Record Breaking Year

Even though the Rockford area saw a fairly tranquil severe weather season in 2006, that did not hold true for the entire state. Southern Illinois was especially busy with tornadic activity. The three significant tornado outbreaks ocurred in March and April. On March 12th, there were 12 tornadoes near Springfield. On April 2nd, there were 36 tornadoes in St. Clair County. Lastly on Easter Sunday (April 16th), there were 14 tornadoes spread across the eastern half of the state. Here's a look at the Public Information Statement that was released today! -Adam

Record number of tornadoes in Illinois during 2006:

A total of 124 tornadoes were reported within the state so far in 2006...breaking the record of 120 tornadoes that occurred in 2003. The hardest hit areas were in Central and Southwest Illinois where 106 tornadoes were reported. The record number of tornadoes resulted in 1 fatality and 49 injuries.

Take a look at how many tornadoes touched down in Illinois each month:

January: 1
February: 1
March: 21
April: 60
May: 17
June: 2
July: 16
August: 0
September: 6
October: 0
November: 0
December: 0 (through the 12th)

Fujita Scale:
F0 (weak): 73
F1 (weak): 35
F2 (strong): 15
F3 (strong): 1
F4 (violent): 0
F5 (violent): 0