Illinois, 1976
The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.
NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders.
Events by hazard
Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1976 was 157 against 300 in 1975.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Mar 1976 | Cook | Tornado | F2 | $2,500,000 | 2 | 41 |
| 13 Jun 1976 | Cook | Tornado | F4 | $2,500,000 | 2 | 23 |
| 12 Mar 1976 | DuPage | Tornado | F2 | $2,500,000 | — | 25 |
| 20 Mar 1976 | Champaign | Tornado | F4 | $2,500,000 | — | 11 |
| 20 Mar 1976 | Piatt | Tornado | F4 | $2,500,000 | — | 5 |
| 20 Mar 1976 | Montgomery | Tornado | F3 | $250,000 | — | 4 |
| 12 Mar 1976 | DuPage | Tornado | F3 | $2,500,000 | — | 3 |
| 20 Mar 1976 | Macon | Tornado | F4 | $2,500,000 | — | 2 |
| 20 Apr 1976 | Lake | Tornado | F2 | $25,000 | — | 2 |
| 11 Aug 1976 | Fulton | Tornado | F2 | $250,000 | — | 1 |
| 16 Feb 1976 | Union | Tornado | F2 | $25,000 | — | 1 |
| 20 Mar 1976 | Vermilion | Tornado | F4 | $2,500,000 | — | — |
| 12 Mar 1976 | Kendall | Tornado | F3 | $2,500,000 | — | — |
| 26 Mar 1976 | Tazewell | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 26 Mar 1976 | Woodford | Tornado | F2 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 29 Jun 1976 | Peoria | Tornado | F4 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 13 Jun 1976 | DuPage | Tornado | F4 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 20 Mar 1976 | St. Clair | Tornado | F2 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 20 Mar 1976 | Washington | Tornado | F2 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 20 Mar 1976 | Marion | Tornado | F2 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 12 Mar 1976 | Kankakee | Tornado | F3 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 20 Mar 1976 | Christian | Tornado | F3 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 4 Mar 1976 | Bureau | Tornado | F3 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 16 Feb 1976 | Christian | Tornado | F2 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 20 Mar 1976 | Jasper | Tornado | F0 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 20 Mar 1976 | Crawford | Tornado | F1 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 20 Mar 1976 | Clark | Tornado | F1 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 23 Apr 1976 | Iroquois | Tornado | F2 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 23 Apr 1976 | Iroquois | Tornado | F2 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 30 May 1976 | White | Tornado | F2 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 28 Jul 1976 | McLean | Tornado | F2 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 28 Jul 1976 | Madison | Tornado | F3 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 29 Jun 1976 | McLean | Tornado | F2 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 4 Mar 1976 | Knox | Tornado | F2 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 29 Jun 1976 | Woodford | Tornado | F0 | $2,500 | — | — |
| 15 May 1976 | Champaign | Tornado | F0 | $250 | — | — |
| 28 Jul 1976 | McLean | Tornado | F0 | $250 | — | — |
Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.
Federal disaster declarations in 1976
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Jun 1976 | DR-509 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | 2 |
Flood insurance claims with a 1976 date of loss
No NFIP claims in Illinois carry a 1976 date of loss. The NFIP claims file begins with 1978 losses.
Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (1 Oct 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 1 Oct 2026.