Fox Weather: Illinois “has really become the place to watch” for tornadoes.
Illinois has ALREADY crushed their state record for the number of tornadoes in one year. The old record was 142 (2024) and this year we are approaching 200 tornadoes after this weekends spinners. Illinois has seen more tornadoes than any other state since 2015 according to an article from
@nbcchicago late last week. It’s the third time in the last four years Illinois has led the country in tornadoes. TX holds the record for the most tornadoes in a single year with 244 back in 2015. That data set goes back to 1950. Phones and a sprawling population certainly allow us to miss very little these days. No one knows where the rest of the year goes in IL After a very low tornado count in May, June has brought us back above average for 2026 nationally.
Below, phenomenal reporting and graphs from NBC Chicago station WMAQ.
Illinois has seen more tornadoes this year than any other state since 2015.
That year, Texas had a staggering 244 tornadoes – the higher number for any state in any year since tornado records began in 1950.
The preliminary tornado reports for Illinois so far this year are up to 168, but that number continues to climb as more damage surveys are conducted from recent storms. That number already shatters the previous state record of 142 from 2024.
It’s the third time in the last four years Illinois has led the country in tornadoes. So far this year, the state with the second-most tornadoes is Mississippi with 83 – that’s less than half of what Illinois has seen.
Illinois is average 118 tornadoes per year over the past five years, but the 30-year climate average is just 64. Tornadoes are trending up across the Midwest and the South and down over the central and southern Plains.
Why the change?
Warmer air holds more moisture, and the warming climate is shifting warmer and more-humid air farther north and east than in the past. Meanwhile, hotter and drier air has been spilling out of the southwest over the central and southern plains more frequently.
Texas has had the most tornadoes in 50 of the last 60 years, but for only four of the last 10 years.
Here’s a breakdown by decade:
From 1996 to 2005 Kansas and Texas had many more tornadoes per year, and Illinois averaged fewer than 60.
From 2016 to 2025, Texas and Kansas had a 25% and 45% decrease, respectively, while Illinois had a 22% increase.
In the last five years, Illinois, including so far in 2026, has averaged 118 tornadoes. Kansas, meanwhile, sits around 50, and Texas has had around 100.
While some down-seasons are possible in the years ahead, the ingredients for severe storms are expected to continue to increase due to climate change.
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Here, report from a Wisconsin station. Based on recent research, tornado alley has been seen to be shifting generally East, and South – which is concerning enough, but as Illinois demonstrates, what we are seeing is tornadoes popping up in places, and times of year, that we don’t expect them, and that’s concerning.