Montgomery County

Montgomery County, IL

Data available through 1/1/2013

Date

Time (CST)

F/EF-Scale

Length (Miles)

Maximum Width (Yards)

Killed

Injured

Property Damage

Source*

5/18/1883

9:30 PM

F3

25

200

0

n/a

$30,000

G

Moved through Madison and Macoupin Counties before entering Montgomery County.  North of Hillsboro, a railroad bridge was destroyed at 9:55 pm and a train wreck occurred on the bridge at 10:03 pm.  The railroad engineer and a fireman died (their deaths are not considered tornado fatalities because the tornado did not directly cause their deaths).  There was $30,000 damage to farms in the county.

5/18/1883

10:30 PM

F3

12

100

0

n/a

n/a

G

Tornado developed near Nokomis and moved NE into Christian County.     Homes and barns were torn apart.  Two foot thick trees were "carried like feathers".  One injury occurred along the tornado's path.

4/11/1905

4:00 PM

F2

2

n/a

0

n/a

n/a

G

A few homes were unroofed on the edge of Hillsboro.

5/26/1917

12:10 PM

F4

155

800

n/a

n/a

n/a

G

This major tornadic event is often cited as having the longest path length of any tornado (293 miles in Illinois and Indiana for 7 hours and 20 minutes).  There is overwhelming evidence that this long track was made up of at least 4 and probably 8 or more individual tornadoes.  The tornado first touched down in Pike County, and moved across Greene and Macoupin Counties where there is evidence of a 22 mile break in the path.    The damage was intermittent to the E of Modesto through Macoupin County and then into Christian, Shelby, and Cole Counties.  This tornado killed a total of 101 people and injured 638.  The maximum intensity was in Mattoon.

4/4/1927

6:30 PM

F2

5

200

0

0

$15,000

G

Passing 5 miles S of Litchfield, this tornado destroyed a rural church and a barn.  Two farm houses were also unroofed and badly damaged.

3/30/1938

5:53 PM

F3

53

300

0

0

n/a

G

Developed over St. Charles County, MO and passed through Madison and Macoupin Counties before dissipating 2 miles NW of Litchfield.  There were 13 injuries along the path of the storm with property damage >$150,000.

3/19/1948

8:00 AM

F4

50

n/a

0

n/a

n/a

G

Same thunderstorm that produced a tornado over Madison and Macoupin Counties produced another tornado.  Homes and barns were destroyed from 3 miles NW of Litchfield near Honey Bend, and 3 miles SE of Morrisonville.  The tornado then moved into Christian and Shelby Counties.  The tornado produce 2 injuries along its path.

1/3/1950

11:55 AM

F3

4

130

0

3

$100,000

G, NCDC

Developed SE of Chapman and moved NE to 1 mile W of Fillmore and dissipating NW of Bingham.  Four farm houses were "reduced to splinters" and several barns were destroyed.

11/15/1955

3:35 PM

F1

n/a

n/a

0

0

n/a

NCDC

4/28/1956

11:30 PM

F1

5

n/a

2

0

$15,000

G, NCDC

A small tornado moved NW, damaged the roofs of two farm houses and threw two-ton grain bins for 100 yards, NW of Litchfield.  The funnel overturned a boat with 5 men.  Two drowned and three swam to shore.

8/4/1959

6:15 AM

F2

27

narrow

0

0

n/a

NCDC

A tornado developed near Girard in Macoupin County and followed a intermittent path to the SE, causing light to moderate damage in Raymond and near Irving.

10/10/1959

5:15 PM

F2

49

50

0

0

n/a

NCDC

Tornado formed over Madison County and moved across parts of Macoupin and Bond Counties before causing damage to a home and 2 farmsteads at Coffeen .

3/6/1961

1:30 AM

F1

118

75

0

1

n/a

NCDC

Developed over Jersey County and moved through Macoupin County before causing damage to farmsteads near Hillsboro.

4/2/1964

7:45 PM

F2

5

20

0

4

>$5,000

NCDC

First damage to a farmhouse and outbuildings occurred about 4 miles ESE of Farmersville.  About 0.5 mile to the NE, the Lone Elm School was unroofed while about 25 people were inside.  Only one minor injury.  Coalhouse and heavy lumps of coal were carried to the NW with major debris to the NE.  About 0.5 mile further, hog houses were carried SE as the tornado tracked to 2 miles NW of Morrisonville in Christian County.

8/10/1974

1:49 PM

F2

3

20

0

0

>$500

NCDC

Tornado first observed 2.5 miles S of Litchfield and moved NE approximately 2.75 miles.  Observers described the funnel as 50-100 feet wide, 500-800 feet long, white to grayish white and debris apparently corn stalks.  At 1:49 pm, the tornado touched down E of U.S. Highway 66 destroying a brick garage, a chicken house,  uprooted a tree while passing through a cemetery, and blew lawn chairs and tree limbs into a house.

3/20/1976

12:05 AM

F3

9

25

0

4

>$50,000

NCDC

A tornado touched down about 2 miles SW of Farmersville, causing considerable damage to farm homes, barns and sheds as it traveled in an ENE direction.  As the tornado crossed I-55 at Farmersville it overturned a tow-truck slightly injuring the driver and two passengers.  

5/12/1978

3:50 PM

F2

34

700

0

0

n/a

NCDC

A tornado touched down and caused extensive damage and one injury in Macoupin County before dissipating NE of Farmersville.  The tornado caused about $245,000 in property damage along its path.

4/13/1987

7:30 AM

F1

0.5

10

0

0

>$5,000

NCDC

Several farm outbuildings, including a 2-story barn, were demolished by a small tornado which moved NE across a farm 7 miles E of Nokomis.  Debris fell to earth 1 mile NE of the touchdown area.

4/22/1988

5:39 PM

F0

0.25

20

0

0

$0

NCDC

The Illinois State Police observed a brief tornado touchdown in an open area outside of Raymond.

5/12/1990

5:05 PM

F2

0.25

100

0

0

>$50,000

NCDC

A tornado touched down briefly destroying a150 foot long machine shed and grain silos as well as damaging other structures. 

8/19/1993

5:12 PM

F0

0.1

35

0

0

$0

NCDC

A tornado briefly touched down near Interstate 55 and Highway 108, 7 miles N of Litchfield.  No damage was reported. 

5/9/1995

5:38 PM

F0

0.25

40

0

0

$0

NCDC

A small tornado touched down briefly in the extreme SW part of the county, 10 miles N of Old Ripley.  Reported by a SKYWARN spotter.

5/9/1995

6:00 PM

F0

0.25

40

0

0

$0

NCDC

The Illinois State Police reported a brief tornado touchdown near Irving.

5/9/1995

6:15 PM

F1

0.75

70

0

0

$8,200

NCDC

A tornado struck 3 farms briefly just E of Nokomis doing significant damage to several outbuildings.  One farm lost a machine shed and a grain bin.  Homes on the farms suffered superficial roof damage.  The tornado was only on the ground for a few minutes.

2/26/1996

6:15 PM

F0

0

75

0

0

n/a

NCDC

Porch blown off house and roof damaged from small tornado.

4/30/1997

2:05 PM

F0

0

25

0

0

$0

NCDC

Amateur radio spotters reported a brief tornado touchdown in an open field north of Raymond.

5/12/1998

9:16 PM

F0

0

50

0

0

$0

NCDC

A storm spotter reported a brief tornado touchdown west of Witt. There was no damage.

6/1/1999

5:58 PM

F3

10

200

1

4

n/a

NCDC

A tornado first formed about 1 mile southwest of I-55 west of Raymond. The tornado moved northeast hitting a rest area along I-55. Six tractor-trailer trucks were overturned at the rest area, killing one driver and injuring 4 others. Two other trucks were also overturned just north of the rest area. The tornado continued northeast and intensified causing damage at two farms. Numerous barns and other outbuildings were destroyed and one house severely damaged. The occupant of the house escape injury by taking shelter in an interior closet.

6/1/1999

6:11 PM

F0

2

50

0

0

$0

NCDC

A small tornado formed northwest of Harvel and tracked northeast into Christian County. Damage was limited to trees and crops.

6/20/2000

1:40 PM

F0

10

50

0

0

n/a

NCDC

A small tornado left an intermittent damage path across southeast Montgomery County. One grain bin was destroyed, otherwise damage was limited to downed trees and some power lines.

4/12/2005

1:07 PM

F0

0

40

0

0

n/a

NCDC

A tornado briefly touched down in a field near the Coldfield Rest Area on I-55. No damage or injuries were reported.

4/2/2006

4:41 PM

F0

1

50

0

0

n/a

NCDC

The same storm that produced a tornado in Madison and Macoupin County produced another short lived tornado near Walshville. The tornado downed a couple of trees, destroyed a shed, and caused minor roof damage to a home.

4/2/2006

4:50 PM

F2

20

200

0

0

n/a

NCDC

A tornado first formed on the south side of Hillsboro where it caused a narrow path of sign and window damage at a car dealership and two gasoline stations, and blew metal sheeting into nearby trees at a home improvement store. It then destroyed barns one mile southeast of Irving and 2 miles south of Witt. The barn damage south of Witt was rated F1. The tornado then destroyed a metal shed 3 miles south of Nokomis and lofted the sheet metal up to a mile downstream. It also caused minor damage to a grain bin on a farm about three miles southeast of Nokomis. It then caused major damage to a machine shed three miles east of Nokomis where the sheet metal was blown one half mile downstream. The tornado then intensified to nearly 200 yards wide where it toppled and destroyed two high tension electric power line towers about 5 miles east of Nokomis. The damage was rated low end F2. The tornado then weakened and destroyed another grain bin and caused minor damage before dissipating near the Shelby County line.

4/2/2006

4:56 PM

F1

2

100

0

0

n/a

NCDC

A tornado formed east of Farmersville and moved east northeast for almost 2 miles in Montgomery County. The tornado then crossed into Christian County. Machine sheds and barns were heavily damaged at three. farms along the path.

5/24/2006

3:05 PM

F1

2

150

0

0

$100,000

NCDC

A tornado touched down 4.6 miles east northeast of Farmersville (Montgomery County in St. Louis CWA). It traveled to the southeast destroying one machine shed and damaging three other machine sheds. Two barns and two homes sustained damage as well. Debris from the machine sheds were tossed a quarter of a mile downwind from their initial locations. The tornado then crossed into Christian County (Central Illinois's CWA) south of the intersection of 3050N and the county line. No injuries were reported. 

4/5/2010

3:14 PM

EF0

n/a

n/a

0

0

$0

NCDC

A tornado briefly touched down in a field 2 miles west of Hillsboro.  No damage was reported.

4/19/2011

5:08 PM

EF2

3

150

0

0

n/a

NCDC

The tornado began around 608 pm, one third of a mile northwest of the intersection of Studebaker Avenue and West Frontage Road, or around one and a quarter miles north of Farmersville. The tornado moved east snapping 3 power poles along the frontage road just to the west of Interstate 55. A grain bin originally located just to the west of I-55 was rolled across the interstate and deposited in a tree line a quarter mile to the east of the interstate. A number of trees were also snapped or uprooted in the vicinity of the grain bin. The tornado moved slightly south of due east damaging or destroying two machine sheds along County Road 400E. Debris was scattered well to the east and the tornado appeared to lift near County Road 600E. The maximum damage from this tornado was rated EF-2. The path length was around 3.2 miles with a maximum width of 150 yards. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A warm front was lifting northward through the region, triggering numerous showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms produced tornadoes as well as a lot of large hail. There were 6 tornadoes with this event, including an EF3.

4/19/2011

5:15 PM

EF2

3.5

200

0

0

n/a

NCDC

A tornado touched down about five miles north of Litchfield, Illinois, where it snapped off a dozen power poles on East 2nd Road near intersection with North 17th Avenue. As it travelled to the east along North 17th Avenue it destroyed several outbuildings, sheds and silos and caused minor to moderate damage to couple of homes just west of Interstate 55. The tornado then crossed I-55 knocking down several power lines onto the highway, causing the interstate to be shut down for about 4 hours until they could be removed. Just east of I-55, the tornado caused extensive damage to a two story log home. A section of the roof was removed and the north and south outer walls were removed as well. Further to the east several farmsteads had minor to moderate damage to homes, barns and other outbuildings. Most of the homes and outbuildings sustained damage rated EF1. One home on Rugby Trail near intersection with North 17th Avenue, approximately three quarters of a mile southeast of Honey Bend, sustained extensive damage with the entire west facing roof was removed. A large outbuilding was also completely destroyed at this farmstead. The damage was rated EF2, with peak winds of 120 mph. The tornado then continued to the east causing minor damage to a home on Shady Lane, then lifted and dissipated near the northern end of Lake Lou Yaeger. The maximum path width of the tornado was 200 yards and the length of the tornado was 3.5 miles. No injuries were reported with this tornado. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A warm front was lifting northward through the region, triggering numerous showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms produced tornadoes as well as a lot of large hail. There were 6 tornadoes with this event, including an EF3.

*Sources

G - Grazulis, T. P., 1993: Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991.  A Chronology and Analysis of Events. Environmental Films, Tornado Project, St. Johnsbury, VT.

NCDC - National Climatic Data Center U.S. Local Storms Events Data (www.ncdc.noaa.gov)