NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Clifton, 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 Clifton, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 114 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 114
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Clifton
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Clifton; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 59 miles away. The record near Clifton begins with an unnamed storm in 1932; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Clifton has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 62% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The strongest of the 114 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 17, 1963; its path came within 16 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an F1 on June 25, 1978, killed 1 person. Of the 114, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 63 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 36. The most recent tornado was on December 28, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 65% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Clifton. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 30 times since 1970, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 95% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Clifton.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Clifton
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 35 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 Clifton: 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 Clifton
By decade
- 2020s17
- 2010s22(2 EF3+)
- 2000s24
- 1990s13
- 1980s5(1 EF3+)
- 1970s14(1 EF3+)
- 1960s9(2 EF3+)
- 1950s10(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 1963 | F4 | 16 mi | 57.3 mi | 1 / 70 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 13 mi | 38.5 mi | 1 / 15 |
| Apr 7, 1954 | F3 | 12 mi | 42.6 mi | 1 / 13 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | EF3 | 21 mi | 16.26 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF3 | 13 mi | 7.75 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 2, 1982 | F3 | 8 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | 23 mi | 51.7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Mar 6, 1956 | F3 | 15 mi | 9.4 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jun 7, 2008 | EF2 | 23 mi | 14.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 20, 2004 | F2 | 19 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 17, 1992 | F2 | 4 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 22, 1990 | F2 | 4 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 114, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Clifton
The Storm Prediction Center has 30 hail reports within 10 miles of Clifton since 1970, made on 25 separate days. Of these, 20 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 7, 1980. The most recent report is from May 16, 2019. May has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Clifton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Watseka 2 NW, IL, 14 miles southeast of Clifton at 620 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 16°F. June is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 38.5 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 16 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 134 nights a year. Snowfall averages 17.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 38.5 inches is more than at 46 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (32%). Chebanse, 5 miles north, has its own station (Kankakee Metro Wastewater, IL): 41.9 inches a year, 3.4 more than here, and the same July average high, 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 16 | 2.1 | 5 | 5.4 |
| Feb | 37 | 18 | 2.0 | 5 | 4.7 |
| Mar | 50 | 29 | 2.4 | 6 | 1.6 |
| Apr | 62 | 38 | 3.7 | 8 | 0.3 |
| May | 74 | 50 | 4.4 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 60 | 5.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 63 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 60 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 52 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 66 | 41 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 51 | 31 | 2.7 | 6 | 0.7 |
| Dec | 38 | 21 | 2.1 | 5 | 4.4 |
| Year | 62 | 40 | 38.5 | 75 | 17.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Watseka 2 NW, IL (620 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 Clifton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 56 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Clifton: 40 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 floods, 5 flash floods and 3 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on September 11, 2000. June has had the most flash floods, 2 of 5. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 28 have had fewer than Clifton.
February 20, 2018: flood 9 miles from the centre of Clifton — $1.5 million damage.
May 13, 2009: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Clifton — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Two sheds were destroyed by strong winds.”
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
Iroquois County, which includes Clifton, has been named in 9 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1990, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms, 2 snowstorms, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Iroquois County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $33.9 million a year, the 28th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $19.9 million (59%), 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 Clifton
- Chebanse, IL5 mi
- Kankakee, IL13 mi
- Bradley, IL15 mi
- Watseka, IL15 mi
- Saint Anne, IL15 mi
- Bourbonnais, IL17 mi
- Momence, IL22 mi
- Manteno, IL22 mi
- Milford, IL25 mi
- Gardner, IL25 mi
- Morocco, IN26 mi
- Grant Park, IL26 mi
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