.010$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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