90
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
102
Direct injuries
$25.6M
Property damage
Tornado in Sangamon County, Illinois: 90 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #79 nationally and #3 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Sangamon County, Illinois: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Sangamon County is the 2000s, when 30 of the county's 90 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 Sangamon County archive, tornado makes up 9.5% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #79 for this hazard and #3 within Illinois, putting it in the 97.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Aug is the peak month for tornado in Sangamon County with 23 recorded events, while Oct 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-06-14 | EF4 | 4.3 mi | 220 yd | Touched down here |
| 1963-04-22 | EF3 | 42.9 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 2009-08-19 | EF3 | 24.3 mi | 880 yd | Touched down here |
| 1995-05-09 | EF3 | 50.0 mi | 880 yd | Touched down here |
| 1978-07-26 | EF3 | 8.9 mi | 177 yd | Touched down here |
| 1977-08-06 | EF3 | 4.1 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2023-03-31 | EF2 | 21.0 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 2023-06-29 | EF2 | 9.1 mi | 800 yd | Touched down here |
| 2023-08-06 | EF2 | 25.3 mi | 450 yd | Touched down here |
| 2023-03-31 | EF2 | 5.4 mi | 400 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 14, 1957 | F4 | 2 | 50 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 22, 1963 | F3 | 1 | 5 | $250K | |
| Mar 13, 2006 | NEW BERLIN | F2 | 0 | 19 | $0 |
| Aug 19, 2009 | WILLIAMSVILLE | EF3 | 0 | 17 | $11.0M |
| Mar 13, 2006 | RIVERTON | F2 | 0 | 4 | $0 |
| Aug 19, 2009 | PROUTY | EF2 | 0 | 3 | $4.0M |
| Mar 8, 2009 | PROUTY | EF1 | 0 | 2 | $610K |
| Apr 2, 2006 | RIVERTON | F1 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 18, 2025 | PLEASANT PLAINS | EF1 | $0 |
| Aug 6, 2023 | BEAMINGTON | EF1 | $0 |
| Jun 29, 2023 | CURRAN | EF2 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | RIVERTON | EF2 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | ANDREW | EF2 | $0 |
| Jan 3, 2023 | LANESVILLE | EFU | $0 |
| May 3, 2021 | MECHANICSBURG | EFU | $0 |
| May 3, 2021 | DAWSON | EFU | $0 |
| May 3, 2021 | PLEASANT PLAINS | EFU | $0 |
| Jul 21, 2020 | COMPRO | EF1 | $300K |
Other hazards here
More from Sangamon County
- Thunderstorm Wind 450
- Hail 314
- Flash Flood 65
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado crossed into Sangamon County from Morgan County at 151 PM CST, then continued northeastward through the town of Loami before lifting 1.5 miles northwest of Chatham at 208 PM CST. In Loami, 13 homes were destroyed and 19 homes were severely damaged. In addition, the tornado produced damage to several homes, farm machinery sheds, trees, and crops along the remainder of its path. Three people sustained minor injuries from flying or falling debris in Loami.
A tornado touched down at 3:57 PM CST 3 miles south of Mechanicsburg. The tornado tracked northeastward damaging numerous outbuildings and the roofs of several homes. A trailer was flipped over, multiple power poles were snapped, and numerous trees were damaged as well before the tornado lifted 2.6 miles west of Illiopolis at 4:06 PM CST.
The tornado initially touched down in a field 6 miles southwest of Loami, then tracked northeastward and dissipated about 1 mile north of Loami. Several houses were damaged and numerous sheds and outbuildings were destroyed along the path of the tornado. Considerable tree damage was also observed. Two people were injured, including a woman who was struck by flying debris in her home and a man who was inside his barn when it collapsed.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Sangamon County, Illinois?
90 tornado events are recorded in Sangamon County between 1954 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Sangamon County?
The strongest tornado on record in Sangamon County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Sangamon 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 Sangamon County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/sangamon-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.