Illinois breaks all-time tornado record following June 17 storms

Illinois broke its annual tornado record Wednesday as several severe storms ravaged their way across the state, according to Accuweather.

Buildings in Effingham, Blue Mound and Montrose were damaged, with the roof ripped off a Blue Mound elementary school.

Illinois leads US in tornadoes this year

Accuweather reported Monday that Illinois had reached a preliminary count of 145 tornadoes in 2026 – just two shy of the 147 finalized reports in 2025.

"Last year's Illinois tornado count was higher than any year since 1950," AccuWeather Social Media Producer Jesse Ferrell added.

This made Illinois the state with the most preliminary tornado reports in 2026 by nearly double, followed by Mississippi with 82 reports.

Illinois breaks annual tornado record

At least five tornadoes were reported to the National Weather Service Wednesday, with multiple confirmed tornadoes breaking Illinois' annual record, according to Accuweather.

The NWS received preliminary reports of tornadoes in the following areas:

• Mattoon (2)
• Montrose
• Dieterich
• Shumway

NWS survey crews still have yet to visit the sites to confirm where tornadoes touched down and assign each a rating on the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale.