Local Data Search

 
USA.com / Illinois / Sterling, IL / Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes

Sterling, IL Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes

 
Hot Rankings
Fastest / Slowest Growing Cities Nearby
Best / Worst Cities by Crime Rate Nearby
Richest / Poorest Cities by Income Nearby
Expensive / Cheapest Homes Nearby
Most / Least Educated Cities Nearby
Fastest / Slowest Growing Cities in IL
High / Low IL Cities by Males Employed
High / Low IL Cities by Females Employed
Best / Worst Cities by Crime Rate in IL
Richest / Poorest Cities by Income in IL
Expensive / Cheapest Homes by City in IL
Most / Least Educated Cities in IL

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.

Topics:Earthquake IndexVolcano IndexTornado IndexOther Weather Extremes EventsVolcanos NearbyHistorical Earthquake EventsHistorical Tornado Events

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:

TypeCountTypeCountTypeCountTypeCountTypeCount
Avalanche:0Blizzard:10Cold:47Dense Fog:19Drought:30
Dust Storm:0Flood:321Hail:948Heat:17Heavy Snow:54
High Surf:0Hurricane:0Ice Storm:32Landslide:0Strong Wind:74
Thunderstorm Winds:1,803Tropical Storm:0Wildfire:0Winter Storm:133Winter 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)DateMagnitudeDepth (km)LatitudeLongitude
20.31972-09-153.7541.59-89.42

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)DateMagnitudeStart Lat/LogEnd Lat/LogLengthWidthFatalitiesInjuriesProperty DamageCrop DamageAffected County
5.71962-05-07241°48'N / 89°39'W41°43'N / 89°33'W7.20 Miles10 Yards000K0Whiteside
5.71962-05-07241°48'N / 89°39'W41°43'N / 89°33'W7.20 Miles10 Yards000K0Whiteside
10.01956-08-30241°48'N / 89°30'W003K0Lee
12.81981-03-29441°41'N / 89°57'W41°45'N / 89°53'W5.10 Miles33 Yards002.5M0Whiteside
14.01972-04-06242°03'N / 89°36'W41°54'N / 89°31'W10.90 Miles50 Yards13250K0Ogle
14.81972-04-06241°54'N / 89°31'W41°43'N / 89°18'W16.60 Miles50 Yards06250K0Lee
14.91979-08-05342°01'N / 89°35'W41°57'N / 89°30'W5.70 Miles67 Yards002.5M0Ogle
15.71966-03-21241°48'N / 90°00'W0025K0Whiteside
18.41967-04-21241°37'N / 89°29'W41°38'N / 89°22'W5.60 Miles77 Yards0025K0Lee
21.61967-04-21241°32'N / 89°58'W41°32'N / 89°52'W4.50 Miles300 Yards0025K0Henry
22.31959-09-26241°57'N / 90°06'W41°59'N / 90°02'W3.30 Miles40 Yards0025K0Carroll
25.01967-01-24342°03'N / 90°02'W42°08'N / 89°56'W7.40 Miles77 Yards012250K0Carroll
26.21955-04-18242°10'N / 89°55'W42°10'N / 89°44'W9.00 Miles77 Yards000K0Carroll
26.51990-03-13341°46'N / 90°13'W41°46'N / 90°12'W3.00 Miles250 Yards002.5M0Whiteside
28.71974-06-20341°59'N / 90°16'W41°50'N / 90°12'W10.60 Miles200 Yards1202.5M0Clinton
30.81990-03-13341°37'N / 90°20'W41°46'N / 90°13'W12.00 Miles250 Yards012.5M0Rock Island
31.01959-08-26241°36'N / 90°17'W41°41'N / 90°14'W5.60 Miles50 Yards0025K0Rock Island
33.61967-04-21241°26'N / 90°24'W41°29'N / 89°55'W25.10 Miles300 Yards00250K0Henry
34.31990-03-13341°36'N / 90°17'W41°37'N / 90°20'W0.50 Mile73 Yards00250K0Scott
34.41967-01-24241°57'N / 90°20'W00250K0Clinton
34.91967-01-24241°52'N / 90°22'W1.00 Mile200 Yards0025K0Clinton
35.11974-04-21241°22'N / 90°03'W2.00 Miles50 Yards003K0Henry
35.31951-12-06341°20'N / 89°11'W41°39'N / 89°07'W21.90 Miles150 Yards11250K0Bureau
35.41962-05-28241°25'N / 90°09'W00250K0Henry
36.41956-04-26241°29'N / 90°22'W41°29'N / 90°09'W10.90 Miles33 Yards00250K0Henry
36.81979-08-17242°16'N / 89°21'W0.50 Mile50 Yards00250K0Winnebago
40.21988-05-08341°46'N / 90°45'W41°52'N / 90°12'W30.00 Miles150 Yards0025.0M0Clinton
41.61973-04-21241°26'N / 90°25'W41°29'N / 90°18'W6.40 Miles33 Yards002.5M0Henry
41.91976-03-04341°12'N / 89°34'W0.80 Mile100 Yards00250K0Bureau
42.31967-04-21241°15'N / 89°20'W0.30 Mile30 Yards013K0Putnam
42.71959-09-26241°10'N / 89°39'W41°12'N / 89°36'W1.90 Miles40 Yards0025K0Stark
43.42004-04-20241°15'N / 89°17'W41°18'N / 89°11'W6.80 Miles880 Yards058.0M0Putnam
 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.
44.31975-06-14241°10'N / 89°33'W00250K0Bureau
45.11959-09-26241°19'N / 89°08'W41°21'N / 89°02'W5.10 Miles33 Yards0025K0La Salle
45.31965-04-23241°21'N / 90°20'W0.20 Mile100 Yards0025K0Henry
45.42004-04-20341°18'N / 89°11'W41°20'N / 89°01'W9.00 Miles250 Yards8700La 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
46.31996-04-19341°12'N / 90°07'W41°11'N / 90°02'W3.00 Miles100 Yards0410.0M0Henry
 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.
46.41966-04-19341°30'N / 90°30'W2.00 Miles100 Yards00250K0Scott
46.51967-06-11242°24'N / 90°06'W42°26'N / 90°01'W4.30 Miles500 Yards00250K0Jo Daviess
46.61974-05-13341°37'N / 90°36'W41°40'N / 90°33'W3.60 Miles100 Yards002.5M0Scott
46.81965-11-12241°12'N / 89°18'W41°15'N / 89°08'W8.70 Miles50 Yards00250K0Putnam
46.92007-06-01242°12'N / 90°25'W42°15'N / 90°24'W3.00 Miles350 Yards003.3M0KJackson
 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.
47.11965-04-24341°09'N / 89°37'W41°06'N / 89°30'W6.50 Miles43 Yards0125K0Marshall
47.51967-01-24241°37'N / 90°35'W2.00 Miles250 Yards00250K0Scott
48.21974-09-12241°17'N / 89°04'W003K0La Salle
48.61959-09-26241°11'N / 90°22'W41°18'N / 90°10'W12.90 Miles33 Yards00250K0Henry
48.71958-08-30242°19'N / 89°03'W0025K0Winnebago
48.91975-06-18242°03'N / 88°51'W42°02'N / 88°45'W4.70 Miles27 Yards01250K0De Kalb
49.11975-06-14241°13'N / 89°09'W1.00 Mile167 Yards00250K0La Salle
49.42004-04-20241°21'N / 89°00'W41°24'N / 88°51'W9.00 Miles400 Yards0000La 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.
49.41972-07-17341°04'N / 89°38'W41°08'N / 89°21'W15.20 Miles200 Yards002.5M0Marshall
49.71967-07-23241°07'N / 89°41'W41°03'N / 89°31'W9.40 Miles50 Yards0025K0Stark


* 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.


 
The USA.com website and domain are privately owned and are not operated by or affiliated with any government or municipal authority.
© 2024 World Media Group, LLC.