NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Carbondale, 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
4 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Carbondale, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Olga in 2019. Since 1950, 118 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 118
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
24 deaths in all
What the records show for Carbondale
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Carbondale; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 49 mph winds when its centre passed 58 miles away. The record near Carbondale begins with an unnamed storm in 1915; the most recent system was Olga in 2019, a tropical storm 24 miles away. Of the 4 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Carbondale has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 79% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The strongest of the 118 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on December 18, 1957; its path came within 25 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an F4 on December 18, 1957, killed 11 people. Of the 118, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 73 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 27. The most recent tornado was on May 20, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 61% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Carbondale. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 126 times since 1963, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Carbondale has more hail reports within 10 miles than 59% of the 548 Illinois cities.
Compare Carbondale's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Carbondale
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 20 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Carbondale: 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 Carbondale
By decade
- 2020s20(2 EF3+)
- 2010s37(1 EF3+)
- 2000s16(2 EF3+)
- 1990s11(1 EF3+)
- 1980s4(1 EF3+)
- 1970s10
- 1960s6
- 1950s14(6 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 18, 1957 | F5 | 25 mi | 5.4 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Dec 18, 1957 | F4 | 5 mi | 28.3 mi | 11 / 200 |
| May 29, 1982 | F4 | 8 mi | 17 mi | 10 / 181 |
| Feb 28, 2017 | EF4 | 13 mi | 53.47 mi | 1 / 12 |
| May 16, 2025 | EF4 | 9 mi | 16.28 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Sep 22, 2006 | F4 | 7 mi | 27.5 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Apr 28, 2002 | F3 | 24 mi | 19.3 mi | 1 / 10 |
| May 26, 2024 | EF3 | 16 mi | 4.87 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 19, 1991 | F3 | 17 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 16 |
| Apr 5, 1958 | F3 | 13 mi | 20.6 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Dec 18, 1957 | F3 | 25 mi | 5.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 18, 1957 | F3 | 24 mi | 17.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 118, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Carbondale
The Storm Prediction Center has 126 hail reports within 10 miles of Carbondale since 1963, made on 93 separate days. Of these, 81 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on August 21, 1971. The most recent report is from September 14, 2025. May has the most reports, 40.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Carbondale
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Carbondale Southern Il Airport, IL, 4 miles north of Carbondale at 406 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 25°F. April is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 44.0 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 40 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 94 nights a year. That 44.0 inches is more than at 122 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (84%). Makanda, 8 miles southeast, has its own station (Carbondale Sewage Plt, IL): 49.0 inches a year, 5.0 more than here, and the same July average high, 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 25 | 2.8 | 5 |
| Feb | 47 | 28 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Mar | 57 | 36 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Apr | 68 | 45 | 5.3 | 8 |
| May | 77 | 55 | 5.0 | 8 |
| Jun | 86 | 64 | 4.1 | 6 |
| Jul | 88 | 68 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Aug | 87 | 65 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Sep | 81 | 56 | 2.9 | 4 |
| Oct | 70 | 45 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Nov | 56 | 35 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Dec | 46 | 28 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Year | 67 | 46 | 44.0 | 71 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Carbondale Southern Il Airport, IL (406 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 Carbondale
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 240 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Carbondale: 126 thunderstorm wind reports, 75 floods, 23 flash floods, 13 heavy rain events and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 24, and the NWS estimated $180.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 115 mph, on January 3, 2000. July has had the most flash floods, 7 of 23. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 341 have had fewer than Carbondale.
March 29, 2007: lightning strike 1 mile from the centre of Carbondale — 1 killed.
NWS: “An 18-year-old high school student was struck and killed by lightning at a track meet. The lightning strike occurred on the school's campus just before the start of the track meet.”
May 8, 2009: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Carbondale — 23 injured, $175.0 million damage.
June 9, 2010: lightning strike 1 mile from the centre of Carbondale — 1 injured.
NWS: “A 32-year-old woman was struck by lightning in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart store. The main injury was to her leg, which may have sustained muscle 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 Carbondale's 2 ZIP codes have filed 51 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from March storm in 2008: 29 claims (57% of all) and $121,000. 59% 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, 161 have fewer than Carbondale.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| March storm2008 | 29 | $121,000 |
Jackson County, which includes Carbondale, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Jackson County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $50.0 million a year, the 20th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $13.0 million (26%), 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.