41
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$2.2M
Property damage
Tornado in Monroe County, Illinois: 41 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #598 nationally and #30 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Monroe County, Illinois: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Monroe County is the 1990s, when 10 of the county's 41 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 Monroe County archive, tornado makes up 13.0% of all recorded severe weather across 6 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #598 for this hazard and #30 within Illinois, putting it in the 79.7 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Monroe County with 15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-03-11 | EF3 | 5.1 mi | 200 yd | Crossed in |
| 1975-04-18 | EF3 | 2.0 mi | 30 yd | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-22 | EF2 | 3.5 mi | 90 yd | Touched down here |
| 2010-04-30 | EF2 | 7.2 mi | 350 yd | Touched down here |
| 1995-05-18 | EF2 | 4.0 mi | 300 yd | Touched down here |
| 1995-05-18 | EF2 | 4.2 mi | 170 yd | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-07 | EF2 | 0.5 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 1968-04-03 | EF2 | 19.8 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 1960-03-29 | EF2 | 22.3 mi | 130 yd | Crossed in |
| 1957-05-21 | EF2 | 19.7 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 2011 | WATERLOO | EF2 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 18, 1975 | F3 | 0 | 1 | $250K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 15, 2026 | AMES | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 21, 2025 | COLUMBIA | EF1 | $15K |
| Apr 21, 2025 | MADONNAVILLE | EF1 | $75K |
| Mar 15, 2025 | VALMEYER | EF1 | $150K |
| May 26, 2024 | BIXBY | EF0 | $10K |
| Aug 13, 2023 | AMES | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 15, 2023 | COLUMBIA GEBHARDT AR | EFU | $0 |
| Apr 15, 2023 | HARRISONVILLE | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 15, 2023 | CHALFIN BRIDGE | EF0 | $0 |
| May 22, 2019 | WATERLOO | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Monroe County
- Thunderstorm Wind 127
- Hail 120
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A small tornado touched down in the northwest corner of Waterloo damaging a four-story brick grain elevator. Damage was generally confined to the building's roof (along the eastern side). As the tornado moved east-northeast through a residential area, damage was limited to large trees. A large cluster of trees were snapped off near the town high school in a rotational pattern. A house lost part of its roof northeast of Waterloo just before the tornado dissipated.
At approximately 9:52 PM a tornado began southwest of Valmeyer, IL in Monroe County and continued northeast where it impacted the towns of Valmeyer and Waterloo. The worst damage was to residences and small businesses within these municipalities. From Waterloo the tornado moved into a rural area where it produced minor tree damage along the Monroe/St. Clair County border. In Monroe County the tornado was rated EF-1 with a path length of 12.3 miles and maximum path width of 275 yards.
A tornado touched down southeast of Burksville in open country then traveled through a residential area as it moved northeast. Five homes sustained minor roof damage, although several garages and large utility buildings suffered severe damage where the roof was completely removed or sides of the buildings were knocked out. A farm implement store and storage building were also heavily damaged, with insulation from the store carried 300 yards northeast. Several high tension electrical lines were snapped after the tornado crossed Highway 3.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Monroe County, Illinois?
41 tornado events are recorded in Monroe County between 1957 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Monroe County?
The strongest tornado on record in Monroe County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Monroe 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 Monroe County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/monroe-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.