Area tornado and severe storm highlights
The following are some highlights of tornado touchdowns in the area over the last 125 years, courtesy of the Illinois State Water Survey and the National Weather Service offices that serve Illinois:
May 18, 1883 – The 5th deadliest tornado outbreak on record in Illinois affected northern and central parts of the state. At least 14 strong to violent tornadoes touched down, and 52 people were killed by these storms. A tornado, which peaked at F4 intensity, killed 11 people and injured 50 along its path from the south edge of Springfield northeast to near Kenney, in DeWitt County. This particular tornado reportedly drove 10 inch by 12 inch oak timbers 10 feet into the ground. Other strong to violent tornadoes affected areas around Capron, Grafton, Mt. Olive, Shipman, Mason City, Hillsboro, and Pesotum.
May 12, 1886 – A tornado, which peaked at F4 intensity, touched down in Vermilion County near Armstrong, and passed between Alvin and Rossville before moving into Indiana. Three people were killed. Five other strong tornadoes occurred across Illinois that day.
April 12, 1903 – A tornado touched down in Douglas County, 4 miles northeast of Atwood, killing a mother and baby.
April 17, 1922 – A violent tornado touched down a few miles north of Ogden, in eastern Champaign County, then moved eastward through Vermilion County. Two people were killed north of Ogden.
March 16, 1942 – A tornado in east central Illinois touched down in southwest Champaign County near Ivesdale, then moved northeast to the Indiana border. Farms were swept away in the Savoy, Mayview, and St. Joseph areas. In the town of Alvin, about 25 homes were damaged. A total of 9 people were killed, with 60 injured
April 7, 1948 – Two strong tornadoes occurred across the northern parts of Champaign and Vermilion Counties.
April 9, 1953 – The first radar image of a tornado was detected by equipment at the University of Illinois Airport, south of Champaign. Studies of the radar pictures from that day showed that a tornado of significant size and intensity could be detected, identified by a hook shape on the southwest edge of a thunderstorm.
Dec. 18, 1957 – An out-of-season severe weather outbreak produced 19 tornadoes in Illinois. Collectively, 13 people were killed and 259 injured, with property damage between $8 million to $10 million. Tornadoes were reported as far north as Mason and Vermilion counties, but most of the tornadoes were across the southern third of the state.
May 3, 1958 – A tornado in Vermillion County, Ind., moved north northwest into Edgar County, Ill. Damage from this tornado was confined to the Indiana segment. This is believed to be one of the few tornadoes, if not the only one, to move from Indiana to Illinois.
June 5, 1960 – A strong tornado took a 55-mile path across east central Illinois, from Bloomington south-southeast to Farmer City to Sadorus. Although the tornado was on the ground only part of the time, major damage occurred to farmsteads near Farmer City, Ivesdale, and Sadorus.
Jan. 24, 1967 – Out-of-season tornadoes affected parts of northern and central Illinois. One strong tornado in Mason County killed one person and injured 3 others. Another tornado moved across the Champaign-Urbana metropolitan area, injuring 5 people.
May 15, 1968 – During a 55-minute span, six tornadoes moved through De Witt County. The primary damage zone occurred in the northern part of the county from Waynesville to Farmer City, with the most severe damage in Wapella. Besides the tornadoes, a large area of 7 to 10 inches of rain fell in parts of DeWitt, Macon, Piatt, and Champaign Counties.
April 3, 1974 – The most violent tornado outbreak in U.S. history began on this date and continued into the early morning hours of April 4. A total of 148 tornadoes were noted in 13 states in the central and eastern U.S., including Illinois. This outbreak killed 307 people and produced $600 million in damage. Tornadoes were also reported in Champaign, Vermilion, Ford, Edgar, Logan, Macon and McLean counties.
March 20, 1976 – A violent tornado created a 63 mile long path of destruction across east central Illinois. The tornado first touched down just southeast of Decatur and moved east-northeast to near Danville. The worst damage occurred at Sadorus, in southwestern Champaign County. 13 houses and 7 mobile homes were destroyed, and another 25 houses were damaged beyond repair; total damage was estimated at $2 million. At the time, the tornado was 1/2 mile wide and had multiple vortices within the main tornado funnel. The tornado then destroyed several homes in Philo. Downtown Ogden took a direct hit from the tornado, with $1 million damage reported.
June 8, 1981 – Severe thunderstorms in northeast and central Illinois produced hail the size of grapefruits at Kankakee. One tornado was on the ground intermittently for 80 miles, originating southeast of Pekin and traveling to Mahomet, northwest of Champaign. Minor damage resulted.
June 20, 1990 – An outbreak of severe thunderstorms began in central Illinois during the evening of the 19th, and continued into the morning of the 20th. A tornado touched down southeast of Champaign in Pesotum, moving to Villa Grove; $1 million damage was inflicted on a grain elevator near Royal.
March 22, 1991 – A tornado made several sporadic touchdowns as it moved across Vermilion County during the late evening. The first touchdown was in Tilton, damaging 10 homes and the city hall. The last touchdown was on the southwest side of Danville, damaging some signs, store windows, and trees. Total damage was around $1 million.
June 8, 1993 – Severe thunderstorms moved across northern and central Illinois during the early evening hours. Tornadoes touched down near Champaign, Decatur and Illiopolis.
April 19, 1996 – A significant outbreak of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms occurred across Illinois during the afternoon and evening hours. In central Illinois, 20 tornadoes moved across the area. One severe thunderstorm spawned several tornadoes from west of Jacksonville, to just west of Springfield, through Decatur and Urbana, and east to Ogden. The Decatur area, which had also been hit by a tornado the night before, sustained about $9 million damage with 27 people injured. Further east, up to $11 million damage occurred in Urbana, where 30 homes were destroyed and 80 more were damaged. Another tornado moved through Ogden, destroying 68 homes and numerous other businesses and public institutions. One person was killed just east of Ogden, when a semi was overturned on I-74.
May 28, 1996 – A tornado was sighted just northwest of Champaign/Urbana, at the intersection of Interstates 57 and 74. The tornado touched down in an open field, causing no damage.
April 7, 1998 – Severe thunderstorms moved across central Illinois during the afternoon, producing nearly two dozen tornadoes. A tornado in Moultrie County touched down south of Cadwell, and moved to Bourbon in Douglas County. Nine homes were damaged or destroyed, as well as numerous outbuildings. Ahead of the tornado, the town of Arthur received softball-size hail.
June 29, 1998 – A derecho (wind storm), which originated in Iowa, moved across Illinois during the afternoon and evening, and continued as far east as Ohio the next morning. Every county in central Illinois sustained some sort of damage, as these severe thunderstorms passed. Winds gusted in the 60 to 80 mph range, with some localized microbursts producing winds in excess of 100 mph. Significant damage occurred in the microburst areas, including the towns of Morton, McLean, LeRoy, and Tolono. Trees were blown over, buildings lost their roofs, and in Tolono, 21 cars of a freight train were blown off the tracks. Overall, 12 people were injured, and damage was estimated around $16 million.
May 18, 2000 – A series of thunderstorms formed and moved over a two county area of east central Illinois, over a 2.5 hour period. Over $4 million worth of damage was reported. The most intense damage was reported in the Jamaica and Georgetown (Vermilion County) areas. Georgetown was hit twice within an hour's time by baseball sized hail. A greenhouse sustained major damage. Thousands of cars sustained major hail damage. Also, hundreds of homes and businesses had windows broken out, and siding damaged. In Jamaica, the high school sustained around $300,000 damage to its facilities. In Pesotum (Champaign County), 11 Illinois State Patrol cars sustained hail damage, totaling $24,000.
July 8, 2001 – Downburst winds caused considerable damage on the west side of Hoopeston. Three businesses were destroyed, 100 homes sustained minor to moderate damage, and the EMS building was destroyed. Also, the sewer department suffered major damage, and a church suffered minor damage. Numerous trees and tree limbs, power poles and power lines were blown down in Hoopeston and areas to the southeast, east of Rossville. No injuries or deaths were reported. Damage was estimated around $8.5 million.
Oct. 24, 2001 – Severe thunderstorms affected central Illinois, primarily between I-55 and the Indiana border. A tornado touched down on the southwest side of Monticello and moved northeast, causing $2.2 million damage. A second tornado touched down around I-57 and I-74 near Champaign, causing $500,000 damage.
