NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Chicago, 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 Chicago, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 112 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 112
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
41 deaths in all
What the records show for Chicago
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Chicago; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 59 mph winds when its centre passed 60 miles away. The record near Chicago begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm 61 miles away. Chicago has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 62% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The highest rating among the 112 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 13, 1976, came within 16 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 21, 1967, killed 33 people. Of the 112, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 55 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 31. The most recent tornado was on March 14, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 67% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Chicago. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 159 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Chicago has more hail reports within 10 miles than 69% of the 548 Illinois cities.
Compare Chicago's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Chicago
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Chicago: 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 Chicago
By decade
- 2020s39(1 EF3+)
- 2010s8
- 2000s8
- 1990s4(1 EF3+)
- 1980s7
- 1970s20(2 EF3+)
- 1960s17(2 EF3+)
- 1950s9
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 11 mi | 15 mi | 33 / 500 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F4 | 16 mi | 3.3 mi | 2 / 23 |
| Jun 20, 2021 | EF3 | 13 mi | 17.6 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F3 | 15 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 16 mi | 22.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F3 | 24 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F2 | 11 mi | 15.1 mi | 2 / 66 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F2 | 21 mi | 35.9 mi | 2 / 90 |
| Jun 9, 1966 | F2 | 20 mi | 2.5 mi | 1 / 30 |
| Mar 4, 1961 | F2 | 2 mi | 7.9 mi | 1 / 115 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | EF2 | 24 mi | 34.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 17, 1975 | F2 | 22 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 112, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Chicago
The Storm Prediction Center has 159 hail reports within 10 miles of Chicago since 1955, made on 96 separate days. Of these, 111 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 30, 2011. The most recent report is from May 15, 2025. June has the most reports, 54.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Chicago
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chicago Midway Airport, IL, 7 miles southwest of Chicago at 612 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 19°F. May is the wettest at 4.1 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.5 inches; the year adds up to 34.7 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 20 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 106 nights a year. That 34.7 inches is more than at 4 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (3%). Elmwood Park, 7 miles northwest, has its own station (Chicago Ohare International Airport, IL): 38.0 inches a year, 3.3 more than here, and the same July average high, 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 19 | 1.5 | 3 |
| Feb | 37 | 23 | 1.5 | 3 |
| Mar | 48 | 32 | 1.9 | 5 |
| Apr | 60 | 41 | 3.6 | 7 |
| May | 71 | 52 | 4.1 | 8 |
| Jun | 81 | 62 | 4.0 | 8 |
| Jul | 85 | 68 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Aug | 83 | 66 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Sep | 76 | 59 | 2.8 | 5 |
| Oct | 63 | 47 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Nov | 49 | 35 | 2.4 | 5 |
| Dec | 38 | 25 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Year | 60 | 44 | 34.7 | 68 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Chicago Midway Airport, IL (612 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 Chicago
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 689 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Chicago: 508 thunderstorm wind reports, 77 floods, 62 flash floods, 25 heavy rain events and 17 lightning strikes. They killed 4 people and injured 17, and the NWS estimated $65.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on August 10, 2020. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 509 have had fewer than Chicago.
June 18, 2010: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Chicago — 1 killed, 2 injured.
August 23, 2007: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Chicago — 1 killed, $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Measured gust to 74 mph near Wrigley Field. A cinder block wall was blown down near Wrigley Field.”
July 11, 2011: thunderstorm wind in Chicago — 1 killed, $4,000 damage.
NWS: “A 72 year old man was driving on the 3000 block of West Ogden Avenue when a tree limb fell through the sunroof of his car striking the man. The man died in the hospital during the afternoon of July 12th.”
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 Chicago's 53 ZIP codes have filed 923 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $6.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Mid-spring storms in 2013: 89 claims (10% of all) and $1.1 million, then Flooding in 1987 with 45 and Hurricane Ike in 2008 with 20. 17% 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, 315 have fewer than Chicago.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-spring storms2013 | 89 | $1.1 million |
| Flooding1987 | 45 | $66,000 |
| Hurricane Ike2008 | 20 | $169,000 |
Cook County, which includes Chicago, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 8 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 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 Cook County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively High for hail; Relatively Low for coastal flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $2.42 billion a year, the highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.10 billion (45%), 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.