Tornadoes · United States · Illinois

Tornadoes in Rock Island County, Illinois

40 tornadoes have crossed Rock Island County since 1950, 39th 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 19. 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
40
Deaths
0
Injuries
19
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, March 13, 1990

The strongest

  1. F3, Rock Island, Mercer and Knox counties, IllinoisJune 14, 1974F3, 48.6 mi (78 km)
  2. F3, Rock Island, Scott and Whiteside counties, Iowa and IllinoisMarch 13, 1990F3, 15.5 mi (25 km)
  3. F3, Mercer and Rock Island counties, IllinoisAugust 15, 1978F3, 6.4 mi (10 km)
  4. F2, Mercer, Rock Island and Henry counties, IllinoisApril 21, 1973F2, 30.2 mi (49 km)
  5. F2, Rock Island and Henry counties, IllinoisMay 16, 1974F2, 9.2 mi (15 km)
  6. F2, Rock Island County, IllinoisAugust 26, 1959F2, 5.6 mi (9 km)
  7. EF2, Rock Island County, IllinoisMarch 15, 2016EF2, 4.8 mi (8 km)
  8. EF2, Rock Island County, IllinoisJune 22, 2015EF2, 4.2 mi (7 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 22 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Rock Island County. Each year links to every tornado in Illinois that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20255EF1
20244EF1
20233EF1
20201EF1
20171EF0
2016310EF2
20154EF2
20131EF1
20081EF0
20062F1
19971F0
19911F1
199011F3
19881F1
19871F1
198114F1
19792F1
19781F3
197432F3
197312F2
19621F1
19591F2

Every tornado that crossed Rock Island County

40 tornadoes, newest first. 5 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
June 3, 20257:06 PM CDTEF1Rock Island12.4300
June 3, 20256:59 PM CDTEF1Mercer3.8100
June 3, 20256:57 PM CDTEF0Rock Island1.225
June 3, 20256:57 PM CDTEF1Rock Island14.4300
April 20, 20259:12 PM CDTEF0Rock Island0.750$1,000
July 15, 20247:19 PM CDTEF1Scott to IL8.0100
July 15, 20247:17 PM CDTEF1Rock Island24.7100
July 15, 20247:02 PM CDTEF0Muscatine to IL3.050
May 24, 20247:52 AM CDTEF1Rock Island20.250
April 4, 20239:47 AM CDTEF1Rock Island1.625
April 4, 20239:41 AM CDTEF1Rock Island1.6150
April 4, 20239:36 AM CDTEF1Rock Island1.125
November 10, 20201:45 PM CSTEF1Mercer20.350
May 17, 20175:04 PM CDTEF0Rock Island0.725
October 6, 201610:41 PM CDTEF0Rock Island4.910
October 6, 201610:36 PM CDTEF1Rock Island to IL20.0800
March 15, 20167:25 PM CDTEF2Rock Island4.820010$750,000
December 23, 20154:33 PM CSTEF0Mercer10.650
November 11, 20156:37 PM CSTEF0Rock Island0.125
July 16, 20157:00 PM CDTEF1Rock Island1.1200$2,000
June 22, 20157:15 PM CDTEF2Rock Island4.2440
May 30, 20134:44 PM CDTEF1Rock Island to IA4.0150$140,000
June 12, 20087:26 PM CDTEF0Rock Island0.025
April 13, 20069:29 PM CDTF1Mercer13.0880$20,000
April 13, 20069:13 PM CDTF0Muscatine to IL6.4220$15,000
July 27, 19975:10 PM CDTF0Rock Island0.110
May 31, 19913:20 PM CDTF1Rock Island0.5100$500 to $5,000
March 13, 19904:45 PM CSTF3Rock Island to IL15.52501$50,000 to $500,000
May 8, 19884:15 PM CDTF1Whiteside0.310$5,000 to $50,000
July 29, 19874:05 PM CDTF1Rock Island0.710$500 to $5,000
April 4, 198112:30 AM CSTF1Rock Island4.91004$500,000 to $5 million
August 20, 19791:25 AM CDTF1Rock Island1.050$50,000 to $500,000
August 5, 19799:50 AM CDTF0Rock Island0.210
August 15, 19788:00 PM CDTF3Mercer6.477$50,000 to $500,000
August 12, 19747:50 PM CDTF0Rock Island0.110
June 14, 19744:08 PM CDTF3Rock Island48.64402
May 16, 19748:30 PM CDTF2Rock Island9.2100$500,000 to $5 million
April 21, 19735:43 PM CSTF2Mercer30.2102$500,000 to $5 million
May 29, 19626:20 AM GMT-5F1Rock Island0.110$500 to $5,000
August 26, 19592:00 PM GMT-5F2Rock Island5.650$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Rock Island CountyThe forecast for Rock Island CountyThe live radar over Rock Island 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.