450
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
78
Direct injuries
$5.1M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Sangamon County, Illinois: 450 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 95. That places the county #153 nationally and #6 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Sangamon County, Illinois: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Sangamon County is the 2010s, when 128 of the county's 450 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, thunderstorm wind makes up 47.7% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #153 for this hazard and #6 within Illinois, putting it in the 95.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Sangamon County with 116 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.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 17, 1987 | 70 | 0 | 58 | $0 | |
| Nov 16, 1988 | 0 | 0 | 8 | $0 | |
| May 25, 1989 | 0 | 0 | 6 | $0 | |
| May 25, 2004 | COUNTYWIDE | 69 | 0 | 2 | $80K |
| Jul 19, 2006 | CANTRALL | 56 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 20, 2002 | PLEASANT PLAINS | 64 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 21, 2000 | SPRINGFIELD | 0 | 0 | 1 | $11K |
| Sep 10, 1992 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 15, 2026 | CHATHAM | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 8, 2025 | MECHANICSBURG | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 18, 2025 | DIVERNON | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 8, 2025 | STARNES | 52 | $0 |
| May 16, 2025 | MILDRED | 61 | $0 |
| May 16, 2025 | MECHANICSBURG | 61 | $0 |
| Apr 2, 2025 | SHERMAN | 61 | $0 |
| Mar 19, 2025 | AUBURN | 61 | $0 |
| Mar 19, 2025 | SALISBURY | 61 | $0 |
| Mar 15, 2025 | NEW BERLIN | 61 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Sangamon County
- Hail 314
- Tornado 90
- Flash Flood 65
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Forty eight mobile homes were damaged at the Lincoln Place Mobile Home Park about a mile south of Riverton. Several large trees were uprooted just west of the park and numerous large tree branches were broken off and blown onto homes within the park. No injuries were reported.
A downburst damaged a garage on one house in the Panther Creek Subdivion then moved to the east, knocking down numerous trees and causing some siding and roof damage to several homes. It also blew down a barn where several antique cars were stored and destroyed an uncompleted room addition on one house in Rochester. Damage was estimated around $300,000.
Two empty semis were blown over on I-72 one mile north of Curran. Neither driver was injured. Also, fourteen power poles on the southwest side of Springfield were blown over, trapping several cars and their occupants for half an hour.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Sangamon County, Illinois?
450 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Sangamon County between 1955 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Sangamon County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Sangamon County measured 95.
Where does the thunderstorm wind 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
“Thunderstorm Wind in Sangamon County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/sangamon-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.