282
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$2.2M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Kankakee County, Illinois: 282 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 80. That places the county #523 nationally and #23 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Kankakee County, Illinois: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Kankakee County is the 2010s, when 83 of the county's 282 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 Kankakee County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 50.2% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #523 for this hazard and #23 within Illinois, putting it in the 83.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Kankakee County with 68 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.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 27, 1986 | 80 | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| Aug 23, 2007 | BOURBONNAIS | 60 | 0 | 3 | $500K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 2026 | MOMENCE | 55 | $0 |
| Apr 17, 2026 | KANKAKEE | 56 | $0 |
| Apr 17, 2026 | MANTENO | 56 | $0 |
| Apr 17, 2026 | BONFIELD | 56 | $0 |
| Apr 17, 2026 | BUCKINGHAM | 56 | $0 |
| Apr 13, 2026 | MANTENO | 55 | $0 |
| Apr 13, 2026 | CHEBANSE | 50 | $0 |
| Apr 13, 2026 | GOODRICH | 50 | $0 |
| Jul 24, 2025 | MANTENO | 50 | $0 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | MANTENO | 51 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Kankakee County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Several houses received minor wind damage with five homes suffering significant damage. Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down. Three people suffered minor injuries from flying debris. One man was injured when part of a roof landed on his vehicle.
Trees were blown down on Cobb Street. A 12 to 16 inch diameter tree was uprooted and fell onto a car. The driver was not injured. Three large trees were blown down on Main Street near the hospital, along with many large tree limbs. Tree limbs and power lines were blown down across much of the city of Kankakee. A large tree was uprooted and fell onto a house on Nelson Avenue causing severe damage to the first and second floors of the house. Several large tree limbs were blown onto a house on South Seventh Avenue.
Extensive wind damage occurred across southern parts of the City of Kankakee. The damage began along West Jeffery Street and extended east of the Cobb Park area. Many roads were impassable across these locations due to downed trees. Several very large trees were uprooted and power lines were blown down. One very large tree landed on the roof of a home across the western portion of the main area of damage. About two dozen of the city's oldest trees in Cobb Park were damaged. A car was crushed and destroyed by a falling tree on South Wildwood Avenue. A tree limb was thrown through the windshield of a second car and a third car was damaged on South Greenwood Avenue. Wind gusts were estimated between 80 and 100 mph.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Kankakee County, Illinois?
282 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Kankakee County between 1957 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Kankakee County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Kankakee County measured 80.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Kankakee 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 Kankakee County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/kankakee-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.