NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Des Plaines, 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 Des Plaines, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 125 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 125
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
14 deaths in all
What the records show for Des Plaines
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Des Plaines; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 59 mph winds when its centre passed 47 miles away. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Des Plaines. The highest rating among the 125 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on June 13, 1976, came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 11, 1965, killed 6 people. Of the 125, 17 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 59 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 32. The most recent tornado was on March 14, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 55% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Des Plaines. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 256 times since 1957, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Des Plaines has more hail reports within 10 miles than 96% of the 548 Illinois cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Des Plaines
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 47 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 Des Plaines: 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 Des Plaines
By decade
- 2020s45(1 EF3+)
- 2010s8
- 2000s6
- 1990s7(1 EF3+)
- 1980s6
- 1970s22(3 EF3+)
- 1960s18(2 EF3+)
- 1950s13
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 23 mi | 9.1 mi | 6 / 75 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F4 | 21 mi | 3.3 mi | 2 / 23 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 17 mi | 8.8 mi | 1 / 100 |
| Sep 28, 1972 | F4 | 17 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Jun 20, 2021 | EF3 | 21 mi | 17.6 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F3 | 23 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 14 mi | 22.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F2 | 4 mi | 15.1 mi | 2 / 66 |
| Jun 9, 1966 | F2 | 5 mi | 2.5 mi | 1 / 30 |
| Mar 4, 1961 | F2 | 14 mi | 7.9 mi | 1 / 115 |
| Oct 8, 1958 | F2 | 24 mi | 81 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 18, 1997 | F2 | 23 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 125, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Des Plaines
The Storm Prediction Center has 256 hail reports within 10 miles of Des Plaines since 1957, made on 106 separate days. Of these, 172 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently April 5, 2010. The most recent report is from August 16, 2025. April has the most reports, 75.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Des Plaines
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chicago Ohare International Airport, IL, 4 miles southwest of Des Plaines at 658 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 19°F. May is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 38.0 inches over 72 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 17 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 121 nights a year. Snowfall averages 38.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 38.0 inches is more than at 34 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (23%). Mount Prospect, 3 miles northwest, has its own station (Chicago Palwaukee Airport, IL): 32.3 inches a year, 5.7 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 19 | 2.0 | 5 | 11.3 |
| Feb | 36 | 22 | 2.0 | 5 | 10.7 |
| Mar | 47 | 31 | 2.5 | 6 | 5.5 |
| Apr | 59 | 40 | 3.8 | 7 | 1.3 |
| May | 71 | 51 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 61 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 66 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 65 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 57 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 45 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 48 | 34 | 2.4 | 5 | 1.8 |
| Dec | 37 | 24 | 2.1 | 5 | 7.6 |
| Year | 60 | 43 | 38.0 | 72 | 38.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Chicago Ohare International Airport, IL (658 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 Des Plaines
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 556 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Des Plaines: 415 thunderstorm wind reports, 65 floods, 49 flash floods, 15 heavy rain events and 12 lightning strikes. They killed 5 people and injured 31, and the NWS estimated $38.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on August 10, 2020. June has had the most flash floods, 20 of 49. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 483 have had fewer than Des Plaines.
August 2, 2015: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Des Plaines — 2 killed, 19 injured.
October 13, 2001: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Des Plaines — 1 killed, 6 injured, $5,000 damage.
May 18, 2000: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Des Plaines — 1 killed.
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 Des Plaines's 2 ZIP codes have filed 1,818 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $36.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Ike in 2008: 416 claims (23% of all) and $14.1 million, then Flooding in 1987 with 392 and Mid-spring storms in 2013 with 356. 64% 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, 319 have fewer than Des Plaines.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Ike2008 | 416 | $14.1 million |
| Flooding1987 | 392 | $5.2 million |
| Mid-spring storms2013 | 356 | $11.2 million |
Cook County, which includes Des Plaines, 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.
Cities near Des Plaines
- Park Ridge, IL3 mi
- Mount Prospect, IL3 mi
- Niles, IL4 mi
- Prospect Heights, IL5 mi
- Morton Grove, IL5 mi
- Schiller Park, IL5 mi
- Glenview, IL6 mi
- Elk Grove Village, IL6 mi
- Arlington Heights, IL6 mi
- Norridge, IL6 mi
- Bensenville, IL6 mi
- Wood Dale, IL7 mi
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