NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Belvidere, 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
1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Belvidere, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 102 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 102
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
34 deaths in all
What the records show for Belvidere
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Belvidere; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 56 mph winds when its centre passed 17 miles away. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Belvidere. The highest rating among the 102 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 9, 2015, came within 7 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 21, 1967, killed 24 people. Of the 102, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 67 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on June 3, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 76% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Belvidere. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 91 times since 1963, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 53% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Belvidere.
Compare Belvidere's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Belvidere
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Belvidere: 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 Belvidere
By decade
- 2020s38
- 2010s19(1 EF3+)
- 2000s10(1 EF3+)
- 1990s9
- 1980s6
- 1970s8
- 1960s8(2 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 1 mi | 25.5 mi | 24 / 450 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 24 mi | 9.1 mi | 6 / 75 |
| Apr 9, 2015 | EF4 | 7 mi | 30.14 mi | 2 / 11 |
| Jan 7, 2008 | EF3 | 9 mi | 13.1 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Oct 8, 1958 | F2 | 10 mi | 81 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Nov 22, 2010 | EF2 | 7 mi | 18.1 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jul 16, 1980 | F2 | 19 mi | 1.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 1978 | F2 | 25 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1975 | F2 | 14 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 1, 1971 | F2 | 21 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 21, 1966 | F2 | 25 mi | 33.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 30, 1958 | F2 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 102, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Belvidere
The Storm Prediction Center has 91 hail reports within 10 miles of Belvidere since 1963, made on 55 separate days. Of these, 75 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on June 7, 1980. The most recent report is from August 16, 2025. May has the most reports, 25.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Belvidere
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Marengo, IL, 12 miles east of Belvidere at 815 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 29°F and 13°F. May and June are the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 37.7 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 147 nights a year. Snowfall averages 30.8 inches a year, most of it in December. That 37.7 inches is more than at 26 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (18%). Cherry Valley, 6 miles southwest, has its own station (Rockford Gtr Rockford Airport, IL): 37.2 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29 | 13 | 1.7 | 4 | 8.0 |
| Feb | 33 | 16 | 1.6 | 4 | 9.1 |
| Mar | 45 | 26 | 2.1 | 5 | 2.4 |
| Apr | 59 | 36 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.4 |
| May | 70 | 47 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 57 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 62 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 60 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 52 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 40 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 47 | 29 | 2.4 | 5 | 1.6 |
| Dec | 35 | 19 | 1.9 | 4 | 9.3 |
| Year | 58 | 38 | 37.7 | 69 | 30.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Marengo, IL (815 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 Belvidere
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 174 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Belvidere: 128 thunderstorm wind reports, 25 floods, 12 flash floods, 6 heavy rain events and 3 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $4.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on July 11, 2011. July has had the most flash floods, 5 of 12. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 179 have had fewer than Belvidere.
September 14, 2008: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Belvidere — $3.0 million damage.
August 25, 2006: thunderstorm wind in Belvidere — $400,000 damage.
NWS: “Huge trees and 40 to 50 power lines blown down. A roof was blown off a house and a semi trailer was blown over.”
May 25, 2011: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Belvidere — $400,000 damage.
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
Flood insurance policyholders in Belvidere's ZIP code 61008 have filed 24 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $71,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 4% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 320 Illinois cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 85 have fewer than Belvidere.
Boone County, which includes Belvidere, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Boone County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $21.4 million a year, the 46th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.3 million (53%), 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.