Sterling, IL Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Sterling is about the same as Illinois average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Sterling is much lower than Illinois average and is about the same as the national average.
Earthquake Index, #836
| Sterling, IL | 0.04 |
| Illinois | 0.24 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Sterling, IL | 0.0000 |
| Illinois | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #1472
| Sterling, IL | 140.37 |
| Illinois | 220.15 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 3,893 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Sterling, IL were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 10 | Cold: | 47 | Dense Fog: | 19 | Drought: | 30 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 321 | Hail: | 948 | Heat: | 17 | Heavy Snow: | 54 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 32 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 74 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 1,803 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 0 | Winter Storm: | 133 | Winter Weather: | 88 |
| Other: | 317 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Sterling, IL.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 1 historical earthquake event that had a recorded magnitude of 3.5 or above found in or near Sterling, IL.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 20.3 | 1972-09-15 | 3.7 | 5 | 41.59 | -89.42 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 52 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Sterling, IL.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 5.7 | 1962-05-07 | 2 | 41°48'N / 89°39'W | 41°43'N / 89°33'W | 7.20 Miles | 10 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Whiteside |
| 5.7 | 1962-05-07 | 2 | 41°48'N / 89°39'W | 41°43'N / 89°33'W | 7.20 Miles | 10 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Whiteside |
| 10.0 | 1956-08-30 | 2 | 41°48'N / 89°30'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Lee | |||
| 12.8 | 1981-03-29 | 4 | 41°41'N / 89°57'W | 41°45'N / 89°53'W | 5.10 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Whiteside |
| 14.0 | 1972-04-06 | 2 | 42°03'N / 89°36'W | 41°54'N / 89°31'W | 10.90 Miles | 50 Yards | 1 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Ogle |
| 14.8 | 1972-04-06 | 2 | 41°54'N / 89°31'W | 41°43'N / 89°18'W | 16.60 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 6 | 250K | 0 | Lee |
| 14.9 | 1979-08-05 | 3 | 42°01'N / 89°35'W | 41°57'N / 89°30'W | 5.70 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Ogle |
| 15.7 | 1966-03-21 | 2 | 41°48'N / 90°00'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Whiteside | |||
| 18.4 | 1967-04-21 | 2 | 41°37'N / 89°29'W | 41°38'N / 89°22'W | 5.60 Miles | 77 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Lee |
| 21.6 | 1967-04-21 | 2 | 41°32'N / 89°58'W | 41°32'N / 89°52'W | 4.50 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Henry |
| 22.3 | 1959-09-26 | 2 | 41°57'N / 90°06'W | 41°59'N / 90°02'W | 3.30 Miles | 40 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Carroll |
| 25.0 | 1967-01-24 | 3 | 42°03'N / 90°02'W | 42°08'N / 89°56'W | 7.40 Miles | 77 Yards | 0 | 12 | 250K | 0 | Carroll |
| 26.2 | 1955-04-18 | 2 | 42°10'N / 89°55'W | 42°10'N / 89°44'W | 9.00 Miles | 77 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Carroll |
| 26.5 | 1990-03-13 | 3 | 41°46'N / 90°13'W | 41°46'N / 90°12'W | 3.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Whiteside |
| 28.7 | 1974-06-20 | 3 | 41°59'N / 90°16'W | 41°50'N / 90°12'W | 10.60 Miles | 200 Yards | 1 | 20 | 2.5M | 0 | Clinton |
| 30.8 | 1990-03-13 | 3 | 41°37'N / 90°20'W | 41°46'N / 90°13'W | 12.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Rock Island |
| 31.0 | 1959-08-26 | 2 | 41°36'N / 90°17'W | 41°41'N / 90°14'W | 5.60 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Rock Island |
| 33.6 | 1967-04-21 | 2 | 41°26'N / 90°24'W | 41°29'N / 89°55'W | 25.10 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Henry |
| 34.3 | 1990-03-13 | 3 | 41°36'N / 90°17'W | 41°37'N / 90°20'W | 0.50 Mile | 73 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Scott |
| 34.4 | 1967-01-24 | 2 | 41°57'N / 90°20'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Clinton | |||
| 34.9 | 1967-01-24 | 2 | 41°52'N / 90°22'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Clinton | |
| 35.1 | 1974-04-21 | 2 | 41°22'N / 90°03'W | 2.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Henry | |
| 35.3 | 1951-12-06 | 3 | 41°20'N / 89°11'W | 41°39'N / 89°07'W | 21.90 Miles | 150 Yards | 1 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Bureau |
| 35.4 | 1962-05-28 | 2 | 41°25'N / 90°09'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Henry | |||
| 36.4 | 1956-04-26 | 2 | 41°29'N / 90°22'W | 41°29'N / 90°09'W | 10.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Henry |
| 36.8 | 1979-08-17 | 2 | 42°16'N / 89°21'W | 0.50 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Winnebago | |
| 40.2 | 1988-05-08 | 3 | 41°46'N / 90°45'W | 41°52'N / 90°12'W | 30.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Clinton |
| 41.6 | 1973-04-21 | 2 | 41°26'N / 90°25'W | 41°29'N / 90°18'W | 6.40 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Henry |
| 41.9 | 1976-03-04 | 3 | 41°12'N / 89°34'W | 0.80 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Bureau | |
| 42.3 | 1967-04-21 | 2 | 41°15'N / 89°20'W | 0.30 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 1 | 3K | 0 | Putnam | |
| 42.7 | 1959-09-26 | 2 | 41°10'N / 89°39'W | 41°12'N / 89°36'W | 1.90 Miles | 40 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Stark |
| 43.4 | 2004-04-20 | 2 | 41°15'N / 89°17'W | 41°18'N / 89°11'W | 6.80 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 5 | 8.0M | 0 | Putnam |
| Brief Description: Rated very high end F2 The low topped supercell that produced 2 earlier tornadoes in Stark and Marshall/Bureau counties continued to be a cyclic tornado producer. The deadliest and longest lived tornado started at 1644 CST, 0.7 miles North Northeast of Florid in Putnam County and moved northeast toward Granville. The long lived nature of the tornado was due to it riding along a warm front pushing through Putnam and La Salle counties. Satellite imagery indicated a strengthening mesocyclone at 1625 CST (2225 Z) with the formation of a new line of feeder clouds into the supercell, and KDVN 88D velocity data showed a strengthening TVS signature by 1635 CST (2235 Z). Witnesses reported a multiple vortex tornado just prior to its arrival in Granville. The tornado hit Granville at 1647-1648 CST which coincided with the failure of the main power feed into town. The town was bisected by the half mile wide tornado with 12 buildings destroyed, 45 with major damage, and 26 with minor damage (mainly residential). The Granville State National Bank lost its roof and Hopkins Elementary School lost the roof over the old gymnasium with damage in nearly all the classrooms. Significant damage also occurred to Granville Drugs, the only drug store in town. In a strange twist of irony, the town had finally recovered from a major fire 4 years earlier that decimated much of the business district. The tornado continued northeast out of Granville and crossed over into La Salle County (WFO LOT) at 1653 CST (2253 Z), 3.8 miles Northeast of Granville. The Granville/Utica tornado was the first significant test of a new statewide mutual aid response agreement. In Granville 5 people were injured by the tornado, including an eldery female who suffered a heart attack during the tornado and was eventually Life Flighted to a Peoria hospital. Injuries were low due to the 32 minutes of lead time before the tornado struck Granville. Damage in Granville is estimated to be at least $8 million with the school suffering at least $3.5 million in damage. | |||||||||||
| 44.3 | 1975-06-14 | 2 | 41°10'N / 89°33'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Bureau | |||
| 45.1 | 1959-09-26 | 2 | 41°19'N / 89°08'W | 41°21'N / 89°02'W | 5.10 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | La Salle |
| 45.3 | 1965-04-23 | 2 | 41°21'N / 90°20'W | 0.20 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Henry | |
| 45.4 | 2004-04-20 | 3 | 41°18'N / 89°11'W | 41°20'N / 89°01'W | 9.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | La Salle |
| Brief Description: The tornado entered LaSalle County from Putnam County, approximately 3 miles northeast of the town of Standard, producing F0 intensity damage in a wooded area southwest of Peru. As the tornado continued northeast, F2 intensity damage was done to several homes in a subdivision near the intersection of East 250th and 2569th Roads. Several roofs were blown off homes along with damage to external walls. Significant tree damage was done as well. Path width was estimated at 50 yards at this location. The tornado then continued northeast, crossing the Illinois River twice as it moved toward the town of Utica, downing a steel high tension tower on the north bank of the river, immediately west of Illinois 251. The tornado moved into the southwest side of Utica where it was F0 intensity. Homes along Washington Street only had tree and minor roof damage. A church steeple was damaged on Division between Johnson and Washington. Roofs and trees were more severely damaged on the south side of Johnson Street. The tornado rapidly increased to F3 intensity on the north side of Johnson Street where one home had its roof taken off and north walls blown out. A machinery building was completely destroyed on the south side of the canal and a semi-tractor trailer was blown into the canal. A large grain bin was blown across the canal and flattened. The tornado then moved north of the canal into the heart of town where several homes were severely damaged, garages were destroyed and brick buildings collapsed. Eight people died and seven were rescued from the basement of a turn of the century sandstone building at Clark and Church Streets. The tornado was approximately 250 yards wide at this point. On the east edge of the vortex along Mill Street, in downtown, buildings suffered damage to facades, roofs and windows. East of Mill Street there was damage to trees and minor roof damage. In the northeast section of town a mobile home was overturned on Grove, just east of Mill Street. The vortex crossed the railroad tracks and apparently dissipated on a steep bluff on the northeast side of town. At the top of the hill there were some trees and limbs down and some debris deposited. See Storm Data for Northwest and Central Illinois for results of Tornado Damage Survey for Putnam and Bureau Counties, IL M63BU, F41BU, F67BU, F81BU, M18BU, M49BU, F50BU, M47BU | |||||||||||
| 46.3 | 1996-04-19 | 3 | 41°12'N / 90°07'W | 41°11'N / 90°02'W | 3.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 4 | 10.0M | 0 | Henry |
| Brief Description: 10 Million in damage and 4 hospitalized as this tornado moved from Bishop Hill through Galva. At least 6 Million of damage was reported in the city limits of Galva where 150 homes were damaged, 26 received extensive damage, and 15 had to be destroyed. Extensive damage was also received to the city sewage treatment plant. A second, small and short lived tornado, did much less damage to the eastern part of town, most notably pushing over gravestones in a cemetery and downing trees. | |||||||||||
| 46.4 | 1966-04-19 | 3 | 41°30'N / 90°30'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Scott | |
| 46.5 | 1967-06-11 | 2 | 42°24'N / 90°06'W | 42°26'N / 90°01'W | 4.30 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Jo Daviess |
| 46.6 | 1974-05-13 | 3 | 41°37'N / 90°36'W | 41°40'N / 90°33'W | 3.60 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Scott |
| 46.8 | 1965-11-12 | 2 | 41°12'N / 89°18'W | 41°15'N / 89°08'W | 8.70 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Putnam |
| 46.9 | 2007-06-01 | 2 | 42°12'N / 90°25'W | 42°15'N / 90°24'W | 3.00 Miles | 350 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3.3M | 0K | Jackson |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A tornado touched down about 3.5 miles south of Bellevue, IA. It moved north to county road Z15 and then northeast crossing the Mississippi River just south of Lock and Dam 12 into Jo Daviess County Illinois. Along the path, damage consisted of snapped and uprooted trees, farm out buildings, and roofs. The most significant damage occurred near the junction of county highway Z15 and 407th Avenue. A mobile home was rolled over and destroyed. The residents of the mobile home had taken shelter in the farm house about 100 feet away. The farm house only had damaged gutters. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A line of thunderstorms pivoted northeast into parts of southeast Iowa during the mid-morning hours of June 1st. Much of the area was just breaking out of a blanket of dense fog where visibilities dropped to less than a quarter mile. Dew point temperatures were in the middle 60s to around 70 degrees. The line of storms appeared to become more broken through the late morning hours, while the area from Iowa City to Waterloo appeared to stratify out into a large area of showers. Just before 12:00 pm CDT, rapid intensification of storm cells on the southeast end of the original line occurred as it moved into northern portions of Louisa County. A tornado touched down just south of Grandview, IA and moved northeast through Fruitland, IA and on to the southwest parts of Muscatine, IA. The tornado then lifted and as the storm cell continued to move northeast across Muscatine County. The super-cell re-intensified as it entered the southeast part of Cedar County just before 1 pm producing a brief tornado near Wilton, IA. The storm then moved across northwest parts of Scott County and Clinton County producing damaging wind gusts and large hail. The super-cell continued northeast into Jackson County producing a tornado near Bellevue around 2:30 pm, which moved across the Mississippi River into Jo Daviess County before lifting. The storm produced yet another tornado just south of Scales Mound, IL around 3:15 pm before moving into southwest Wisconsin and dissipating. During the early afternoon hours, additional storms strengthened on the south end of the original line of storms, which went on to produce wind damage and large hail as they moved through northwest Illinois through the late afternoon hours. | |||||||||||
| 47.1 | 1965-04-24 | 3 | 41°09'N / 89°37'W | 41°06'N / 89°30'W | 6.50 Miles | 43 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Marshall |
| 47.5 | 1967-01-24 | 2 | 41°37'N / 90°35'W | 2.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Scott | |
| 48.2 | 1974-09-12 | 2 | 41°17'N / 89°04'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | La Salle | |||
| 48.6 | 1959-09-26 | 2 | 41°11'N / 90°22'W | 41°18'N / 90°10'W | 12.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Henry |
| 48.7 | 1958-08-30 | 2 | 42°19'N / 89°03'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Winnebago | |||
| 48.9 | 1975-06-18 | 2 | 42°03'N / 88°51'W | 42°02'N / 88°45'W | 4.70 Miles | 27 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | De Kalb |
| 49.1 | 1975-06-14 | 2 | 41°13'N / 89°09'W | 1.00 Mile | 167 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | La Salle | |
| 49.4 | 2004-04-20 | 2 | 41°21'N / 89°00'W | 41°24'N / 88°51'W | 9.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | La Salle |
| Brief Description: The tornado formed on the ridge northeast of Utica and moved across County Road 2803, west of 10th Street. A garage was destroyed and trees were damaged. The tornado became a wide multiple vortex tornado at this point. It caused damage to 2 homes, trees and outbuildings on Route 6, west of 11th Street. Part of the roof of a house was torn off. A storage building was damaged and a garage roof removed on 11th Street. A garage and grain bin were destroyed on County Road 2950. The tornado crossed I-80 at 12th Street damaging a building and flipping a semi-tractor trailer. The driver was not injured. North of I-80 a small satellite tornado formed behind the large parent tornado. It had a damage path 2 miles long and 5 to 20 yards wide. Its track was about 1/4 to 3/4 mile south of the main track. It caused no damage. The main tornado destroyed a machine shed on 13th Street and knocked down power poles. On 31st Street west of 14th big pine trees were snapped and a house suffered roof damage. A barn was destroyed on 14th north of 31st. On 32nd Street west of 15th, a two story house was hit. The top floor was mostly destroyed. A machine shed was destroyed on 16th between 32nd and 33rd. The tornado ended at 33rd and Route 23 where there was minor tree damage. | |||||||||||
| 49.4 | 1972-07-17 | 3 | 41°04'N / 89°38'W | 41°08'N / 89°21'W | 15.20 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Marshall |
| 49.7 | 1967-07-23 | 2 | 41°07'N / 89°41'W | 41°03'N / 89°31'W | 9.40 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Stark |
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.