41
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
17
Direct injuries
$11.6M
Property damage
Tornado in Rock Island County, Illinois: 41 recorded events between 1959 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #598 nationally and #30 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Rock Island County, Illinois: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Rock Island County is the 2020s, when 13 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 Rock Island County archive, tornado makes up 6.5% of all recorded severe weather across 8 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
Apr is the peak month for tornado in Rock Island County with 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990-03-13 | EF3 | 15.5 mi | 250 yd | Touched down here |
| 1978-08-15 | EF3 | 6.4 mi | 77 yd | Crossed in |
| 1974-06-14 | EF3 | 48.6 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 1966-04-19 | EF3 | 2.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2016-03-15 | EF2 | 4.8 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 2015-06-22 | EF2 | 4.2 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 1974-05-16 | EF2 | 9.2 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1973-04-21 | EF2 | 30.2 mi | 10 yd | Crossed in |
| 1959-08-26 | EF2 | 5.6 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 2025-06-03 | EF1 | 3.8 mi | 100 yd | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 16, 2016 | BARSTOW | EF2 | 0 | 10 | $750K |
| Apr 4, 1981 | F1 | 0 | 4 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 21, 1973 | F2 | 0 | 2 | $2.5M | |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F3 | 0 | 1 | $2.5M |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 4, 2025 | TAYLOR RIDGE | EF1 | $0 |
| Jun 4, 2025 | REYNOLDS | EF1 | $0 |
| Jun 3, 2025 | EDGINGTON | EF1 | $0 |
| Jun 3, 2025 | EDGINGTON | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 21, 2025 | CORDOVA | EF0 | $1K |
| Jul 16, 2024 | EAST MOLINE | EF1 | $0 |
| Jul 16, 2024 | ANDALUSIA | EF1 | $0 |
| Jul 16, 2024 | ILLINOIS CITY | EF0 | $0 |
| May 24, 2024 | TAYLOR RIDGE | EF1 | $0 |
| Apr 4, 2023 | FRUITLAND | EF1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Rock Island County
- Thunderstorm Wind 301
- Hail 152
- Flood 71
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An EF-2 tornado tracked north then curved to the east through upper Rock Island county. An estimated 40 homes were damaged with the most severe damage to a neighborhood in rural East Moline where 10 homes were completely destroyed. Ten people reported minor injuries. The maximum wind with this tornado were estimated at 130 mph.
Port Byron, Hillsdale, and Cordova were the hardest hit communities from this tornado. The Gerald Smeltzly farm sustained $50.000 of damage and the Jimmy Franks farm received $30.000 of damage. Most out buildings received heavy damage while both homes received moderate damage. A tree branch was blown through the bedroom wall of the Smeltzly home protruding into the home at least a foot.
An EF1 tornado touched down in Andalusia, IL around 445 pm CDT and traveled north-northeast. This weak tornado crossed the Mississippi River into Scott County and moved through eastern sections of Buffalo, IA. Wind speeds were estimated to be 95 mph. Some large trees were snapped and uprooted along the path. Some of the fallen trees fell onto houses.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Rock Island County, Illinois?
41 tornado events are recorded in Rock Island County between 1959 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Rock Island County?
The strongest tornado on record in Rock Island County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Rock Island 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 Rock Island County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/rock-island-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.