NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fairview Heights, 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 Fairview Heights, 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, 20 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 179
- EF3 or stronger
- 20
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
52 deaths in all
What the records show for Fairview Heights
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Fairview Heights; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 49 mph winds when its centre passed 15 miles away. The record near Fairview Heights begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Fairview Heights 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 11 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on February 10, 1959, killed 21 people. Of the 179, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 88 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 51. The most recent tornado was on May 16, 2025. Fairview Heights has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 82% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 222 times since 1961, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Fairview Heights has more hail reports within 10 miles than 86% of the 548 Illinois cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Fairview Heights
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 11 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 Fairview Heights: 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 Fairview Heights
By decade
- 2020s34(1 EF3+)
- 2010s29(4 EF3+)
- 2000s25
- 1990s21
- 1980s11(5 EF3+)
- 1970s17(2 EF3+)
- 1960s18(3 EF3+)
- 1950s24(5 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 10, 1959 | F4 | 10 mi | 23.9 mi | 21 / 345 |
| Feb 24, 1956 | F4 | 2 mi | 77.6 mi | 6 / 36 |
| Jan 24, 1967 | F4 | 17 mi | 25 mi | 3 / 216 |
| Apr 22, 2011 | EF4 | 11 mi | 21.3 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 3, 1981 | F4 | 11 mi | 11.9 mi | 0 / 32 |
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF3 | 12 mi | 4.22 mi | 6 / 1 |
| May 15, 1968 | F3 | 15 mi | 2 mi | 4 / 60 |
| Dec 2, 1982 | F3 | 17 mi | 10.5 mi | 2 / 0 |
| Dec 2, 1950 | F3 | 21 mi | 18 mi | 2 / 25 |
| Dec 31, 2010 | EF3 | 21 mi | 6.65 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Apr 5, 1958 | F3 | 19 mi | 60.5 mi | 1 / 8 |
| May 31, 2013 | EF3 | 16 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 Fairview Heights
The Storm Prediction Center has 222 hail reports within 10 miles of Fairview Heights since 1961, made on 134 separate days. Of these, 151 were 1 inch across or larger, and 23 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3.5 inches, was reported on 2 days, most recently April 28, 2012. The most recent report is from April 2, 2025. April has the most reports, 57.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fairview Heights
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cahokia St Louis Airport, IL, 9 miles west of Fairview Heights 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%). Belleville, 5 miles south, has its own station (Belleville Siu Rsch, IL): 43.4 inches a year, 2.4 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 Fairview Heights
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 239 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fairview Heights: 226 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 flash floods, 1 flood and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 7, and the NWS estimated $1.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on June 10, 2003. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 11. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 151 have had fewer than Fairview Heights.
April 27, 2026: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Fairview Heights — 3 injured.
March 14, 2025: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Fairview Heights — 2 injured, $150,000 damage.
March 27, 2021: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Fairview Heights — 1 injured.
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 Fairview Heights's ZIP code 62208 have filed 12 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $16,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 320 Illinois cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 17 have fewer than Fairview Heights.
St. Clair County, which includes Fairview Heights, 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 Fairview Heights
- Caseyville, IL3 mi
- Belleville, IL5 mi
- O Fallon, IL5 mi
- Collinsville, IL6 mi
- East Saint Louis, IL6 mi
- Centreville, IL7 mi
- Cahokia, IL9 mi
- Scott Afb, IL9 mi
- Maryville, IL9 mi
- Madison, IL10 mi
- Lebanon, IL10 mi
- Millstadt, IL11 mi
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