NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Grant Park, 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 Grant Park, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 164 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 164
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Grant Park
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Grant Park; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 67 miles away. The record near Grant Park begins with an unnamed storm in 1932; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Grant Park has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 62% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The strongest of the 164 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 17, 1963; its path came within 7 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an F2 on November 12, 1965, killed 2 people. Of the 164, 20 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 104 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 56. The most recent tornado was on December 28, 2025. Grant Park has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 69% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 45 times since 1961, with stones up to 6 inches. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 85% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Grant Park.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Grant Park
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Grant Park: 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 Grant Park
By decade
- 2020s41
- 2010s41(2 EF3+)
- 2000s22
- 1990s11
- 1980s8(1 EF3+)
- 1970s15(2 EF3+)
- 1960s17(4 EF3+)
- 1950s9(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 1963 | F4 | 7 mi | 57.3 mi | 1 / 70 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 14 mi | 38.5 mi | 1 / 15 |
| Apr 7, 1954 | F3 | 6 mi | 42.6 mi | 1 / 13 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | EF3 | 23 mi | 16.26 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF3 | 11 mi | 7.75 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 2, 1982 | F3 | 11 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Jun 20, 1974 | F3 | 12 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F3 | 23 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 24 mi | 33.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | 1 mi | 51.7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F2 | 24 mi | 35.9 mi | 2 / 90 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | EF2 | 20 mi | 34.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 164, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Grant Park
The Storm Prediction Center has 45 hail reports within 10 miles of Grant Park since 1961, made on 39 separate days. Of these, 34 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 6 inches, fell on April 23, 1961. The most recent report is from May 7, 2023. May and June have the most reports, 13 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Grant Park
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lowell, IN, 12 miles east of Grant Park at 665 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 15°F. June is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.9 inches; the year adds up to 39.8 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 136 nights a year. Snowfall averages 29.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.8 inches is more than at 72 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (49%). Momence, 7 miles south, has its own station (Kankakee Metro Wastewater, IL): 41.9 inches a year, 2.1 more 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 | 32 | 15 | 2.3 | 6 | 9.7 |
| Feb | 36 | 18 | 1.9 | 5 | 9.3 |
| Mar | 47 | 27 | 2.3 | 6 | 3.4 |
| Apr | 60 | 38 | 3.7 | 8 | 0.3 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 59 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 63 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 60 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 53 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 41 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 49 | 30 | 2.6 | 6 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 37 | 21 | 2.2 | 6 | 5.9 |
| Year | 60 | 39 | 39.8 | 77 | 29.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lowell, IN (665 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 Grant Park
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 138 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Grant Park: 114 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 floods, 7 flash floods, 5 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $11.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on March 8, 2009. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 70 have had fewer than Grant Park.
May 15, 2007: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Grant Park — 1 injured, $10,000 damage.
September 14, 2008: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Grant Park — $10.0 million damage.
January 8, 2008: flood 8 miles from the centre of Grant Park — $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
Kankakee County, which includes Grant Park, has been named in 7 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 3 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms, 1 flood, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Kankakee County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for hail, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $68.2 million a year, the 15th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $48.3 million (71%), 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 Grant Park
- Momence, IL7 mi
- Beecher, IL7 mi
- Peotone, IL10 mi
- Manteno, IL11 mi
- Lowell, IN12 mi
- Bourbonnais, IL13 mi
- Bradley, IL13 mi
- Cedar Lake, IN13 mi
- Crete, IL14 mi
- Monee, IL14 mi
- University Park, IL14 mi
- Saint Anne, IL14 mi
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