NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit East Saint Louis, 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 East Saint Louis, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 179 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 19 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 179
- EF3 or stronger
- 19
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
52 deaths in all
What the records show for East Saint Louis
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed East Saint Louis; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 49 mph winds when its centre passed 20 miles away. The record near East Saint Louis begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. East Saint Louis has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 62% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The highest rating among the 179 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 5 times; the most recent, on April 22, 2011, came within 8 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on February 10, 1959, killed 21 people. Of the 179, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 89 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 53. The most recent tornado was on May 16, 2025. East Saint Louis has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 82% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 283 times since 1959, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). East Saint Louis has more hail reports within 10 miles than 99% of the 548 Illinois cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near East Saint Louis
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 6 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 East Saint Louis: 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 East Saint Louis
By decade
- 2020s36(2 EF3+)
- 2010s30(4 EF3+)
- 2000s23
- 1990s20
- 1980s12(5 EF3+)
- 1970s13
- 1960s17(4 EF3+)
- 1950s28(4 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 10, 1959 | F4 | 4 mi | 23.9 mi | 21 / 345 |
| Feb 24, 1956 | F4 | 5 mi | 77.6 mi | 6 / 36 |
| Jan 24, 1967 | F4 | 13 mi | 25 mi | 3 / 216 |
| Apr 22, 2011 | EF4 | 8 mi | 21.3 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 3, 1981 | F4 | 7 mi | 11.9 mi | 0 / 32 |
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF3 | 10 mi | 4.22 mi | 6 / 1 |
| May 15, 1968 | F3 | 19 mi | 2 mi | 4 / 60 |
| Dec 2, 1982 | F3 | 23 mi | 10.5 mi | 2 / 0 |
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF3 | 22 mi | 27.3 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Dec 31, 2010 | EF3 | 15 mi | 6.65 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Apr 5, 1958 | F3 | 24 mi | 60.5 mi | 1 / 8 |
| May 31, 2013 | EF3 | 13 mi | 10.64 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 179, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in East Saint Louis
The Storm Prediction Center has 283 hail reports within 10 miles of East Saint Louis since 1959, made on 162 separate days. Of these, 195 were 1 inch across or larger, and 30 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 25, 2011. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. April has the most reports, 76.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in East Saint Louis
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cahokia St Louis Airport, IL, 4 miles southwest of East Saint Louis at 413 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 24°F. May is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 41.0 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 46 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 98 nights a year. That 41.0 inches is more than at 94 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (64%). Madison, 5 miles northwest, has its own station (St Louis Sci Ctr, MO): 43.9 inches a year, 2.9 more than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 24 | 2.5 | 4 |
| Feb | 46 | 28 | 2.0 | 4 |
| Mar | 56 | 36 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Apr | 68 | 46 | 4.5 | 7 |
| May | 77 | 57 | 4.8 | 9 |
| Jun | 86 | 65 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Jul | 89 | 69 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Aug | 88 | 66 | 3.7 | 5 |
| Sep | 81 | 57 | 3.4 | 4 |
| Oct | 69 | 46 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Nov | 55 | 36 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Dec | 44 | 29 | 2.3 | 5 |
| Year | 67 | 46 | 41.0 | 69 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Cahokia St Louis Airport, IL (413 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 East Saint Louis
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 313 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of East Saint Louis: 265 thunderstorm wind reports, 37 flash floods, 6 floods, 3 lightning strikes and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 5 people and injured 143, and the NWS estimated $21.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on June 10, 2003. June has had the most flash floods, 12 of 37. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 437 have had fewer than East Saint Louis.
April 28, 2012: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of East Saint Louis — 1 killed, 100 injured.
July 19, 2020: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of East Saint Louis — 1 killed, 3 injured.
July 1, 2023: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of East Saint Louis — 1 killed, $500,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in East Saint Louis's 4 ZIP codes have filed 642 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $3.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1995: 95 claims (15% of all) and $344,000, then Late July Flooding in 2022 with 46 and Hurricane Ike in 2008 with 17. The year with the most claims was 1996, with 137. 29% 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, 306 have fewer than East Saint Louis.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1995 | 95 | $344,000 |
| Late July Flooding2022 | 46 | $829,000 |
| Hurricane Ike2008 | 17 | $58,000 |
| Mid-spring storms2013 | 12 | $101,000 |
St. Clair County, which includes East Saint Louis, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Floodng, on September 20, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives St. Clair County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $174.6 million a year, the 6th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $71.7 million (41%), 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 East Saint Louis
- Centreville, IL2 mi
- Cahokia, IL5 mi
- Madison, IL5 mi
- Caseyville, IL5 mi
- Fairview Heights, IL6 mi
- Granite City, IL7 mi
- Dupo, IL8 mi
- Collinsville, IL8 mi
- Belleville, IL9 mi
- Saint Louis, MO11 mi
- Millstadt, IL11 mi
- O Fallon, IL11 mi
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