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Illinois leads the nation in the number of tornadoes so far this
year with 86. There were 22 confirmed tornadoes alone across the
state during a March 31 outbreak that killed several people.
State climatologist Trent Ford said 2023 this far has been
highly unusual.
“Our peak is between April and June climatologically, so to get
that many tornadoes, basically a year’s worth of tornadoes just
in January, February and March is really incredible,” Ford said.
Between 1950 and 2020, April has been the deadliest month for
tornadoes with 97 reported deaths, with most coming from the
1967 Oak Lawn tornado outbreak. The second deadliest month was
August, with 29 deaths associated with the 1990 Plainfield
tornado.
Ford said the traditional so-called “tornado alley” could
possibly be shifting slightly east to include Illinois.
“This area here in Illinois and especially further south as you
get into parts of Tennessee, Mississippi and down to the Gulf
Coast has seen an increase in at least a frequency of those
tornado days,” Ford said.
Illinois experienced one of the worst tornado events in the
nation's history in 1925, when the infamous Tri-State tornado
killed nearly 700 people and caused $130 million in property
damage.
On average, the United States experiences 100,000 thunderstorms
per year. About 1,000 tornadoes develop from these storms.
Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in
Illinois for the Center Square. He has over 30 years of
experience in radio news reporting throughout the Midwest.
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