Union County tornado history

25 tornadoes touched Union County, Illinois between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.3 a year. The strongest was rated F3 (Apr 28, 2002). Tornadoes here killed 1 and injured 24 people.

25tornadoes since 1950

F3strongest rating

1killed · 24 injured

31.9 milongest path · 2012

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

By rating

(E)F09

(E)F18

(E)F26

(E)F32

(E)F40

(E)F50

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: April.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
Apr 28, 2002	F3	19.3 mi	400 yd	10	1
May 21, 1957	F3	8.5 mi	200 yd	0	0
Feb 29, 2012	EF2	31.9 mi	300 yd	1	0
Apr 14, 1972	F2	30.9 mi	30 yd	9	0
Oct 18, 2004	F2	8.8 mi	250 yd	3	0
Jan 21, 1999	F2	8 mi	300 yd	0	0
Nov 16, 1955	F2	4.5 mi	150 yd	0	0
Feb 16, 1976	F2	1 mi	10 yd	1	0
Apr 2, 2025	EF1	10 mi	50 yd	0	0
May 26, 2024	EF1	6.9 mi	100 yd	0	0
Jan 29, 2008	EF1	4.3 mi	200 yd	0	0
May 31, 2018	EF1	3.1 mi	150 yd	0	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured
May 20, 2025	EF1	1.8 mi	50 yd	0
Apr 2, 2025	EF1	10 mi	50 yd	0
Apr 2, 2025	EF0	1.1 mi	25 yd	0
May 26, 2024	EF1	6.9 mi	100 yd	0
Jan 11, 2020	EF1	0.9 mi	50 yd	0
May 31, 2018	EF1	3.1 mi	150 yd	0
May 31, 2018	EF0	1.1 mi	50 yd	0
Apr 3, 2014	EF0	0.3 mi	50 yd	0
Apr 3, 2014	EF0	5 mi	85 yd	0
Apr 3, 2014	EF0	3.2 mi	75 yd	0
Feb 29, 2012	EF2	31.9 mi	300 yd	1
May 25, 2011	EF1	2 mi	125 yd	0

Deadliest: Apr 28, 2002, F3, 1 killed.

Nearby counties

Pulaski County, IL12 Johnson County, IL20 Alexander County, IL17 Jackson County, IL41 Williamson County, IL23 Cape Girardeau County, MO52 Ballard County, KY23 Perry County, MO27

Questions

How many tornadoes has Union County, Illinois had?

25 tornadoes touched Union County, Illinois between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 0.3 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Union County?

The strongest rating recorded was F3 on Apr 28, 2002, with a 19.3-mile path and 1 deaths.

When is tornado season in Union County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in April (7 of 25). 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).