Tornado Maps of Chicago and Illinois

Jim Angel, state climatologist

While the Great Plains states are known for tornado activity, tornadoes frequently occur in Illinois with numbers that are comparable to those in "tornado alley". Here are several maps showing the geographic distribution of tornadoes across the Chicago area, Illinois, and the U.S. for selected time periods. These maps were generated using data through 2004 and software from the NOAA Storm Prediction Center. The files from 1950-1998 were from an earlier study.

Chicago

Chicago tornado touchdowns 1950-1998

Chicago tornado tracks 1950-2004

Chicago tornado tracks 1985-2004

Chicago tornado tracks 1995-2004

Illinois

Illinois tornado touchdowns 1950-1998	Illinois tornado tracks 1950-2004	Illinois tornado tracks 1985-2004	Illinois tornado tracks 1995-2004
Illinois tornado tracks 1995	Illinois tornado tracks 1996	Illinois tornado tracks 1997	Illinois tornado tracks 1998
Illinois tornado tracks 1999	Illinois tornado tracks 2000	Illinois tornado tracks 2001	Illinois tornado tracks 2002
Illinois tornado tracks 2003	Illinois tornado tracks 2004