NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fulton, 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 Fulton, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 123 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 123
- 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 Fulton
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Fulton; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 53 mph winds when its centre passed 19 miles away. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Fulton. The strongest of the 123 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on March 29, 1981; its path came within 16 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 20, 1974, killed 1 person. Of the 123, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 63 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 27. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 57% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Fulton. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 109 times since 1965, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Fulton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 54% of the 548 Illinois cities.
Compare Fulton's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Fulton
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Fulton: 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 Fulton
By decade
- 2020s19
- 2010s36
- 2000s8
- 1990s27(1 EF3+)
- 1980s11(2 EF3+)
- 1970s7(2 EF3+)
- 1960s10(1 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 29, 1981 | F4 | 16 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1974 | F3 | 3 mi | 10.6 mi | 1 / 20 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F3 | 7 mi | 15.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 8, 1988 | F3 | 3 mi | 32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 1974 | F3 | 25 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 24, 1967 | F3 | 14 mi | 7.4 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 17 mi | 18.02 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 6, 2017 | EF2 | 13 mi | 34.68 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 6, 2017 | EF2 | 22 mi | 25.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 15, 2016 | EF2 | 21 mi | 4.78 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Jun 12, 2013 | EF2 | 17 mi | 6.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 27, 1995 | F2 | 6 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 123, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fulton
The Storm Prediction Center has 109 hail reports within 10 miles of Fulton since 1965, made on 71 separate days. Of these, 61 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on July 27, 1995. The most recent report is from July 10, 2025. May has the most reports, 23.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fulton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Fulton L&D #13, IL, 2 miles north of Fulton at 592 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 29°F and 14°F. June is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.4 inches; the year adds up to 34.3 inches over 63 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 132 nights a year. That 34.3 inches is more than at 3 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (2%). Camanche, IA, 9 miles southwest, has its own station (Clinton #1, IA): 36.5 inches a year, 2.2 more than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29 | 14 | 1.4 | 4 |
| Feb | 34 | 17 | 1.6 | 4 |
| Mar | 46 | 28 | 2.4 | 5 |
| Apr | 59 | 40 | 3.4 | 6 |
| May | 71 | 51 | 4.0 | 8 |
| Jun | 81 | 62 | 4.5 | 7 |
| Jul | 84 | 65 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Aug | 82 | 63 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Sep | 76 | 55 | 3.7 | 5 |
| Oct | 63 | 43 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Nov | 48 | 31 | 2.2 | 4 |
| Dec | 35 | 21 | 1.7 | 4 |
| Year | 59 | 41 | 34.3 | 63 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Fulton L&D #13, IL (592 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 Fulton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 184 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fulton: 148 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 floods, 14 flash floods and 5 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $3.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on May 10, 1996. July has had the most flash floods, 10 of 14. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 221 have had fewer than Fulton.
May 10, 1996: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Fulton — $1.0 million damage.
July 29, 2016: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Fulton — $1.0 million damage.
June 23, 2010: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Fulton — $300,000 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 Fulton's ZIP code 61252 have filed 92 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $737,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Midwest Flooding in 1993: 10 claims (11% of all) and $69,000. The year with the most claims was 2001, with 19. 24% 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, 207 have fewer than Fulton.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 10 | $69,000 |
Whiteside County, which includes Fulton, 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.