NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Beecher, 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
3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Beecher, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 171 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 171
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
39 deaths in all
What the records show for Beecher
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Beecher; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 72 miles away. The record near Beecher begins with an unnamed storm in 1932; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Beecher has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 62% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The highest rating among the 171 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 21, 1967, came within 24 miles. Of the 171, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 106 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 55. The most recent tornado was on December 28, 2025. Beecher has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 76% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 80 times since 1961, with stones up to 6 inches. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 60% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Beecher.
Compare Beecher's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Beecher
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Beecher: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Beecher
By decade
- 2020s47
- 2010s38(1 EF3+)
- 2000s21
- 1990s10
- 1980s10(1 EF3+)
- 1970s17(2 EF3+)
- 1960s18(5 EF3+)
- 1950s10(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 24 mi | 15 mi | 33 / 500 |
| Apr 17, 1963 | F4 | 14 mi | 57.3 mi | 1 / 70 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 20 mi | 38.5 mi | 1 / 15 |
| Apr 7, 1954 | F3 | 10 mi | 42.6 mi | 1 / 13 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF3 | 19 mi | 7.75 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 2, 1982 | F3 | 16 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Jun 20, 1974 | F3 | 12 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F3 | 16 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 22 mi | 33.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | 9 mi | 51.7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F2 | 17 mi | 35.9 mi | 2 / 90 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | EF2 | 13 mi | 34.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 171, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Beecher
The Storm Prediction Center has 80 hail reports within 10 miles of Beecher since 1961, made on 63 separate days. Of these, 49 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 6 inches, fell on April 23, 1961. The most recent report is from May 24, 2024. June has the most reports, 26.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Beecher
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Park Forest, IL, 10 miles north of Beecher at 710 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 15°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 42.2 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 16 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 125 nights a year. Snowfall averages 28.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.2 inches is more than at 108 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (74%). Grant Park, 7 miles south, has its own station (Lowell, IN): 39.8 inches a year, 2.4 less than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 15 | 2.5 | 6 | 10.2 |
| Feb | 35 | 18 | 2.2 | 5 | 7.5 |
| Mar | 46 | 28 | 2.7 | 6 | 4.9 |
| Apr | 59 | 38 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.5 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 59 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 64 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 62 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 55 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 42 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 48 | 31 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 36 | 22 | 2.5 | 6 | 4.0 |
| Year | 59 | 40 | 42.2 | 77 | 28.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Park Forest, IL (710 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.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Beecher
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 203 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Beecher: 157 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 flash floods, 15 floods, 12 heavy rain events and 4 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $818,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on March 8, 2009. June has had the most flash floods, 10 of 15. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 245 have had fewer than Beecher.
July 15, 2024: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Beecher — 1 killed.
May 15, 2007: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Beecher — 1 injured, $10,000 damage.
June 26, 2021: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Beecher — 1 injured.
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
Will County, which includes Beecher, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 4 floods, 4 snowstorms, 3 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Floodng, on September 20, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Will County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes; Relatively High for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Moderate for heat waves; Relatively Low for hail and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $348.1 million a year, the 3rd highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $193.0 million (55%), 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.