Tornadoes · United States · Illinois

Tornadoes in Wayne County, Illinois

34 tornadoes have crossed Wayne County since 1950, 4 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 48th of the 102 counties in Illinois with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.2 years. They have killed 4 people and injured 72. 2 were 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
34
Deaths
4
Injuries
72
F4 and above
2
Worst on record
F4, June 2, 1990

The deadliest in Wayne County

  1. EF3, Jefferson and Wayne counties, IllinoisJune 21, 20262 killed, 5 injured
  2. F3, Jefferson and Wayne counties, IllinoisApril 21, 20021 killed, 42 injured
  3. F4, Hamilton, Wayne, Edwards, Wabash, Gibson, Knox, Pike and Daviess counties, Illinois and IndianaJune 2, 19901 killed, 12 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Hamilton, Wayne, Edwards, Wabash, Gibson, Knox, Pike and Daviess counties, Illinois and IndianaJune 2, 1990F4, 106.0 mi (171 km)
  2. F4, Wayne, Clay and Richland counties, IllinoisJune 2, 1990F4, 23.0 mi (37 km)
  3. F3, Jefferson and Wayne counties, IllinoisApril 21, 2002F3, 31.5 mi (51 km)
  4. F3, Wayne and Clay counties, IllinoisDecember 18, 1957F3, 19.6 mi (32 km)
  5. F3, Hamilton, Jefferson and Wayne counties, IllinoisApril 19, 1996F3, 17.0 mi (27 km)
  6. EF3, Jefferson and Wayne counties, IllinoisJune 21, 2026EF3, 15.3 mi (25 km)
  7. F2, Perry, Randolph, Perry, Jefferson and Wayne counties, Missouri and IllinoisMarch 6, 1961F2, 112.1 mi (180 km)
  8. F2, Wayne, Edwards and Wabash counties, IllinoisJuly 11, 1958F2, 32.9 mi (53 km)
  9. F2, Hamilton, Wayne, White and Edwards counties, IllinoisJanuary 7, 1989F2, 27.0 mi (43 km)
  10. EF2, Wayne County, IllinoisApril 19, 2011EF2, 10.6 mi (17 km)

Every year with a tornado

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

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
2026425EF3
20241EF1
20221EF0
20211EF0
20151EF1
20142EF0
20133EF2
201112EF2
200931EF2
20061F1
20021142F3
19981F0
19961F3
19902114F4
198946F2
19851F0
19831F1
19731F1
19721F1
19611F2
195811F2
195711F3

Every tornado that crossed Wayne County

34 tornadoes, newest first. 1 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files it under that state rather than Illinois. The 4 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
June 21, 20265:02 PM CDTEF3Jefferson15.340025
June 21, 20265:47 PM CDTEF1Wayne1.575
June 21, 20266:37 PM CDTEF0Wayne0.575
June 21, 20267:11 PM CDTEF1Wayne3.850
March 14, 20248:11 PM CDTEF1Wayne2.875$120,000
March 30, 20226:01 PM CDTEF0Wayne0.350$30,000
May 6, 20215:00 PM CDTEF0Wayne0.530
December 23, 201512:30 PM CSTEF1Edwards4.3100$13,000
June 23, 20145:26 PM CDTEF0Wayne1.8150$2,000
June 23, 20145:22 PM CDTEF0Wayne2.9200$2,000
November 17, 20131:29 PM CSTEF2Edwards7.9300$210,000
November 17, 20131:08 PM CSTEF2Wayne9.5150$150,000
July 2, 20136:55 PM CDTEF0Wayne0.750
April 19, 20119:30 PM CDTEF2Wayne10.61502$400,000
March 8, 200912:58 PM CDTEF2Wayne5.6100$110,000
March 8, 200912:42 PM CDTEF1Wayne14.4501$40,000
March 8, 200912:34 PM CDTEF0Jefferson4.2100$92,000
March 11, 200611:26 PM CSTF1Wayne1.0600$70,000
April 21, 20023:49 PM CDTF3Jefferson31.5500142$4.0 million
June 22, 19988:44 PM CDTF0Wayne0.540
April 19, 19969:15 PM CDTF3Hamilton17.0400$3.2 million
June 2, 19906:20 PM CDTF4Hamilton to IN106.0300112$500,000 to $5 million
June 2, 19905:45 PM CDTF4Wayne23.03002$50,000 to $500,000
October 16, 19897:00 PM CDTF2Wayne2.0800$5,000 to $50,000
July 24, 19898:10 PM CDTF0Wayne0.110
April 3, 19894:30 PM CDTF1Wayne0.250$5,000 to $50,000
January 7, 19894:55 PM CSTF2Hamilton27.01006$500,000 to $5 million
September 9, 19858:35 PM CDTF0Wayne0.1100
May 1, 198311:30 PM CDTF1Wayne0.230$50,000 to $500,000
May 7, 19738:20 PM CDTF1Wayne0.110$5,000 to $50,000
April 13, 19723:26 AM CSTF1Wayne0.110$5,000 to $50,000
March 6, 19612:30 AM GMT-6F2Perry to IL112.150$500,000 to $5 million
July 11, 19581:45 PM GMT-5F2Wayne32.9501$5,000 to $50,000
December 18, 19575:00 PM GMT-6F3Wayne19.62001$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

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