Bureau County tornado history

47 tornadoes touched Bureau County, Illinois between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.6 a year. The strongest was rated F3 (Dec 6, 1951). Tornadoes here killed 1 and injured 1 people.

47tornadoes since 1950

F3strongest rating

1killed · 1 injured

29.6 milongest path · 1972

(E)F0(E)F1(E)F2(E)F3(E)F4(E)F5· dots = start point only

By rating

(E)F016

(E)F121

(E)F23

(E)F33

(E)F40

(E)F50

unrated4

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: May.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
Dec 6, 1951	F3	21.9 mi	150 yd	1	1
May 9, 1995	F3	22 mi	300 yd	0	0
Mar 4, 1976	F3	0.8 mi	100 yd	0	0
Mar 31, 2023	EF2	9.3 mi	440 yd	0	0
Sep 26, 1959	F2	1.9 mi	40 yd	0	0
Jun 14, 1975	F2	0.1 mi	10 yd	0	0
Jul 17, 1972	F1	29.6 mi	10 yd	0	0
Apr 27, 1956	F1	14.4 mi	500 yd	0	0
Apr 27, 1956	F1	14.4 mi	500 yd	0	0
Mar 31, 2023	EF1	13.9 mi	150 yd	0	0
Apr 21, 1973	F1	11.6 mi	10 yd	0	0
Apr 20, 2004	F1	10.8 mi	440 yd	0	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width
Apr 20, 2025	EF1	1 mi	50 yd
May 24, 2024	unrated	0.5 mi	10 yd
May 7, 2023	unrated	0.1 mi	20 yd
Mar 31, 2023	EF2	9.3 mi	440 yd
Mar 31, 2023	EF1	13.9 mi	150 yd
Aug 9, 2021	unrated	—	5 yd
Aug 9, 2021	EF1	3 mi	525 yd
Aug 9, 2021	unrated	1.1 mi	100 yd
Mar 7, 2017	EF0	0.3 mi	25 yd
Feb 28, 2017	EF1	5.5 mi	100 yd
Feb 28, 2017	EF1	2.3 mi	50 yd
Jun 22, 2016	EF0	0.6 mi	25 yd

Deadliest: Dec 6, 1951, F3, 1 killed.

Nearby counties

Putnam County, IL12 Stark County, IL15 Lee County, IL39 Marshall County, IL18 Whiteside County, IL43 Henry County, IL71 LaSalle County, IL66 Peoria County, IL38

Questions

How many tornadoes has Bureau County, Illinois had?

47 tornadoes touched Bureau County, Illinois between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 0.6 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Bureau County?

The strongest rating recorded was F3 on Dec 6, 1951, with a 21.9-mile path and 1 deaths.

When is tornado season in Bureau County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in May (11 of 47). Tornadoes can occur in any month, so keep alerts on year-round.

Right now: live tornado warnings map · alerts for your location. Dates link to that day’s full storm reports where available (2004 onward).