NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Colchester, 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
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Colchester, Illinois since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 94 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 94
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Colchester
The strongest of the 94 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 13, 1995; its path came within 17 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 21, 1981, killed 1 person. Of the 94, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 39 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on April 20, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 84% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Colchester. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 138 times since 1973, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Colchester has more hail reports within 10 miles than 62% of the 548 Illinois cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Colchester
By decade
- 2020s17
- 2010s13
- 2000s9
- 1990s22(1 EF3+)
- 1980s10(1 EF3+)
- 1970s13(1 EF3+)
- 1960s4(2 EF3+)
- 1950s6(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 13, 1995 | F4 | 17 mi | 50 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 21, 1981 | F3 | 16 mi | 8.8 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Sep 30, 1973 | F3 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 21, 1964 | F3 | 4 mi | 14.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 14, 1961 | F3 | 12 mi | 127.1 mi | 0 / 8 |
| May 21, 1957 | F3 | 5 mi | 13.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 15, 2016 | EF2 | 12 mi | 8.23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 2003 | F2 | 22 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 2003 | F2 | 25 mi | 30.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 2003 | F2 | 8 mi | 69.2 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 5, 1999 | F2 | 9 mi | 9.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 27, 1990 | F2 | 24 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 94, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Colchester
The Storm Prediction Center has 138 hail reports within 10 miles of Colchester since 1973, made on 70 separate days. Of these, 82 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 13, 1995. The most recent report is from March 31, 2024. April has the most reports, 39.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Colchester
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is La Harpe, IL, 14 miles northwest of Colchester at 690 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 15°F. May is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 38.9 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 24 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 134 nights a year. That 38.9 inches is more than at 56 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (38%). Macomb, 8 miles east, has its own station (Prairie City 2S, IL): 38.5 inches a year, 0.4 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 15 | 1.6 | 4 |
| Feb | 37 | 19 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Mar | 49 | 29 | 2.4 | 5 |
| Apr | 62 | 40 | 3.9 | 8 |
| May | 72 | 52 | 5.2 | 9 |
| Jun | 81 | 61 | 4.9 | 7 |
| Jul | 85 | 65 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Aug | 83 | 63 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Sep | 77 | 54 | 3.8 | 5 |
| Oct | 64 | 42 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Nov | 49 | 31 | 2.5 | 5 |
| Dec | 37 | 21 | 2.1 | 5 |
| Year | 61 | 41 | 38.9 | 69 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at La Harpe, IL (690 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 Colchester
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 153 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Colchester: 126 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 flash floods, 2 floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 109 mph, on June 29, 1998. June has had the most flash floods, 12 of 22. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 328 have had fewer than Colchester.
August 12, 1999: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Colchester — 1 injured.
June 25, 2003: thunderstorm wind in Colchester — $1.9 million damage.
July 9, 2003: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Colchester — $100,000 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
McDonough County, which includes Colchester, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1999, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on August 15, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives McDonough County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.1 million a year, the 77th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.2 million (22%), 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 Colchester
- Macomb, IL8 mi
- Carthage, IL16 mi
- Bushnell, IL17 mi
- Rushville, IL24 mi
- Hamilton, IL28 mi
- Mt Sterling, IL30 mi
- Camp Point, IL31 mi
- Keokuk, IA31 mi
- Burlington, IA32 mi
- Fort Madison, IA32 mi
- Mendon, IL33 mi
- Cuba, IL33 mi
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