NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Cherry Valley, 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 Cherry Valley, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 97 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 97
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
28 deaths in all
What the records show for Cherry Valley
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Cherry Valley; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 56 mph winds when its centre passed 18 miles away. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Cherry Valley. The highest rating among the 97 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 9, 2015, came within 6 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 21, 1967, killed 24 people. Of the 97, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 60 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on June 3, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 82% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Cherry Valley. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 178 times since 1960, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Cherry Valley has more hail reports within 10 miles than 75% of the 548 Illinois cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Cherry Valley
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 18 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 Cherry Valley: 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 Cherry Valley
By decade
- 2020s34
- 2010s17(1 EF3+)
- 2000s9(1 EF3+)
- 1990s11
- 1980s6
- 1970s9
- 1960s6(1 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 2 mi | 25.5 mi | 24 / 450 |
| Apr 9, 2015 | EF4 | 6 mi | 30.14 mi | 2 / 11 |
| Jan 7, 2008 | EF3 | 13 mi | 13.1 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Oct 8, 1958 | F2 | 13 mi | 81 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Nov 22, 2010 | EF2 | 8 mi | 18.1 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jul 16, 1980 | F2 | 23 mi | 1.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 17, 1979 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1975 | F2 | 13 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 1, 1971 | F2 | 21 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 30, 1958 | F2 | 8 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF1 | 2 mi | 27.51 mi | 1 / 40 |
| Jul 12, 2023 | EF1 | 23 mi | 6.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 97, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Cherry Valley
The Storm Prediction Center has 178 hail reports within 10 miles of Cherry Valley since 1960, made on 96 separate days. Of these, 124 were 1 inch across or larger, and 11 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 2, 2018. The most recent report is from August 16, 2025. April has the most reports, 52.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Cherry Valley
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Rockford Gtr Rockford Airport, IL, 7 miles west of Cherry Valley at 730 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 29°F and 15°F. June is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 37.2 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 136 nights a year. Snowfall averages 37.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 37.2 inches is more than at 18 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (12%). Belvidere, 6 miles northeast, has its own station (Marengo, IL): 37.7 inches a year, 0.5 more than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29 | 15 | 1.6 | 4 | 10.9 |
| Feb | 33 | 18 | 1.6 | 4 | 8.5 |
| Mar | 47 | 28 | 2.4 | 5 | 4.9 |
| Apr | 60 | 39 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.9 |
| May | 71 | 50 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 60 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 64 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 62 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 54 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 42 | 2.6 | 5 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 47 | 31 | 2.3 | 5 | 2.3 |
| Dec | 34 | 20 | 1.9 | 5 | 9.4 |
| Year | 59 | 40 | 37.2 | 69 | 37.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Rockford Gtr Rockford Airport, IL (730 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 Cherry Valley
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 279 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Cherry Valley: 206 thunderstorm wind reports, 38 floods, 17 flash floods, 12 heavy rain events and 6 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 8, and the NWS estimated $5.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on August 10, 2020. July has had the most flash floods, 7 of 17. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 278 have had fewer than Cherry Valley.
August 11, 2021: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Cherry Valley — 1 killed, 2 injured.
July 14, 2024: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Cherry Valley — 1 killed, 1 injured.
August 8, 2022: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Cherry Valley — 3 injured.
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 Cherry Valley's ZIP code 61016 have filed 14 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $116,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 7% 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, 34 have fewer than Cherry Valley.
Winnebago County, which includes Cherry Valley, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 snowstorms, 5 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Floodng, on September 20, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Winnebago County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $121.6 million a year, the 9th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $67.8 million (56%), 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 Cherry Valley
- Belvidere, IL6 mi
- Rockford, IL6 mi
- Loves Park, IL8 mi
- Kirkland, IL9 mi
- Machesney Park, IL10 mi
- Caledonia, IL11 mi
- Davis Junction, IL11 mi
- Poplar Grove, IL11 mi
- Kingston, IL13 mi
- Roscoe, IL14 mi
- Stillman Valley, IL14 mi
- Winnebago, IL16 mi
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