43
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$5.6M
Property damage
Tornado in Whiteside County, Illinois: 43 recorded events between 1961 and 2026. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #537 nationally and #26 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Whiteside County, Illinois: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Whiteside County is the 2020s, when 13 of the county's 43 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 Whiteside County archive, tornado makes up 7.7% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #537 for this hazard and #26 within Illinois, putting it in the 81.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Whiteside County with 11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981-03-29 | EF4 | 5.1 mi | 33 yd | Touched down here |
| 1990-03-13 | EF3 | 15.5 mi | 250 yd | Crossed in |
| 1995-07-27 | EF2 | 20.0 mi | 400 yd | Crossed in |
| 1966-03-21 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 300 yd | Touched down here |
| 1962-05-07 | EF2 | 7.2 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1962-05-07 | EF2 | 7.2 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1959-08-26 | EF2 | 5.6 mi | 50 yd | Crossed in |
| 2023-03-31 | EF1 | 13.9 mi | 150 yd | Crossed in |
| 2023-04-20 | EF1 | 5.9 mi | 300 yd | Touched down here |
| 2022-03-05 | EF1 | 4.0 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2, 1961 | F1 | 0 | 4 | $25K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2, 2026 | PENROSE | EF1 | $0 |
| Apr 2, 2026 | DOUGLAS PARK | EF1 | $0 |
| May 24, 2024 | DEER GROVE | EFU | $0 |
| Jul 29, 2023 | EAST CLINTON | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 20, 2023 | MORRISON | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | DEER GROVE | EF1 | $0 |
| Mar 6, 2022 | ERIE | EF1 | $0 |
| Nov 10, 2020 | MORRISON-ROCKWOOD SP | EF1 | $0 |
| Nov 10, 2020 | ROUND GROVE | EF1 | $0 |
| Nov 10, 2020 | ALBANY | EF1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Whiteside County
- Thunderstorm Wind 273
- Hail 163
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Tornado was rated an EF-1 which touched down on the eastern shore of the Mississippi River and hit the city of Fulton Illinois. The tornado tracked east northeast and caused damage to mainly trees and a cemetery along its 3.7 mile path and max width of 150 yards. Two garages and one farm outbuilding, and some corn were also damaged.
A tornado uprooted a tree, damaged shingles and siding on two homes, and overturned a short portion of an irrigation rig. The damage was rated EF0 with winds estimated at 80 MPH. The path was about 50 yards wide and roughly 1.5 miles long.
A small tornado touched down briefly causing little if any damage. A major outbreak of tornado and severe weather occurred across eastern Iowa and parts of northwest and west-central Illinois. There were no injuries or fatalities. Total damage estimates across northwest Illinois were well in excess of $5 million.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Whiteside County, Illinois?
43 tornado events are recorded in Whiteside County between 1961 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Whiteside County?
The strongest tornado on record in Whiteside County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Whiteside 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 Whiteside County, Illinois.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/illinois/whiteside-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.