48
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
9
Direct injuries
$1.2M
Property damage
Tornado in Macoupin County, Illinois: 48 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The strongest on record measured F2. That places the county #414 nationally and #20 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Macoupin County, Illinois: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Macoupin County is the 2000s, when 18 of the county's 48 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 Macoupin County archive, tornado makes up 9.1% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #414 for this hazard and #20 within Illinois, putting it in the 85.9 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Macoupin County with 11 recorded events, while Feb 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-04-19 | EF3 | 4.3 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1950-12-02 | EF2 | 18.8 mi | 50 yd | Crossed in |
| 2013-05-20 | EF2 | 0.2 mi | 75 yd | Touched down here |
| 2013-05-31 | EF2 | 1.5 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1990-05-09 | EF2 | 0.2 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 1978-05-12 | EF2 | 34.1 mi | 700 yd | Touched down here |
| 1967-01-24 | EF2 | 2.5 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1960-03-29 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1959-08-04 | EF2 | 26.7 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1959-10-10 | EF2 | 48.7 mi | 33 yd | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2, 1950 | F2 | 1 | 3 | $25K | |
| May 21, 2013 | MT OLIVE | EF2 | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Apr 19, 2011 | GIRARD | EF3 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| May 12, 1978 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $250K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 15, 2026 | WHITE CITY | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 11, 2026 | STAUNTON | EF1 | $0 |
| Apr 18, 2024 | STANDARD CITY | EF1 | $50K |
| Apr 18, 2024 | BARR | EFU | $0 |
| Mar 14, 2024 | MACOUPIN STATION | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 14, 2024 | BRIGHTON | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 14, 2024 | MEDORA | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | MC VEY | EF0 | $10K |
| Jun 25, 2021 | MODESTO WEBER ARPT | EFU | $0 |
| Jul 15, 2020 | PALMYRA ZELMER ARPT | EFU | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Macoupin County
- Hail 233
- Thunderstorm Wind 209
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A brief, weak tornado touched down 2.7 miles south of Standard City, to the west of Standard City Road. crossing Standard City Road. In this location it caused moderate roof damage to three farm buildings before moving to the south southeast. It crossed Standard City Road and broke several large limbs off of trees before lifting and dissipating. Overall, the tornado was rated EF1 (max wind speed of 95 mph) with a path length of 0.23 miles and a max path width of 75 yards. No deaths or injuries were reported.
At 6:47 PM CDT, a weak tornado touched down in northern Macoupin County near the intersection of Waggoner and Boston Chapel Roads. Here the tornado ripped a portion of the roof off of a farm building and threw some of the debris with enough force to embed a plank of wood into the rood of a home. The tornado then traversed a few fields and wooded areas, crossing into Montgomery County at West County Line Road. In Macoupin County, the tornado was rated EF0 with a max wind speed of 74 mph. The path length was 0.85 miles and a max path width of 50 yards.
Despite photographic evidence of a large tornado northwest of Litchfield, only minor damage to power poles and one barn was observed. The tornado initially touched down in Macoupin County on Litchfield Road about 1.3 miles west of the Macoupin/Montgomery county line. It travelled to the northeast only causing minor tree damage rated EF0 in Macoupin County. It then crossed the Macoupin/Montgomery county line about four tenths of a mile south of North 18th Avenue. Most of the area where the tornado occurred was bare farm fields which did not have any damage indicators. The path length of the tornado in Macoupin County was 2.11 miles with a max path width of 20 yards. The damage for this segment was estimated to be EF0. Overall, the entire tornado path length was 3.98 miles with a max path width of 50 yards and a maximum damage rating of EF0.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Macoupin County, Illinois?
48 tornado events are recorded in Macoupin County between 1950 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Macoupin County?
The strongest tornado on record in Macoupin County measured F2.
Where does the tornado data for Macoupin 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 Macoupin County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/macoupin-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.