NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Erie, 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 Erie, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 147 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 147
- 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 Erie
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Erie; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 33 miles away. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Erie. The strongest of the 147 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on March 29, 1981; its path came within 7 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 20, 1974, killed 1 person. Of the 147, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 82 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 34. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Erie has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 58% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 41 times since 1970, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 89% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Erie.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Erie
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Erie: 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 Erie
By decade
- 2020s37
- 2010s38
- 2000s7
- 1990s30(1 EF3+)
- 1980s7(2 EF3+)
- 1970s11(2 EF3+)
- 1960s13(1 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 29, 1981 | F4 | 7 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1974 | F3 | 13 mi | 10.6 mi | 1 / 20 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F3 | 8 mi | 15.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 8, 1988 | F3 | 16 mi | 32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 1974 | F3 | 24 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1966 | F3 | 24 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 4, 2023 | EF2 | 16 mi | 2.79 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 4, 2023 | EF2 | 19 mi | 0.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 14 mi | 9.32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 13 mi | 3.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 15 mi | 3.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 6, 2017 | EF2 | 25 mi | 34.68 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 147, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Erie
The Storm Prediction Center has 41 hail reports within 10 miles of Erie since 1970, made on 27 separate days. Of these, 26 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on April 22, 1970. The most recent report is from February 27, 2024. May has the most reports, 16.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Erie
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Morrison, IL, 11 miles northeast of Erie at 632 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 29°F and 12°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.5 inches; the year adds up to 38.3 inches over 69 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 145 nights a year. Snowfall averages 31.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 38.3 inches is more than at 41 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (28%). Port Byron, 13 miles west, has its own station (Le Claire L&D 14, IA): 37.2 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29 | 12 | 1.5 | 4 | 10.4 |
| Feb | 34 | 16 | 1.7 | 4 | 7.6 |
| Mar | 46 | 27 | 2.5 | 5 | 3.6 |
| Apr | 60 | 37 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.8 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 59 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 60 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 51 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 39 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 47 | 28 | 2.5 | 5 | 2.7 |
| Dec | 35 | 18 | 2.0 | 5 | 6.3 |
| Year | 59 | 38 | 38.3 | 69 | 31.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Morrison, IL (632 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 Erie
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 55 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Erie: 42 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 floods, 3 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $978,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on March 12, 2006.
July 24, 2010: flood 2 miles from the centre of Erie — $500,000 damage.
March 12, 2006: thunderstorm wind in Erie — $300,000 damage.
NWS: “A bow echo interacted with a surface boundary over Atkinson and produced a ducted downburst over a narrow path of about 1 mile. About 12 homes sustained varying amounts of damage with many trees either uprooted or damaged.”
May 22, 2011: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Erie — $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
Flood insurance policyholders in Erie's ZIP code 61250 have filed 32 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $123,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 25% 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, 117 have fewer than Erie.
Whiteside County, which includes Erie, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Whiteside County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and hail; Relatively Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $24.6 million a year, the 39th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $12.8 million (52%), 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 Erie
- Prophetstown, IL9 mi
- Port Byron, IL13 mi
- Morrison, IL13 mi
- Camanche, IA13 mi
- Geneseo, IL14 mi
- Fulton, IL15 mi
- Le Claire, IA15 mi
- Clinton, IA16 mi
- Colona, IL18 mi
- East Moline, IL20 mi
- Silvis, IL20 mi
- Rock Falls, IL21 mi
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