Illinois Just Set a National Record for Tornadoes in a Single Year

It has been a record-breaking year for the state of Illinois, but not in a good way. The Land of Lincoln recently set a new U.S. state record for the most tornadoes in a year. Let's take a deeper dive into this statistic.

An Unlikely State Leads the U.S. in Preliminary Tornadoes

Although it has been a relatively calm year for most of Tornado Alley, the volume of twisters is significantly up in the Midwest. The prevalence of tornadoes in this part of the nation has resulted in a new national record belonging to the state of Illinois, an unlikely place to see this much tornadic activity.

According to the Storm Prediction Center (SPC), Illinois has notched 243 preliminary tornadoes thus far in 2026. This figure exceeds the count of any other state for a full calendar year, going back to 1950.

The early numbers coming out of Illinois include five EF3 tornadoes, as classified on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. The strongest twister to hit the state thus far this year was the Kankakee-Roselawn tornado. This event killed people when it roared through the state with 160 mph winds on March 10. The other EF3 tornadoes were the Effingham, Dix, Washburn, and Long Point-Streator events.