Tornadoes · United States · Illinois

Tornadoes in Pope County, Illinois

16 tornadoes have crossed Pope County since 1950, 89th of the 102 counties in Illinois with a tornado on record, an average of one every 4.8 years. They have killed 8 people and injured 70. 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
16
Deaths
8
Injuries
70
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, May 6, 2003

The deadliest in Pope County

  1. EF3, McCracken, Massac, Pope, Livingston and Lyon counties, Kentucky and IllinoisNovember 17, 20133 killed, 34 injured
  2. F3, Pope County, IllinoisApril 21, 19723 killed
  3. F4, Pulaski, Massac and Pope counties, IllinoisMay 6, 20032 killed, 33 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Pulaski, Massac and Pope counties, IllinoisMay 6, 2003F4, 33.0 mi (53 km)
  2. EF3, McCracken, Massac, Pope, Livingston and Lyon counties, Kentucky and IllinoisNovember 17, 2013EF3, 42.5 mi (68 km)
  3. F3, Pope and Moultrie counties, IllinoisApril 28, 2002F3, 22.0 mi (35 km)
  4. F3, Pope County, IllinoisApril 21, 1972F3, 0.3 mi (0 km)
  5. F2, Johnson and Pope counties, IllinoisOctober 18, 2004F2, 14.0 mi (23 km)
  6. EF2, Livingston, Massac and Pope counties, Illinois and KentuckyApril 2, 2025EF2, 12.0 mi (19 km)
  7. EF2, Madison, Pope, Livingston and Massac counties, Indiana and Illinois and KentuckyApril 2, 2025EF2, 2.1 mi (3 km)
  8. F2, Pope County, IllinoisJanuary 22, 1999F2, 1.5 mi (2 km)
  9. F2, Pope County, IllinoisOctober 3, 1990F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 12 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Pope County. Each year links to every tornado in Illinois that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20252EF2
20191EF1
20161EF0
20131334EF3
20061F1
20041F2
20033233F4
200211F3
19991F2
19901F2
19861F0
1972232F3

Every tornado that crossed Pope County

16 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
April 2, 20259:43 PM EDTEF2Madison to IL, KY2.1250$200,000
April 2, 20258:43 PM CDTEF2Livingston to KY12.0150$235,000
June 23, 20195:10 PM CDTEF1Pope2.8120$40,000
May 10, 20165:36 PM CDTEF0Pope0.120
November 17, 20132:05 PM CSTEF3McCracken to IL42.5500334$6.8 million
September 22, 20064:02 PM CDTF1Livingston to KY9.3500$365,000
October 18, 20047:43 PM CDTF2Johnson14.0300$200,000
May 6, 20039:32 PM CDTF4Pulaski33.01,000233$16 million
May 4, 200310:10 PM CDTF1Livingston to KY9.860$10,000
May 4, 200310:09 PM CDTF1Pope to KY2.250
April 28, 20021:59 AM CDTF3Pope22.02001$440,000
January 22, 19991:15 AM CSTF2Pope1.5150$800,000
October 3, 199010:20 PM CDTF2Pope1.0100$50,000 to $500,000
May 15, 19868:00 PM CDTF0Pope0.210$500 to $5,000
April 21, 19726:00 PM CSTF1Pope0.1102$50,000 to $500,000
April 21, 19725:20 PM CSTF3Pope0.3603$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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