NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Brighton, 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 Brighton, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 127 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 127
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
16 deaths in all
What the records show for Brighton
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Brighton; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 51 mph winds when its centre passed 42 miles away. The record near Brighton begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Brighton has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 62% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The highest rating among the 127 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 22, 2011, came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an EF3 on December 10, 2021, killed 6 people. Of the 127, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 69 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 30. The most recent tornado was on May 16, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 54% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Brighton. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 108 times since 1974, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Brighton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 53% of the 548 Illinois cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Brighton
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Brighton: 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 Brighton
By decade
- 2020s16(1 EF3+)
- 2010s22(3 EF3+)
- 2000s31
- 1990s7
- 1980s9(4 EF3+)
- 1970s9
- 1960s16(3 EF3+)
- 1950s17(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 1967 | F4 | 15 mi | 25 mi | 3 / 216 |
| Apr 22, 2011 | EF4 | 21 mi | 21.3 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 3, 1981 | F4 | 18 mi | 11.9 mi | 0 / 32 |
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF3 | 20 mi | 4.22 mi | 6 / 1 |
| May 31, 2013 | EF3 | 16 mi | 10.64 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 2013 | EF3 | 18 mi | 31.71 mi | 0 / 8 |
| May 1, 1983 | F3 | 18 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 1, 1983 | F3 | 19 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Apr 7, 1980 | F3 | 13 mi | 7.3 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Oct 24, 1967 | F3 | 13 mi | 21.8 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Oct 14, 1966 | F3 | 24 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 26 |
| Mar 25, 1954 | F3 | 17 mi | 21.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 127, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Brighton
The Storm Prediction Center has 108 hail reports within 10 miles of Brighton since 1974, made on 69 separate days. Of these, 54 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on April 9, 2015. The most recent report is from July 17, 2023. April has the most reports, 40.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Brighton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Jerseyville 2 SW, IL, 12 miles west of Brighton at 630 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 19°F. May is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 42.4 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 29 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 117 nights a year. Snowfall averages 12.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.4 inches is more than at 109 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (75%). Godfrey, 8 miles southwest, has its own station (Alton - Melvin Price L&D, IL): 41.9 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and the same July average high, 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 19 | 2.5 | 5 | 4.3 |
| Feb | 42 | 23 | 2.3 | 5 | 3.7 |
| Mar | 53 | 32 | 3.2 | 7 | 1.6 |
| Apr | 65 | 42 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| May | 74 | 54 | 5.3 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 63 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 66 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 63 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 55 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 67 | 43 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 53 | 33 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.7 |
| Dec | 41 | 24 | 2.7 | 5 | 2.2 |
| Year | 64 | 43 | 42.4 | 71 | 12.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Jerseyville 2 SW, IL (630 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 Brighton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 122 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Brighton: 107 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 flash floods and 2 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on June 14, 1998. May has had the most flash floods, 4 of 13. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 195 have had fewer than Brighton.
February 20, 2014: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Brighton — 1 injured.
August 10, 2005: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Brighton — $1.0 million damage.
July 21, 2008: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Brighton — $100,000 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
Macoupin County, which includes Brighton, has been named in 9 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1982, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tornadoes, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Macoupin County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail 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 $38.7 million a year, the 24th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.4 million (30%), 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 Brighton
- Godfrey, IL8 mi
- Alton, IL9 mi
- Cottage Hills, IL10 mi
- Bethalto, IL10 mi
- Bunker Hill, IL10 mi
- Jerseyville, IL11 mi
- East Alton, IL12 mi
- Wood River, IL13 mi
- South Roxana, IL15 mi
- Worden, IL17 mi
- Gillespie, IL18 mi
- Edwardsville, IL18 mi
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