NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bushnell, 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 Bushnell, Illinois since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 124 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 124
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Bushnell
The highest rating among the 124 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 13, 1995, came within 12 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on July 23, 1975, killed 2 people. Of the 124, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 50 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 32. The most recent tornado was on June 3, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 56% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Bushnell. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 89 times since 1973, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 54% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Bushnell.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Bushnell
By decade
- 2020s24(1 EF3+)
- 2010s18
- 2000s8
- 1990s36(2 EF3+)
- 1980s5(1 EF3+)
- 1970s23(4 EF3+)
- 1960s6(2 EF3+)
- 1950s4(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 13, 1995 | F4 | 17 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 45 |
| May 13, 1995 | F4 | 12 mi | 50 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jul 23, 1975 | F3 | 18 mi | 14 mi | 2 / 69 |
| Jun 21, 1981 | F3 | 23 mi | 8.8 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Apr 4, 2023 | EF3 | 18 mi | 19.92 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jul 23, 1975 | F3 | 10 mi | 11.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 1975 | F3 | 17 mi | 6.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1974 | F3 | 13 mi | 48.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 21, 1964 | F3 | 4 mi | 14.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 14, 1961 | F3 | 6 mi | 127.1 mi | 0 / 8 |
| May 21, 1957 | F3 | 6 mi | 13.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 26, 1959 | F2 | 25 mi | 4.9 mi | 1 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 124, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Bushnell
The Storm Prediction Center has 89 hail reports within 10 miles of Bushnell since 1973, made on 55 separate days. Of these, 50 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently June 2, 1980. The most recent report is from May 2, 2024. May has the most reports, 24.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Bushnell
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Prairie City 2S, IL, 4 miles northeast of Bushnell at 650 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 16°F. May is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and December the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 38.5 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 26 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 128 nights a year. Snowfall averages 21.3 inches a year, most of it in February. That 38.5 inches is more than at 43 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (29%). Colchester, 17 miles southwest, has its own station (La Harpe, IL): 38.9 inches a year, 0.4 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 16 | 1.9 | 4 | 5.7 |
| Feb | 38 | 19 | 1.9 | 4 | 6.0 |
| Mar | 51 | 29 | 2.7 | 6 | 2.5 |
| Apr | 64 | 40 | 3.8 | 7 | 1.0 |
| May | 74 | 52 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 62 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 64 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 63 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 55 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 66 | 43 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 50 | 31 | 2.4 | 4 | 1.1 |
| Dec | 38 | 22 | 1.8 | 5 | 5.0 |
| Year | 62 | 41 | 38.5 | 67 | 21.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Prairie City 2S, IL (650 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 Bushnell
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 111 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bushnell: 93 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 flash floods, 2 floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on December 23, 2015. July has had the most flash floods, 6 of 15. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 245 have had fewer than Bushnell.
August 12, 1999: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Bushnell — 1 injured.
June 25, 2003: thunderstorm wind in Bushnell — $1.9 million damage.
July 9, 2003: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Bushnell — $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
McDonough County, which includes Bushnell, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1999, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on August 15, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives McDonough County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.1 million a year, the 77th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.2 million (22%), 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 Bushnell
- Macomb, IL10 mi
- Colchester, IL17 mi
- Cuba, IL18 mi
- Abingdon, IL18 mi
- Lewistown, IL23 mi
- Canton, IL26 mi
- Monmouth, IL26 mi
- Farmington, IL28 mi
- Knoxville, IL28 mi
- Galesburg, IL29 mi
- Rushville, IL29 mi
- Havana, IL30 mi
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