NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Granite City, 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 Granite City, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 172 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 19 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 172
- EF3 or stronger
- 19
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
51 deaths in all
What the records show for Granite City
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Granite City; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 49 mph winds when its centre passed 25 miles away. The record near Granite City begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Granite City has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 62% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The highest rating among the 172 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 5 times; the most recent, on April 22, 2011, passed within a mile of the city centre. The deadliest, an F4 on February 10, 1959, killed 21 people. Of the 172, 15 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 93 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 41. The most recent tornado was on June 4, 2025. Granite City has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 77% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 235 times since 1959, with stones up to 3.75 inches. Granite City has more hail reports within 10 miles than 91% of the 548 Illinois cities.
Compare Granite City's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Granite City
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | overhead | 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 Granite City: 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 Granite City
By decade
- 2020s35(2 EF3+)
- 2010s30(4 EF3+)
- 2000s28
- 1990s11
- 1980s11(4 EF3+)
- 1970s12
- 1960s16(4 EF3+)
- 1950s29(5 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 10, 1959 | F4 | 4 mi | 23.9 mi | 21 / 345 |
| Feb 24, 1956 | F4 | 12 mi | 77.6 mi | 6 / 36 |
| Jan 24, 1967 | F4 | 6 mi | 25 mi | 3 / 216 |
| Apr 22, 2011 | EF4 | in town | 21.3 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 3, 1981 | F4 | in town | 11.9 mi | 0 / 32 |
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF3 | 4 mi | 4.22 mi | 6 / 1 |
| May 15, 1968 | F3 | 25 mi | 2 mi | 4 / 60 |
| Dec 2, 1950 | F3 | 24 mi | 18 mi | 2 / 25 |
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF3 | 20 mi | 27.3 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Dec 31, 2010 | EF3 | 18 mi | 6.65 mi | 1 / 6 |
| May 31, 2013 | EF3 | 6 mi | 10.64 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 2013 | EF3 | 5 mi | 31.71 mi | 0 / 8 |
The strongest 12 of 172, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Granite City
The Storm Prediction Center has 235 hail reports within 10 miles of Granite City since 1959, made on 136 separate days. Of these, 167 were 1 inch across or larger, and 26 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.75 inches, fell on March 14, 2024. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. April has the most reports, 70.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Granite City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Alton - Melvin Price L&D, IL, 10 miles north of Granite City at 405 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 39°F and 22°F. May is the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 41.9 inches over 72 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 29 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 85 nights a year. That 41.9 inches is more than at 105 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (72%). Madison, 4 miles southwest, has its own station (St Louis Sci Ctr, MO): 43.9 inches a year, 2.0 more than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39 | 22 | 2.5 | 5 |
| Feb | 44 | 25 | 2.5 | 5 |
| Mar | 54 | 35 | 3.5 | 7 |
| Apr | 66 | 45 | 4.9 | 8 |
| May | 75 | 56 | 5.5 | 9 |
| Jun | 84 | 66 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Jul | 87 | 69 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Aug | 86 | 67 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Sep | 80 | 60 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Oct | 68 | 48 | 2.9 | 5 |
| Nov | 54 | 37 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Dec | 44 | 27 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Year | 65 | 46 | 41.9 | 72 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Alton - Melvin Price L&D, IL (405 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 Granite City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 244 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Granite City: 197 thunderstorm wind reports, 34 flash floods, 11 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 136, and the NWS estimated $11.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on March 14, 2025. June has had the most flash floods, 11 of 34. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 425 have had fewer than Granite City.
April 28, 2012: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Granite City — 1 killed, 100 injured.
June 15, 2010: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Granite City — 1 killed.
July 19, 2006: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Granite City — 30 injured, $259,000 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 Granite City's ZIP code 62040 have filed 401 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.4 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1995: 91 claims (23% of all) and $259,000, then Midwest Flooding in 1993 with 46 and Early winter storms in 2015 with 27. 46% 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, 295 have fewer than Granite City.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1995 | 91 | $259,000 |
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 46 | $771,000 |
| Early winter storms2015 | 27 | $274,000 |
| Hurricane Ike2008 | 12 | $40,000 |
Madison County, which includes Granite City, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Madison County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, hail, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $154.9 million a year, the 7th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $56.2 million (36%), 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 Granite City
- Madison, IL4 mi
- Collinsville, IL7 mi
- East Saint Louis, IL7 mi
- Caseyville, IL8 mi
- Glen Carbon, IL8 mi
- South Roxana, IL8 mi
- Maryville, IL8 mi
- Centreville, IL9 mi
- Wood River, IL10 mi
- Ferguson, MO10 mi
- East Alton, IL10 mi
- Fairview Heights, IL11 mi
All Illinois cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Granite City with another place →