NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Gardner, 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 Gardner, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 114 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 114
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Gardner
None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Gardner; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm with 44 mph winds when its centre passed 65 miles away. The record near Gardner begins with an unnamed storm in 1932; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941. Gardner has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 43% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The highest rating among the 114 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 29, 1979, came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on November 12, 1965, killed 2 people. Of the 114, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 66 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, 65% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Gardner. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 58 times since 1980, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 74% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Gardner.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Gardner
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 59 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 Gardner: 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 Gardner
By decade
- 2020s18
- 2010s29(2 EF3+)
- 2000s19
- 1990s5
- 1980s10(1 EF3+)
- 1970s14(2 EF3+)
- 1960s10(2 EF3+)
- 1950s9(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 1963 | F4 | 11 mi | 57.3 mi | 1 / 70 |
| Jun 29, 1979 | F4 | 24 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 7, 1954 | F3 | 13 mi | 42.6 mi | 1 / 13 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | EF3 | 7 mi | 16.26 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF3 | 15 mi | 8.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 1982 | F3 | 19 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Jul 17, 1972 | F3 | 18 mi | 81.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | 13 mi | 51.7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F2 | 17 mi | 35.9 mi | 2 / 90 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 8 mi | 5.96 mi | 1 / 13 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | EF2 | 15 mi | 34.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 22, 2016 | EF2 | 17 mi | 8.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 114, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Gardner
The Storm Prediction Center has 58 hail reports within 10 miles of Gardner since 1980, made on 43 separate days. Of these, 35 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on July 10, 2013. The most recent report is from April 20, 2023. May has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Gardner
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Dwight, IL, 7 miles southwest of Gardner at 628 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 14°F. May is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 37.9 inches over 72 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 140 nights a year. Snowfall averages 23.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 37.9 inches is more than at 31 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (21%). Braidwood, 8 miles northeast, has its own station (Channahon Dresden Isl Dam, IL): 37.5 inches a year, 0.4 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 14 | 2.0 | 4 | 7.9 |
| Feb | 35 | 17 | 1.6 | 4 | 4.9 |
| Mar | 48 | 27 | 2.6 | 6 | 3.5 |
| Apr | 61 | 37 | 3.5 | 8 | 0.6 |
| May | 72 | 49 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 59 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 62 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 59 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 51 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 40 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 49 | 29 | 2.6 | 6 | 0.8 |
| Dec | 36 | 20 | 2.0 | 5 | 5.6 |
| Year | 60 | 39 | 37.9 | 72 | 23.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Dwight, IL (628 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 Gardner
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 127 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Gardner: 109 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 flash floods, 7 floods, 3 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $671,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on September 11, 2000. August has had the most flash floods, 3 of 7. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 70 have had fewer than Gardner.
December 29, 2015: flood 6 miles from the centre of Gardner — 1 killed.
May 31, 2000: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Gardner — 2 injured, $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds knocked down a couple tree limbs in Mazon. One fell on a car.”
October 29, 1996: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Gardner — $105,000 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 Gardner's ZIP code 60424 have filed 24 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $73,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 42% 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, 85 have fewer than Gardner.
Grundy County, which includes Gardner, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 10 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 Grundy County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes, hail and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $50.1 million a year, the 19th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $22.2 million (44%), 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 Gardner
- Braidwood, IL8 mi
- Coal City, IL8 mi
- Dwight, IL8 mi
- Wilmington, IL12 mi
- Morris, IL15 mi
- Seneca, IL19 mi
- Channahon, IL19 mi
- Elwood, IL21 mi
- Minooka, IL21 mi
- Bourbonnais, IL23 mi
- Marseilles, IL23 mi
- Bradley, IL23 mi
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