NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Decatur, 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 Decatur, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 175 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 175
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Decatur
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Decatur; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 40 miles away. The record near Decatur begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Decatur has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 62% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The strongest of the 175 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on March 20, 1976; its path came within 9 miles. The deadliest, an F1 on April 8, 1999, killed 1 person. Of the 175, 22 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 110 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 46. The most recent tornado was on December 28, 2025. Decatur has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 79% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 113 times since 1960, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Decatur has more hail reports within 10 miles than 55% of the 548 Illinois cities.
Compare Decatur's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Decatur
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 31 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 Decatur: 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 Decatur
By decade
- 2020s32
- 2010s28
- 2000s50(1 EF3+)
- 1990s22(1 EF3+)
- 1980s8
- 1970s24(2 EF3+)
- 1960s5(2 EF3+)
- 1950s6(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 1976 | F4 | 9 mi | 63.7 mi | 0 / 18 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 1 mi | 20.9 mi | 1 / 26 |
| Apr 22, 1963 | F3 | 4 mi | 42.9 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Aug 19, 2009 | EF3 | 23 mi | 24.27 mi | 0 / 19 |
| Apr 19, 1996 | F3 | 1 mi | 14.5 mi | 0 / 29 |
| Apr 22, 1963 | F3 | 13 mi | 31.8 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 27, 1951 | F3 | 7 mi | 9.6 mi | 0 / 35 |
| Dec 28, 2025 | EF2 | 6 mi | 23.36 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 14, 2025 | EF2 | 20 mi | 12.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 6, 2023 | EF2 | 21 mi | 25.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 14 mi | 21.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 1, 2018 | EF2 | 13 mi | 8.39 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 175, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Decatur
The Storm Prediction Center has 113 hail reports within 10 miles of Decatur since 1960, made on 73 separate days. Of these, 70 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3.5 inches, was reported on 2 days, most recently June 23, 1960. The most recent report is from November 18, 2025. March has the most reports, 27.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Decatur
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Decatur Wtp, IL, 2 miles south of Decatur at 639 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 20°F. May is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 40.4 inches over 70 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 26 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 110 nights a year. Snowfall averages 13.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 40.4 inches is more than at 83 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (57%). Mt Zion, 7 miles southeast, has its own station (Decatur Airport, IL): 36.4 inches a year, 4.0 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 20 | 2.4 | 5 | 5.9 |
| Feb | 39 | 24 | 2.0 | 4 | 2.5 |
| Mar | 51 | 33 | 2.6 | 6 | 0.9 |
| Apr | 63 | 43 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.4 |
| May | 74 | 54 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 63 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 67 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 65 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 57 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 65 | 46 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 50 | 34 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.4 |
| Dec | 39 | 25 | 2.4 | 5 | 3.5 |
| Year | 62 | 44 | 40.4 | 70 | 13.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Decatur Wtp, IL (639 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 Decatur
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 189 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Decatur: 167 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 flash floods, 3 lightning strikes and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $22.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 109 mph, on April 16, 2006. August has had the most flash floods, 5 of 18. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 292 have had fewer than Decatur.
May 16, 2025: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Decatur — 1 injured.
NWS: “A tree was blown onto a house on Bayview Drive. One person sustained a head injury.”
August 26, 2014: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Decatur — $20.0 million damage.
June 29, 1998: thunderstorm wind in Decatur — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “As the bow echo moved through Macon County, the Maroa area sustained considerable damage. A high-tension transmission line was blown down across US 51.”
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 Decatur's 3 ZIP codes have filed 179 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1983, with 42. 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, 260 have fewer than Decatur.
Macon County, which includes Decatur, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 severe storms, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on August 15, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Macon County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $47.0 million a year, the 22nd highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $21.4 million (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.
Cities near Decatur
- Forsyth, IL5 mi
- Mt Zion, IL7 mi
- Oakley, IL12 mi
- Maroa, IL12 mi
- Moweaqua, IL16 mi
- Clinton, IL20 mi
- Mount Pulaski, IL21 mi
- Monticello, IL24 mi
- Sullivan, IL26 mi
- Taylorville, IL28 mi
- Arthur, IL28 mi
- Lincoln, IL30 mi
All Illinois cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Decatur with another place →