NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fairbury, 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 Fairbury, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 125 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 125
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Fairbury
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Fairbury; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 56 mph winds when its centre passed 69 miles away. The record near Fairbury begins with an unnamed storm in 1932; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Fairbury has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 62% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The highest rating among the 125 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on June 5, 2010, came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on June 5, 2010, killed 1 person. Of the 125, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 59 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 39. The most recent tornado was on December 28, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 55% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Fairbury. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 17 times since 1962, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 100% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Fairbury.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Fairbury
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Fairbury: 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 Fairbury
By decade
- 2020s16
- 2010s17(1 EF3+)
- 2000s26
- 1990s15
- 1980s16
- 1970s18(1 EF3+)
- 1960s4
- 1950s13(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 1954 | F3 | 11 mi | 42.6 mi | 1 / 13 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF3 | 24 mi | 8.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 12 mi | 7.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 24 mi | 5.96 mi | 1 / 13 |
| Dec 1, 2018 | EF2 | 25 mi | 2.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 2016 | EF2 | 8 mi | 11.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 23, 2004 | F2 | 16 mi | 13.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 29, 1986 | F2 | in town | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 24, 1982 | F2 | 14 mi | 23.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 13, 1981 | F2 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1980 | F2 | 1 mi | 34.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 1978 | F2 | 2 mi | 16.4 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 Fairbury
The Storm Prediction Center has 17 hail reports within 10 miles of Fairbury since 1962, made on 15 separate days. Of these, 15 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on June 20, 1981. The most recent report is from May 15, 2025. July has the most reports, 5.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fairbury
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chenoa, IL, 11 miles west of Fairbury at 719 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 15°F. May is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 36.2 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 23 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 127 nights a year. Snowfall averages 19.9 inches a year, most of it in December. That 36.2 inches is more than at 7 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (5%). Pontiac, 12 miles northwest, has its own station (Pontiac, IL): 36.9 inches a year, 0.7 more than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 15 | 2.2 | 4 | 5.3 |
| Feb | 37 | 19 | 1.6 | 3 | 4.8 |
| Mar | 49 | 29 | 2.7 | 6 | 2.3 |
| Apr | 62 | 39 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.8 |
| May | 73 | 51 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 60 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 63 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 61 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 53 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 42 | 3.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 49 | 31 | 2.6 | 6 | 1.3 |
| Dec | 37 | 21 | 2.0 | 4 | 5.4 |
| Year | 61 | 40 | 36.2 | 68 | 19.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Chenoa, IL (719 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 Fairbury
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 48 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fairbury: 40 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 flash floods and 2 floods. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $2.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 13, 2004. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 51 have had fewer than Fairbury.
January 8, 2008: flood 4 miles from the centre of Fairbury — 1 killed, $2.0 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain fell onto saturated and frozen ground across Livingston County on January 8th. The rain quickly ran off into streams and rivers which then overflowed their banks.”
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
Livingston County, which includes Fairbury, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Livingston County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $32.8 million a year, the 29th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $22.4 million (68%), 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 Fairbury
- Chenoa, IL10 mi
- Pontiac, IL12 mi
- Lexington, IL16 mi
- Gibson City, IL21 mi
- Dwight, IL24 mi
- Hudson, IL25 mi
- El Paso, IL27 mi
- Minonk, IL29 mi
- Paxton, IL29 mi
- Normal, IL29 mi
- Downs, IL30 mi
- Le Roy, IL30 mi
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