NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Chatham, 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
2 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Chatham, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 170 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 170
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
5 deaths in all
What the records show for Chatham
None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Chatham; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 58 miles away. The record near Chatham begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Chatham has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 43% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The strongest of the 170 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 14, 1957; its path came within 5 miles, and it killed 2 people. Of the 170, 13 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 93 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 38. The most recent tornado was on June 18, 2025. Chatham has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 75% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 189 times since 1956, with stones up to 3.25 inches. Chatham has more hail reports within 10 miles than 77% of the 548 Illinois cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Chatham
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 43 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 Chatham: 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 Chatham
By decade
- 2020s30
- 2010s25(3 EF3+)
- 2000s38(1 EF3+)
- 1990s24(2 EF3+)
- 1980s8
- 1970s29(3 EF3+)
- 1960s11(2 EF3+)
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 14, 1957 | F4 | 5 mi | 4.3 mi | 2 / 50 |
| Jun 1, 1999 | F3 | 19 mi | 10 mi | 1 / 4 |
| Apr 22, 1963 | F3 | 12 mi | 42.9 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Dec 1, 2018 | EF3 | 22 mi | 12.49 mi | 0 / 22 |
| Apr 19, 2011 | EF3 | 16 mi | 4.32 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Dec 31, 2010 | EF3 | 23 mi | 3.63 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 19, 2009 | EF3 | 21 mi | 24.27 mi | 0 / 19 |
| May 9, 1995 | F3 | 14 mi | 50 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jul 26, 1978 | F3 | 10 mi | 8.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 6, 1977 | F3 | 1 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 20, 1976 | F3 | 17 mi | 8.8 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 24, 1961 | F3 | 15 mi | 64.2 mi | 0 / 3 |
The strongest 12 of 170, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Chatham
The Storm Prediction Center has 189 hail reports within 10 miles of Chatham since 1956, made on 97 separate days. Of these, 114 were 1 inch across or larger, and 10 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.25 inches, fell on May 7, 2023. The most recent report is from May 20, 2025. May has the most reports, 77.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Chatham
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Springfield #2, IL, 8 miles north of Chatham at 599 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 19°F. May is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 40.5 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 23 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 114 nights a year. That 40.5 inches is more than at 85 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (58%). Auburn, 7 miles southwest, has its own station (Virden, IL): 38.4 inches a year, 2.1 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 19 | 2.2 | 5 |
| Feb | 41 | 22 | 2.2 | 5 |
| Mar | 52 | 31 | 3.0 | 7 |
| Apr | 65 | 41 | 4.1 | 7 |
| May | 74 | 53 | 5.1 | 9 |
| Jun | 83 | 63 | 5.0 | 7 |
| Jul | 86 | 66 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Aug | 84 | 64 | 2.9 | 5 |
| Sep | 78 | 56 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Oct | 66 | 44 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Nov | 53 | 33 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Dec | 41 | 24 | 2.3 | 6 |
| Year | 63 | 43 | 40.5 | 75 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Springfield #2, IL (599 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 Chatham
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 250 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Chatham: 218 thunderstorm wind reports, 20 flash floods, 8 lightning strikes and 4 floods. They killed 1 person and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $14.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 8, 1996. May has had the most flash floods, 7 of 20. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 315 have had fewer than Chatham.
August 20, 2010: flood 9 miles from the centre of Chatham — 1 killed.
May 24, 2004: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Chatham — 2 injured, $80,000 damage.
June 20, 2000: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Chatham — 1 injured, $11,000 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 Chatham's ZIP code 62629 have filed 33 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $508,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1994: 11 claims (33% of all) and $145,000. 33% 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, 119 have fewer than Chatham.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1994 | 11 | $145,000 |
Sangamon County, which includes Chatham, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on August 15, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Sangamon County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $114.8 million a year, the 10th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $46.7 million (41%), 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 Chatham
- Auburn, IL7 mi
- Springfield, IL8 mi
- Rochester, IL10 mi
- Pawnee, IL11 mi
- New Berlin, IL11 mi
- Virden, IL12 mi
- Waverly, IL14 mi
- Pleasant Plains, IL15 mi
- Riverton, IL16 mi
- Sherman, IL17 mi
- Girard, IL17 mi
- Athens, IL21 mi
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