42
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$3.7M
Property damage
Tornado in Kane County, Illinois: 42 recorded events between 1955 and 2024. The strongest on record measured F2. That places the county #567 nationally and #28 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Kane County, Illinois: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Kane County is the 2020s, when 22 of the county's 42 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Kane County archive, tornado makes up 4.6% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #567 for this hazard and #28 within Illinois, putting it in the 80.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Aug is the peak month for tornado in Kane County with 10 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967-04-21 | EF4 | 8.8 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1980-07-16 | EF2 | 1.4 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 1967-04-21 | EF2 | 0.3 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1967-04-21 | EF2 | 2.7 mi | 115 yd | Touched down here |
| 1958-08-06 | EF2 | 2.0 mi | 70 yd | Touched down here |
| 1956-08-23 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 40 yd | Touched down here |
| 1954-05-27 | EF2 | 7.9 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 2024-07-15 | EF1 | 8.4 mi | 300 yd | Touched down here |
| 2024-07-14 | EF1 | 9.0 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 2024-02-27 | EF1 | 8.1 mi | 125 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 23, 1956 | F1 | 0 | 3 | $25K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 16, 2024 | (ARR) AURORA MUNICIPAL AIRPORT | EF0 | $0 |
| Jul 16, 2024 | BIG ROCK | EF1 | $0 |
| Jul 16, 2024 | MAPLE PARK | EFU | $0 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | GENEVA | EF0 | $0 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | VIRGIL | EF1 | $0 |
| Jun 23, 2024 | ELBURN | EF0 | $0 |
| Feb 28, 2024 | GENEVA | EF1 | $0 |
| Feb 28, 2024 | (ARR) AURORA MUNICIPAL AIRPORT | EF1 | $0 |
| Feb 28, 2024 | BIG ROCK | EF0 | $0 |
| Feb 28, 2024 | MAPLE PARK | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Kane County
- Thunderstorm Wind 540
- Hail 222
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado started in a farm field east of Kendall Road and continued eastward through Elgin. Damage along the path of the tornado consisted of snapped trees and tree limbs, especially between Bowes Bend Drive and Randall Road. Damage to roofs, siding, and walls of homes, a garage, and a farm building was also noted near Bowes Bend Drive and Longcommon Parkway. The roof of a church was also damaged near Nesler Road. The storm crossed into Cook County on the southwest side of Bluff Spring Fen. The tornado appeared to lift near the intersection of Gifford Road and Lake Street.
As the Elgin EF-1 tornado was ongoing, a second tornado touched down near the intersection of McDonald and Crawford roads on the far north side of Campton Hills and continued east-northeast through the southwestern portion of Elgin. Damage along the path of this EF-0 tornado consisted almost entirely of snapped tree limbs with one home in the Bowes Creek Country Club experiencing damage to an exterior wall and roof. The tornado appeared to lift near the intersection of Hopps Road and Lisa Lane.
Storm chasers documented a tornado touching down in a field south of Hinckley near Somonauk Road and Bastian Road. High resolution satellite imagery showed that this tornado first moved to the northeast mostly in open fields, but likely caused tree damage to properties just north of Bastian Road as it crossed into Kane County. The tornado then turned to the east and caused damage to multiple farm outbuildings, peeled shingles off of roofs, and caused tree damage before lifting as it tracked into Big Rock.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Kane County, Illinois?
42 tornado events are recorded in Kane County between 1955 and 2024, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Kane County?
The strongest tornado on record in Kane County measured F2.
Where does the tornado data for Kane County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Tornado in Kane County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/kane-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.