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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Abingdon, IL

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated

No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Abingdon, Illinois since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 112 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
0

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
112

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
9

3 deaths in all

What the records show for Abingdon

The strongest of the 112 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 13, 1995; its path came within 5 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on July 23, 1975, killed 2 people. Of the 112, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 44 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 27. The most recent tornado was on June 3, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 67% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Abingdon. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 34 times since 1974, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 93% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Abingdon.

Compare Abingdon's storm record with another city →

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Abingdon

By decade

  • 2020s19(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s15
  • 2000s10
  • 1990s33(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s4
  • 1970s20(4 EF3+)
  • 1960s8(2 EF3+)
  • 1950s3(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Abingdon, Illinois
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
May 13, 1995F45 mi50 mi0 / 7
Jul 23, 1975F320 mi14 mi2 / 69
Apr 4, 2023EF325 mi19.92 mi0 / 4
Jul 23, 1975F318 mi11.1 mi0 / 0
Jun 13, 1975F311 mi6.6 mi0 / 0
Jun 14, 1974F32 mi48.6 mi0 / 2
Apr 21, 1964F321 mi14.1 mi0 / 0
May 14, 1961F313 mi127.1 mi0 / 8
May 21, 1957F316 mi13.7 mi0 / 0
Sep 26, 1959F213 mi4.9 mi1 / 0
Mar 15, 2016EF214 mi8.23 mi0 / 0
Jul 16, 2015EF28 mi5.95 mi0 / 1

The strongest 12 of 112, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Abingdon

The Storm Prediction Center has 34 hail reports within 10 miles of Abingdon since 1974, made on 29 separate days. Of these, 17 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on June 14, 1974. The most recent report is from August 15, 2024. May has the most reports, 10.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Abingdon

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Knoxville, IL, 9 miles northeast of Abingdon at 728 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 14°F. May is the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 2.1 inches; the year adds up to 40.5 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 135 nights a year. Snowfall averages 25.4 inches a year, most of it in February. That 40.5 inches is more than at 85 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (58%). Galesburg, 10 miles north, has its own station (Galesburg, IL): 39.0 inches a year, 1.5 less than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Knoxville, IL
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow in
Jan32142.146.4
Feb36182.157.7
Mar49292.663.4
Apr62394.070.4
May72515.590.0
Jun81614.680.0
Jul84654.260.0
Aug82633.560.0
Sep76544.250.0
Oct64423.050.2
Nov49312.541.4
Dec36212.255.9
Year604140.57125.4

Averages for 1991–2020 at Knoxville, IL (728 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.

Illinois weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Abingdon

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 86 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Abingdon: 65 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 flash floods and 5 floods. They killed 3 people and injured 29, and the NWS estimated $12.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on June 29, 1998. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 263 have had fewer than Abingdon.

  • August 23, 2007: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Abingdon — 1 killed, 29 injured, $1.4 million damage.

  • May 16, 2009: flood 7 miles from the centre of Abingdon — 1 killed, $4.0 million damage.

    NWS: “Periods of heavy rain between May 13 and May 16 resulted in near record river levels on much of the Spoon River. 28 feet at 1445 CST on May 16th, which was more than 10 feet above flood stage.”

  • May 15, 2009: flood 7 miles from the centre of Abingdon — 1 killed.

    NWS: “Periods of heavy rain on saturated soil resulted in extensive flooding in northern Fulton county, particularly in the vicinity of the upper Spoon River basin. Nearly every road was under water and impassible.”

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.

Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings

Knox County, which includes Abingdon, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 floods, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Knox County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $18.0 million a year, the 56th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.0 million (33%), is from inland flooding.

Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.

Cities near Abingdon