Illinois led the nation in tornadoes in 2025 as Tornado Alley shifted into Midwest
Illinois had more tornadoes than any other state in the U.S. last year. As the climate warms, Illinois has seen a surge in tornado activity in the last few years.
Illinois led the nation in number of tornadoes in both 2023 and 2025 – a huge spike over our long-term average.
"We've had some of the most incredible tornado years in Illinois history happen just in the last few years," said Northern Illinois University meteorology professor Dr. Victor Gensini, a severe storm expert with two decades of experience studying where tornadoes happen.
He said, over the last 40 years, the number of tornadoes has gone down in states like Texas and Oklahoma, in what's known as the nation's Tornado Alley, while in areas further east, like Tennessee, Indiana, and Illinois, have seen an increase in tornadoes.
Other recent studies support that finding, showing Tornado Alley shifting into Illinois
Here's how this is connected to climate change. As the climate warms, the traditional Tornado Alley in the Great Plains is expected to become drier and more desert-like. That shifts the ingredients which form tornadoes farther east and leads to more tornadoes in the Chicago area.
"So the same tornado event that happens in Kansas that may have occurred in a wheat field is now happening in southern Cook County, and the entire track of that tornado is impacting people," Gensini said.
Indiana also has seen a rise in tornadoes in the last few years, with more than 50 each of the past three years.
It was just 10 months ago that a strong EF-1 tornado ripped down 21st Ave in Gary, with winds of up to 110 mph. As residents continue to work to clean up the damage, new roofs are a common sight
It's a day Alexis Rivera Pops will never forget.
"My kids start freaking out, heard a big boom, it went black. When we looked out back, it was completely gray and stuff flying everywhere," she said. "It was a lot of people scrambling, a lot of people scared."
In the months since, nearby homes have been repaired, and the gymnasium down the street has been rebuilt, but the next tornado might not be far behind.
Pops said it makes her nervous for her children.
"Like I said, we're more aware now and alert as far as safety when it comes to natural disasters and things like that. But it worries me, it does. It stay on my mind," she said.
Researchers said the rise in Illinois tornadoes does line up with what they expect in a warming climate, but it's still too soon to say whether we're already seeing that shift or if this is a short-term spike.
