Tornadoes do not occur very often during February in Illinois.But, as we found out last week in southern Illinois, when they do occur, they can be quite deadly.State Climatologist Jim Angel says of the more than 2,300 tornadoes reported in Illinois between 1950 and 2011 just 39 of them have occurred in February. And now after the latest twister that hit Harrisburg, February tornadoes have caused 12 deaths. Angel says what's also rare about Wednesday's tornado was that it hit during the early morning hours.
Angel says the Harrisburg tornado was the deadliest in Illinois since the 2004 tornado that killed eight people in Utica.
