Illinois Has Had More Tornadoes In 2023 Than Any Other State

Illinois has had more tornadoes than any other state so far in 2023, according to the National Weather Service.

The Prairie State has experienced 91 tornadoes this year as of Tuesday, trailed by Alabama with 80 and Georgia with 45, according to the service’s Annual Severe Weather Report Summary.

State Climatologist Says Tornado Alley May Be Shifting To Include Illinois

Illinois has also had the second-highest total number of severe weather events — categorized as tornadoes, hail and wind — in the country for 2023 thus far, with 564, the service said. Texas has had 885.

Among the tornadoes Illinois has seen in 2023 are 16 that hit March 31, killing four people.

One person died and 40 were hurt after an EF-1 tornado caused a portion of the roof to collapse at the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere. Fred Livingston Jr., 50, was killed in the roof collapse, which happened during a heavy metal concert at the theater.

Three people were also killed and eight were injured when a tornado struck Crawford County near New Hebron, destroying dozens of homes.

Several of the 16 tornadoes the state saw at the end of March hit Chicago suburbs, including Plainfield, Lombard to Addison, and Montgomery to Aurora.

Tornado frequency typically peaks between April and June for the state, according to the University of Illinois, which reported the state averaged 54 tornadoes annually between 1991 and 2020.