Illinois high wind and dust storms

Every recorded high wind record since 1996 · 102 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 2,862 high wind and dust records in Illinois from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 90 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the May 1, 2023 dust storm in Montgomery County: 8 deaths and 37 injuries. Illinois ranks 18th of 52 states and territories by count and 21st of 51 per square mile.

High wind and dust storms in Illinois, 1996 to 2026

Wind records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

recorded, no damage figure
under $1 million
$1 million or more
$10 million or more
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
$1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
a year with a death

Records: 2,8621996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 90average
Deaths: 25119 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $73Mas filed
Busiest year: 2019197 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are high wind and dust records common in Illinois?

Illinois averages about 90 high wind and dust records a year since 2000, 18th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2019 (197). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Illinois records 516 high wind and dust records since 1996, 21st of 51 states and territories by that measure.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Illinois have the most high wind and dust records?

Per square mile, Alexander County leads Illinois: 100 days with a high wind record since 1996, 424.8 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Jackson County has the most wind records (138 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

Alexander County 424.8 (100)
Hardin County 355.2 (63)
Wabash County 349.3 (78)
Edwards County 332.7 (100)
Pulaski County 331.2 (66)
Massac County 274.1 (65)
Union County 234.6 (118)
Gallatin County 210.6 (68)
Williamson County 202.3 (86)
Jackson County 197.1 (138)
Saline County 186.8 (91)
Johnson County 186.2 (64)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is the windy season in Illinois?

Illinois's high wind and dust records by month. The busiest month is March (630 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 180 · Feb 421 · Mar 630 · Apr 429 · May 218 · Jun 60 · Jul 5 · Aug 1 · Sep 106 · Oct 176 · Nov 360 · Dec 276 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest high wind and dust records in Illinois?

Illinois: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2023-05-01	Dust StormMontgomery County · forecast zone Montgomery Northwest winds gusting from 35-40 mph lofted dust from newly plowed farm fields resulting in near zero visibility across portions of northern Montgomery County in Illinois. The blowing dust significantly reduced visibility across portions of I-55 from Zanesville (Exit 63) north to Glenarm (Exit 83 – Sangamon County ...		8	37	–
2002-03-09	High WindCook County · forecast zone Cook Strong low pressure moved across the upper midwest on Saturday, March 9th. Winds were sustained between 40 and 50 mph during most the afternoon and evening hours, with wind gusts to 60 mph. Trees, branches, utility poles and wires were blown down across all of north central and northeast Illinois. Three people were ...	50 kt wind	4	4	$328K
2017-05-17	Strong WindDouglas County · forecast zone Douglas One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Strong southerly winds gusting to between 35 and 45mph lifted dust from recently dried fields to create significant reductions in visibility across central Illinois during the afternoon and evening of May 17th. Blowing dust cut the visibility to near zero in some locations, prompting closures of several major ...	39 kt wind	2	4	–
2017-11-18	Strong WindUnion County · forecast zone Union A cold front surged southeast from Missouri across the lower Ohio Valley. Ahead of the front, strong south winds gusted close to 40 mph in some places. Immediately following the passage of the cold front and its associated line of thunderstorms, a short period of strong northwest winds occurred. At the Carbondale ...	36 kt wind	2	0	$18K
2004-03-05	High WindEdgar County · forecast zone Edgar One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A strong area of low pressure moved from Iowa into Wisconsin during the day on March 5th. This system created gradient winds over Illinois beginning in the mid morning hours. Wind gusts to 58 mph were reported at the Galesburg Municipal Airport and at the Greater Peoria Regional Airport. Also, there were numerous ...	50 kt wind	1	6	–
2024-06-17	Strong WindCook County · forecast zone Central Cook County On the morning of the 17th, two 16-year-olds, one boy and one girl, were on a raft near Montrose Beach when strong winds allegedly caused their raft to flip over. A bystander pulled the girl to shore but officials were unable to recover the boy before he drowned. At the time, winds at Montrose harbor were peaking in ...	23 kt wind	1	1	–
2024-06-06	High WindCook County · forecast zone Cook An iron worker died and one other was injured after scaffolding collapsed in Chicago. Officials say two men were working on the University of Chicago cancer pavilion when high winds caused the scaffolding to collapse leaving the two to fall eight stories. One of the men had died on site while the other was transported ...	39 kt wind	1	1	–
2008-05-11	Strong WindRandolph County · forecast zone Randolph A 25 year old woman was killed near Sparta along Highway 154 about 10:40 am when a large tree limb struck the windshield of the SUV she was driving. Her 3 year-old son who was in a carseat in the backseat was not hurt.	44 kt wind	1	1	$4K
2001-04-07	High WindMcHenry County · forecast zone McHenry Sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts over 50 mph occurred throughout northern Illinois. Peak gusts reached 59 mph at Waukegan, 58 mph at Rockford, 50 mph at O'hare airport in Chicago, 50 mph at Meigs Field in Chicago, 52 mph at Midway airport in Chicago, 56 mph at Lake Villa, 52 mph in Carpentersville, 54 mph at ...	46 kt wind	1	1	–
2010-10-26	Strong WindEffingham County · forecast zone Effingham Forty to fifty mile per hour wind gusts resulted in damage to numerous trees and tree limbs. During clean-up of the damaged trees, a 42-year old Effingham man fell from within a tree and died on October 29th due to injuries sustained from the fall.	43 kt wind	1	0	–

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest high wind and dust records in Illinois

Illinois: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Damage
2008-09-14	High WindMassac County · forecast zone Massac One storm episode: 14 records in 14 places; the totals are the episode's.	52 kt wind	$50M
2009-02-11	High WindSangamon County · forecast zone Sangamon	52 kt wind	$4.1M
2003-05-09	High WindStephenson County · forecast zone Stephenson	65 kt wind	$3.2M
2003-05-04	High WindCarroll County · forecast zone Carroll One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's.	48 kt wind	$1.6M
1997-04-06	High WindRock Island County · forecast zone Rock Island One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's.		$919K
2010-10-26	High WindCook County · forecast zone Cook	50 kt wind	$677K
2003-05-11	High WindBureau County · forecast zone Bureau	42 kt wind	$401K
2008-01-29	High WindLaSalle County · forecast zone La Salle	52 kt wind	$343K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are high wind and dust records becoming more frequent in Illinois?

Illinois's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

High wind and dust storms: Illinois and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Illinois	United States	Illinois's share
1996-99	414	14,026	3.0%
2000s	710	37,254	1.9%
2010s	939	41,748	2.2%
2020-26	799	36,300	2.2%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent high wind and dust records in Illinois

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Character	Damage
2026-06-28	High WindCook County · forecast zone Northern Cook County	52 kt wind	–
2026-06-28	High WindMcHenry County · forecast zone McHenry	52 kt wind	–
2026-06-17	High WindDuPage County · forecast zone Du Page	50 kt wind	–
2026-06-17	High WindDuPage County · forecast zone Du Page	50 kt wind	–
2026-06-17	High WindCook County · forecast zone Cook	51 kt wind	–
2026-06-17	Strong WindMarion County · forecast zone Marion	49 kt wind	–
2026-06-17	Strong WindMarion County · forecast zone Marion	49 kt wind	$150K
2026-06-11	High WindKane County · forecast zone Kane	52 kt wind	–
2026-06-11	High WindLaSalle County · forecast zone La Salle	51 kt wind	–
2026-06-11	High WindDeKalb County · forecast zone De Kalb	56 kt wind	–
2026-05-04	Dust StormChampaign County · forecast zone Champaign		–
2026-05-04	Dust StormMcLean County · forecast zone McLean		–

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.