351
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$581K
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in McHenry County, Illinois: 351 recorded events between 1960 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 76. That places the county #301 nationally and #13 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in McHenry County, Illinois: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in McHenry County is the 2020s, when 140 of the county's 351 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 McHenry County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 53.7% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #301 for this hazard and #13 within Illinois, putting it in the 90.5 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in McHenry County with 101 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.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 14, 1992 | 0 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 2026 | RILEY | 66 | $0 |
| Apr 17, 2026 | ALDEN | 55 | $0 |
| Apr 14, 2026 | HARVARD | 63 | $0 |
| Apr 14, 2026 | HARVARD | 55 | $0 |
| Apr 2, 2026 | SUNNYSIDE | 56 | $0 |
| Apr 2, 2026 | RINGWOOD | 52 | $0 |
| Apr 2, 2026 | WONDER LAKE | 56 | $0 |
| Apr 2, 2026 | HARTLAND | 52 | $0 |
| Apr 2, 2026 | WOODSTOCK | 52 | $0 |
| Sep 21, 2025 | LAKEMOOR | 55 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from McHenry County
- Hail 192
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Large tree limbs and power lines were blown down north of Crystal Lake on Fox Trail and at Route 31 and Half Mile Road. Power lines were blown down in Bull Valley. Trees were also blown down in the Squaw Creek Ridge subdivision north of Hillside Road. Trees came down on two houses.
An 80 foot tall tree was blown down near Everett Avenue. The tree severely damaged a garage with minor damage to its contents, including two motorcycles and a pickup truck. Numerous tree limbs were blown down across Crystal Lake.
Hundreds of trees were blown down or damaged in southern McHenry County from Huntley to Cary including Lake In The Hills and Algonquin. There were at least 50 reports of power lines blown down and another 50 reports of trees or tree limbs blocking roads.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in McHenry County, Illinois?
351 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in McHenry County between 1960 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in McHenry County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in McHenry County measured 76.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for McHenry 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
“Thunderstorm Wind in McHenry County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/mchenry-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.