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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Frankfort, 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 Frankfort, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 208 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 15 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
2

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
208

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
15

71 deaths in all

What the records show for Frankfort

None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Frankfort; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm with 44 mph winds when its centre passed 55 miles away. The record near Frankfort begins with an unnamed storm in 1932; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941. Frankfort has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 43% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The strongest of the 208 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on August 28, 1990; its path came within 14 miles, and it killed 29 people. The deadliest, an F4 on April 21, 1967, killed 33 people. Of the 208, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 124 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 55. The most recent tornado was on March 19, 2025. Frankfort has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 99% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 119 times since 1963, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Frankfort has more hail reports within 10 miles than 58% of the 548 Illinois cities.

Compare Frankfort's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Frankfort

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Frankfort, Illinois, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1941Unnamed 1941 stormSep 2555 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 3
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 360 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 1

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Frankfort: 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 Frankfort

By decade

  • 2020s62(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s37(1 EF3+)
  • 2000s25
  • 1990s14(2 EF3+)
  • 1980s22(2 EF3+)
  • 1970s20(4 EF3+)
  • 1960s19(4 EF3+)
  • 1950s9(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Frankfort, Illinois
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Aug 28, 1990F514 mi16.4 mi29 / 350
Apr 21, 1967F412 mi15 mi33 / 500
Jun 13, 1976F414 mi3.3 mi2 / 23
Apr 17, 1963F424 mi57.3 mi1 / 70
Jun 29, 1979F420 mi5.4 mi0 / 1
Apr 27, 1984F319 mi9 mi1 / 5
Apr 7, 1954F318 mi42.6 mi1 / 13
Jun 20, 2021EF316 mi17.6 mi0 / 11
Jun 22, 2015EF323 mi16.26 mi0 / 7
Mar 27, 1991F312 mi15 mi0 / 7
Apr 2, 1982F321 mi12 mi0 / 15
Mar 12, 1976F324 mi22.6 mi0 / 3

The strongest 12 of 208, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Frankfort

The Storm Prediction Center has 119 hail reports within 10 miles of Frankfort since 1963, made on 69 separate days. Of these, 63 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 4 days, most recently May 7, 2024. The most recent report is from September 21, 2025. May has the most reports, 34.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Radar-estimated hail days in Frankfort since 2019 →

Weather by month in Frankfort

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Park Forest, IL, 8 miles east of Frankfort at 710 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 15°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 42.2 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 16 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 125 nights a year. Snowfall averages 28.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.2 inches is more than at 108 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (74%). New Lenox, 7 miles west, has its own station (Joliet Brandon Rd Dam, IL): 38.1 inches a year, 4.1 less than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Park Forest, IL
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow in
Jan31152.5610.2
Feb35182.257.5
Mar46282.764.9
Apr59384.080.5
May71494.680.0
Jun80594.970.0
Jul84644.770.0
Aug82624.060.0
Sep76553.460.0
Oct63423.770.2
Nov48313.060.9
Dec36222.564.0
Year594042.27728.2

Averages for 1991–2020 at Park Forest, IL (710 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.

Illinois weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Frankfort

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 265 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Frankfort: 179 thunderstorm wind reports, 41 floods, 27 flash floods, 10 heavy rain events and 8 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $3.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on August 10, 2020. June has had the most flash floods, 10 of 27. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 377 have had fewer than Frankfort.

  • September 13, 2008: flood 5 miles from the centre of Frankfort — 1 killed.

  • June 30, 2014: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Frankfort — 1 injured, $50,000 damage.

  • August 18, 2025: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Frankfort — $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 Frankfort's ZIP code 60423 have filed 41 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $712,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1981: 14 claims (34% of all) and $35,000. 51% 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, 140 have fewer than Frankfort.

Flood insurance claims in Frankfort by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Flooding198114$35,000

Will County, which includes Frankfort, 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.

Cities near Frankfort