Counties with the most tornadoes in Illinois

It's been a busy year for tornadoes in the U.S. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as many as 1,155 twisters have touched down across the country since the start of the year, above the average for this time of year.

A single day can drive up tornado counts. March 31, 2023, accounted for 163 tornadoes across the Midwest and South. Tornado activity usually peaks in the spring and early summer, and the pace of tornadoes usually slows around late summer. A smaller-scale second tornado season emerges in the fall, mostly in the Gulf Coast states.

Stacker used data from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information to find the counties in Illinois that have experienced the most tornadoes since 2000. While data is available going back to 1950, tornado tracking by the National Weather Service became more robust and accurate in the 1990s. Since counties can vary in size, they are ranked by the number of tornadoes per 100 square miles. Counties that experienced less than five tornadoes are not included.

The counties that encounter the most tornadoes aren't all in the infamous Tornado Alley. When adjusted for county area, the top 10 counties that experienced the most tornadoes since 2000 are from nine different states, all in the Southeast with the exception of Cleveland County, Oklahoma.

Research has shown that Tornado Alley is shifting due to warming temperatures fueled by climate change. In the future, the Southeast could become the region that receives the bulk of the country's tornadoes. It's a concerning trend as the South is more populated than the Great Plains and has a higher concentration of mobile homes than other parts of the country, making the storms potentially deadlier and costlier.

As of August 2023, 75 people have died from tornadoes this year, and over 60% of those deaths occurred in mobile homes.

The best way to stay protected during tornadoes is to have multiple ways of receiving storm updates including social media, radio, television, and sirens, and to immediately seek shelter in a basement or interior room without windows when a tornado watch escalates to a warning.

Read on to see which counties experience the most tornadoes in Illinois.

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#50. Winnebago County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (2.73 per 100 square miles)
- #624 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#49. Bureau County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 24 (2.76 per 100 square miles)
- #607 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#48. Pike County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 23 (2.77 per 100 square miles)
- #604 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#47. Randolph County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (2.78 per 100 square miles)
- #596 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#46. White County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (2.83 per 100 square miles)
- #576 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#45. Grundy County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (2.87 per 100 square miles)
- #559 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#44. McLean County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 34 (2.87 per 100 square miles)
- #558 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#43. St. Clair County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 19 (2.89 per 100 square miles)
- #551 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 4

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#42. Union County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (2.90 per 100 square miles)
- #543 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#41. Johnson County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (2.91 per 100 square miles)
- #541 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#40. Livingston County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 31 (2.97 per 100 square miles)
- #516 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#39. Alexander County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (2.97 per 100 square miles)
- #508 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#38. Jefferson County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 17 (2.98 per 100 square miles)
- #504 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#37. DeWitt County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (3.02 per 100 square miles)
- #490 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#36. Kane County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (3.08 per 100 square miles)
- #471 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#35. Jackson County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (3.08 per 100 square miles)
- #468 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#34. LaSalle County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 35 (3.08 per 100 square miles)
- #466 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#33. Vermilion County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 28 (3.12 per 100 square miles)
- #457 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#32. Putnam County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (3.12 per 100 square miles)
- #453 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#31. Wabash County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (3.14 per 100 square miles)
- #447 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#30. Henry County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 26 (3.16 per 100 square miles)
- #435 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 7

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#29. Franklin County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (3.18 per 100 square miles)
- #426 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#28. Scott County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (3.19 per 100 square miles)
- #421 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#27. Washington County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (3.20 per 100 square miles)
- #414 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#26. Whiteside County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 22 (3.22 per 100 square miles)
- #406 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#25. Ford County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (3.29 per 100 square miles)
- #383 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#24. Madison County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 24 (3.35 per 100 square miles)
- #364 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#23. Macoupin County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 29 (3.36 per 100 square miles)
- #363 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#22. Clinton County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (3.37 per 100 square miles)
- #358 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#21. Morgan County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 20 (3.52 per 100 square miles)
- #320 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#20. Piatt County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (3.64 per 100 square miles)
- #294 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#19. Rock Island County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (3.74 per 100 square miles)
- #278 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#18. Monroe County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (3.90 per 100 square miles)
- #249 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#17. Champaign County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 39 (3.91 per 100 square miles)
- #245 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#16. Montgomery County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 28 (3.98 per 100 square miles)
- #234 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#15. Pulaski County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (4.02 per 100 square miles)
- #229 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#14. Kendall County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (4.06 per 100 square miles)
- #224 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#13. Mercer County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 24 (4.28 per 100 square miles)
- #190 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#12. Bond County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 17 (4.47 per 100 square miles)
- #157 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#11. DuPage County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (4.58 per 100 square miles)
- #144 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#10. Tazewell County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 31 (4.78 per 100 square miles)
- #123 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#9. Will County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 40 (4.78 per 100 square miles)
- #122 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#8. Boone County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (4.99 per 100 square miles)
- #108 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#7. Kankakee County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 34 (5.03 per 100 square miles)
- #104 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#6. Woodford County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 27 (5.12 per 100 square miles)
- #99 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#5. Sangamon County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 45 (5.18 per 100 square miles)
- #93 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#4. Christian County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 38 (5.36 per 100 square miles)
- #84 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#3. Logan County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 37 (5.99 per 100 square miles)
- #51 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#2. Macon County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 36 (6.20 per 100 square miles)
- #48 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 5

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#1. Massac County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (6.74 per 100 square miles)
- #29 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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