167
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$9.8M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Franklin County, Illinois: 167 recorded events between 1962 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 83. That places the county #1,350 nationally and #52 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Franklin County, Illinois: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Franklin County is the 2000s, when 46 of the county's 167 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 Franklin County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 38.4% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #1,350 for this hazard and #52 within Illinois, putting it in the 57.1 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Franklin County with 35 recorded events, while Nov 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 2004 | COUNTYWIDE | 65 | 0 | 2 | $70K |
| Jun 21, 2011 | SESSER | 78 | 0 | 1 | $250K |
| Oct 24, 2001 | ROYALTON | 0 | 0 | 1 | $50K |
| Oct 24, 2001 | BENTON | 70 | 0 | 1 | $75K |
| Apr 15, 1994 | Whittington | 0 | 0 | 1 | $50K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 19, 2025 | WEST FRANKFORT | 83 | $3K |
| Oct 19, 2025 | CHRISTOPHER | 83 | $35K |
| Sep 15, 2025 | NORTH CITY | 52 | $3K |
| Sep 14, 2025 | REND CITY | 70 | $25K |
| Jul 30, 2024 | SESSER | 52 | $1K |
| Jul 30, 2024 | CHRISTOPHER | 56 | $10K |
| Jul 30, 2024 | BENTON MUNI ARPT | 65 | $25K |
| Jul 12, 2024 | SESSER | 56 | $40K |
| Jul 12, 2024 | BENTON MUNI ARPT | 65 | $65K |
| Jul 11, 2024 | SESSER | 65 | $75K |
Other hazards here
More from Franklin County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A microburst with peak winds around 90 mph caused major damage in Sesser. At least 100 homes were damaged in the small community, mostly by falling trees. The storm snapped or uprooted hundreds of trees, including about 100 in Sesser. At least eight utility poles were broken by fallen trees. A building under construction in Sesser was levelled. Some homes and businesses in and near Sesser lost shingles. Due to power outages and debris on roads, a curfew was issued for Sesser. All of the damage was in the northern part of town. An 18-foot camper at Wayne Fitzgerrell campground on Rend Lake was overturned, injuring one person. In Sesser, a man removing a tree from a roof was injured during the cleanup (indirect injury). The path length of the microburst was about five miles. The path width was a couple of miles.
A thunderstorm macroburst with peak winds from 80 to 90 MPH damaged numerous buildings. A few storage buildings and several weak structures such as barns were destroyed. The damage path length was about 3 miles, and the width was up to 880 yards. A lumberyard on Highway 148 was extensively damaged. Several large trees were uprooted. Two metal warehouses were damaged, a carport was destroyed, and a storage shed roof was damaged. A double wide mobile home was unroofed, and another mobile home had one side blown off.
In Christopher, a large portion of the roof was torn off an elementary school. About 2200 square feet was lifted off. Ten classrooms were flooded by rainwater. The water brought down ceiling tiles in four classrooms. There were about 16 inches of water in some parts of the school. In Benton, wind took down three sections of vinyl fencing. It also tore the facing off the front of a house.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Franklin County, Illinois?
167 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Franklin County between 1962 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Franklin County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Franklin County measured 83.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Franklin 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 Franklin County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/franklin-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.