Illinois Records Second-Most Tornadoes In The U.S. In 2025

Now that 2025 is in the books, data shows that the year was busy for tornadoes, and included the first EF5 tornado since 2013.

In Illinois, the state recorded more tornadoes in 2025 than it did in 2024. The Prairie State was second on the list of states which recorded the most tornadoes this year.

Illinois recorded 146 tornadoes, which was only beat by Texas with 146 tornadoes. In 2024, the state recorded 126 tornadoes and was fourth in the nation.

According to the National Weather Service Chicago, the year got off to an early start with four severe weather events in March and early April which produced an average year's worth of tornadoes over the span of three weeks.

"Fortunately, the peak of our severe weather season was much more tame with respect to tornadoes," the weather service said.

In a rare turn of events, Illinois also saw six December tornadoes on Dec. 28, the weather service said.

According to AccuWeather, 2025 was on track to be the worst tornado season in 14 years after tornado outbreaks in the spring.

"However, tornado activity started to decline in June. This, paired with a lack of landfalling U.S. hurricanes and a lackluster second severe weather season, kept the tornado count from spiking, with 2025 ending with the fourth-highest tornado count for the last 15 years," AccuWeather said.

In June, we also saw the first EF5 tornado since 2013, which was recorded in North Dakota.

AccuWeather said that Texas usually tops the annual tornado list, while other state sin the Plains, Midwest and Southeast will round out the top five.