NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Freeport, 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 Freeport, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 77 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 77
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Freeport
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Freeport; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre crossed the city. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Freeport. The highest rating among the 77 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on August 5, 1979, came within 20 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on April 6, 1972, killed 1 person. Of the 77, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 34 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 18. The most recent tornado was on July 15, 2024. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 95% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Freeport. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 70 times since 1965, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 65% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Freeport.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Freeport
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | overhead | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Freeport: 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 Freeport
By decade
- 2020s17
- 2010s8
- 2000s9
- 1990s14
- 1980s6
- 1970s10(1 EF3+)
- 1960s8(3 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 5, 1979 | F3 | 20 mi | 5.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 16, 1967 | F3 | 21 mi | 27.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 24, 1967 | F3 | 25 mi | 24.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 24, 1967 | F3 | 19 mi | 7.4 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Apr 6, 1972 | F2 | 17 mi | 17.5 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Oct 8, 1958 | F2 | 12 mi | 81 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | EF2 | 11 mi | 15.41 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 17, 1979 | F2 | 15 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 1979 | F2 | 21 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 12, 1969 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 1967 | F2 | 22 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 18, 1955 | F2 | 10 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 77, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Freeport
The Storm Prediction Center has 70 hail reports within 10 miles of Freeport since 1965, made on 45 separate days. Of these, 36 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 12, 2008. The most recent report is from May 21, 2024. April has the most reports, 17.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Freeport
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Freeport Waste Wtp, IL, 2 miles east of Freeport at 750 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 28°F and 11°F. June is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 38.6 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 148 nights a year. Snowfall averages 34.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 38.6 inches is more than at 47 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (32%). Lena, 12 miles northwest, has its own station (Stockton 3 NNE, IL): 38.6 inches a year, the same as here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 11 | 1.6 | 4 | 9.7 |
| Feb | 33 | 15 | 1.7 | 4 | 8.5 |
| Mar | 45 | 26 | 2.2 | 5 | 3.8 |
| Apr | 58 | 36 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.8 |
| May | 70 | 48 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 59 | 5.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 60 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 51 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 39 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 46 | 28 | 2.4 | 5 | 2.6 |
| Dec | 33 | 18 | 1.8 | 5 | 8.9 |
| Year | 58 | 38 | 38.6 | 69 | 34.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Freeport Waste Wtp, IL (750 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 Freeport
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 168 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Freeport: 135 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 flash floods, 12 heavy rain events, 2 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $4.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on August 24, 1998. June has had the most flash floods, 6 of 17. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 278 have had fewer than Freeport.
July 5, 2003: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Freeport — 1 injured, $30,000 damage.
July 5, 2003: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Freeport — $2.5 million damage.
NWS: “Numerous trees & power lines down”
July 24, 2010: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Freeport — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rains of about 3 inches in under 3 hours (for a total of about 11 inches in less than 32 hours) resulted in extensive flash flooding during the morning of July 24.”
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 Freeport's ZIP code 61032 have filed 134 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $1.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 14 claims (10% of all) and $91,000. The year with the most claims was 2010, with 23. 17% 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, 233 have fewer than Freeport.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 14 | $91,000 |
Stephenson County, which includes Freeport, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 floods, 4 snowstorms, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Stephenson County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and inland flooding; Relatively Low for lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $28.9 million a year, the 34th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $15.8 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 Freeport
- Lena, IL12 mi
- Pecatonica, IL15 mi
- Davis, IL15 mi
- Lanark, IL16 mi
- Durand, IL19 mi
- Winnebago, IL20 mi
- Mount Morris, IL20 mi
- Stockton, IL20 mi
- Monroe, WI21 mi
- Polo, IL22 mi
- Byron, IL22 mi
- Mount Carroll, IL23 mi
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