McDonough County, Illinois tornado history

46 tornadoes recorded in or across McDonough County from 1957 to 2025, coloured by rating on the map.

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Years1950 to 2025
Rating (F or EF scale)

Shows tornadoes that started in, or crossed, the chosen state. To see how many have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • F0 / EF0 Light damage
  • F1 / EF1 Moderate damage
  • F2 / EF2 Considerable damage
  • F3 / EF3 Severe damage
  • F4 / EF4 Devastating damage
  • F5 / EF5 Incredible damage
  • Unknown Not rated (2007 onwards)

How to read the lines. Each line is one tornado, drawn from where it started to where it ended, coloured and sized by its rating. A dot means the record has no end point. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see how many tornadoes have passed nearby. Weaker tornadoes appear as you zoom in. Ratings use the Fujita (F) scale before 1 February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale from then on.

Tornadoes in McDonough County

The Storm Prediction Center records 46 tornadoes whose paths touched McDonough County, Illinois between 1957 and 2025. None of them is recorded as having killed anyone. The busiest month is May, with 12 tornadoes. The strongest was an F3 on 14 May 1961. The most recent was on 20 April 2025.

  • 46tornadoes
  • 0deaths
  • 24injuries
  • 781per 10,000 sq mi of land

A tornado that crossed several counties counts in each one, so county counts add up to more than the state's.

How strong were the tornadoes in McDonough County?

RatingTornadoesShare
F0 / EF01533%
F1 / EF11737%
F2 / EF2613%
F3 / EF337%
F4 / EF400%
F5 / EF500%
Unknown rating511%

McDonough County tornadoes over time

Tornadoes by decade
Bar chart of tornadoes by period. The most is 9 in 1990s.1950s21960s41970s81980s21990s92000s32010s92020s9

The 2020s only run to 2025, so that bar is for a shorter period. The record starts in 1950.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1950s2
1960s4
1970s8
1980s2
1990s9
2000s3
2010s9
2020s9
Tornadoes by month
Bar chart of tornadoes by period. The most is 12 in May.Jan0Feb0Mar3Apr10May12Jun9Jul6Aug1Sep1Oct0Nov0Dec4
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar3
Apr10
May12
Jun9
Jul6
Aug1
Sep1
Oct0
Nov0
Dec4

Records for McDonough County

  • Strongest: Illinois tornado14 May 1961, F3, 8 injuries, 127.1 miles long
  • Longest path: Illinois tornado21 July 1961, F1, 147.4 miles long
  • Most recent: Illinois tornado20 April 2025, EF1, 3 miles long

Many of these tornadoes killed or injured people. The numbers are the official record's, and they may be revised.

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