NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Elwood, 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
2 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Elwood, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 180 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 14 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 180
- EF3 or stronger
- 14
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
71 deaths in all
What the records show for Elwood
None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Elwood; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm with 44 mph winds when its centre passed 65 miles away. The record near Elwood begins with an unnamed storm in 1932; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941. Elwood has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 43% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The strongest of the 180 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on August 28, 1990; its path came within 6 miles, and it killed 29 people. The deadliest, an F4 on April 21, 1967, killed 33 people. Of the 180, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 100 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 52. The most recent tornado was on March 19, 2025. Elwood has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 83% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 114 times since 1961, with stones up to 4.75 inches. Elwood has more hail reports within 10 miles than 56% of the 548 Illinois cities.
Compare Elwood's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Elwood
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Elwood: 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 Elwood
By decade
- 2020s45(1 EF3+)
- 2010s33(1 EF3+)
- 2000s22
- 1990s13(2 EF3+)
- 1980s19(2 EF3+)
- 1970s25(4 EF3+)
- 1960s14(3 EF3+)
- 1950s9(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 1990 | F5 | 6 mi | 16.4 mi | 29 / 350 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 22 mi | 15 mi | 33 / 500 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F4 | 17 mi | 3.3 mi | 2 / 23 |
| Apr 17, 1963 | F4 | 17 mi | 57.3 mi | 1 / 70 |
| Jun 29, 1979 | F4 | 9 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 27, 1984 | F3 | 13 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Apr 7, 1954 | F3 | 21 mi | 42.6 mi | 1 / 13 |
| Jun 20, 2021 | EF3 | 22 mi | 17.6 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | EF3 | 13 mi | 16.26 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F3 | 10 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 2, 1982 | F3 | 21 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 19 mi | 22.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
The strongest 12 of 180, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Elwood
The Storm Prediction Center has 114 hail reports within 10 miles of Elwood since 1961, made on 72 separate days. Of these, 63 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.75 inches, fell on June 10, 2015. The most recent report is from September 13, 2025. April has the most reports, 28.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Elwood
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Joliet Brandon Rd Dam, IL, 5 miles north of Elwood at 543 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 17°F. July is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 38.1 inches over 70 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 126 nights a year. Snowfall averages 16.9 inches a year, most of it in February. That 38.1 inches is more than at 36 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (25%). Channahon, 6 miles west, has its own station (Channahon Dresden Isl Dam, IL): 37.5 inches a year, 0.6 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 17 | 2.0 | 5 | 5.0 |
| Feb | 35 | 20 | 1.8 | 5 | 6.2 |
| Mar | 47 | 29 | 2.3 | 5 | 2.1 |
| Apr | 60 | 39 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.1 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 60 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 64 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 63 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 55 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 43 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 49 | 32 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Dec | 36 | 22 | 1.9 | 5 | 3.2 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 38.1 | 70 | 16.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Joliet Brandon Rd Dam, IL (543 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 Elwood
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 262 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Elwood: 193 thunderstorm wind reports, 35 floods, 22 flash floods, 10 lightning strikes and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $4.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on May 23, 2020. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 328 have had fewer than Elwood.
July 28, 2021: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Elwood — 1 killed.
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Elwood — 1 injured.
NWS: “A man was injured at Route 66 Raceway when an inflated oil can that was used for advertising blew into the man and knocked him into a wall. He suffered a broken leg and shoulder.”
August 3, 2010: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Elwood — $1.0 million 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 Elwood's ZIP code 60421 have filed 46 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $184,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1981: 15 claims (33% of all) and $115,000. The year with the most claims was 1980, with 19. 33% 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, 152 have fewer than Elwood.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1981 | 15 | $115,000 |
Will County, which includes Elwood, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 4 floods, 4 snowstorms, 3 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 Will County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes; Relatively High for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Moderate for heat waves; Relatively Low for hail and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $348.1 million a year, the 3rd highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $193.0 million (55%), 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.