NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hamilton, 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
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Hamilton, Illinois since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 88 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 88
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Hamilton
The strongest of the 88 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 13, 1995; its path came within 12 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 1, 1973, killed 2 people. Of the 88, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 27 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 29. The most recent tornado was on August 10, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 89% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Hamilton. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 82 times since 1974, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 58% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Hamilton.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Hamilton
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s6
- 2000s13
- 1990s24(2 EF3+)
- 1980s7
- 1970s14(3 EF3+)
- 1960s8(1 EF3+)
- 1950s8
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 13, 1995 | F4 | 12 mi | 50 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 1, 1973 | F3 | 18 mi | 3.6 mi | 2 / 20 |
| Jan 24, 1967 | F3 | 19 mi | 4.3 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F3 | in town | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 13, 1974 | F3 | 2 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 30, 1973 | F3 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 4, 2017 | EF2 | 8 mi | 7.97 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 10, 2003 | F2 | 9 mi | 69.2 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 10, 2003 | F2 | 15 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 2003 | F2 | 20 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 6 |
| May 10, 2003 | F2 | 23 mi | 22.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F2 | 24 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 88, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hamilton
The Storm Prediction Center has 82 hail reports within 10 miles of Hamilton since 1974, made on 53 separate days. Of these, 61 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 19, 2013. The most recent report is from July 30, 2025. May has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hamilton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Keokuk Lock Dam 19, IA, 2 miles west of Hamilton at 527 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 17°F. May is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 39.8 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 26 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 117 nights a year. That 39.8 inches is more than at 72 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (49%). Carthage, 11 miles east, has its own station (Bentley, IL): 40.4 inches a year, 0.6 more than here, and the same July average high, 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 17 | 1.6 | 4 |
| Feb | 38 | 20 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Mar | 50 | 31 | 2.5 | 5 |
| Apr | 62 | 41 | 4.2 | 8 |
| May | 73 | 53 | 5.3 | 9 |
| Jun | 82 | 63 | 5.2 | 7 |
| Jul | 86 | 67 | 4.1 | 6 |
| Aug | 84 | 65 | 3.8 | 5 |
| Sep | 77 | 56 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Oct | 65 | 44 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Nov | 51 | 33 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Dec | 38 | 23 | 2.0 | 4 |
| Year | 62 | 43 | 39.8 | 67 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Keokuk Lock Dam 19, IA (527 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 Hamilton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 188 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hamilton: 145 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 floods and 21 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $7.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 120 mph, on June 29, 2023. June has had the most flash floods, 9 of 21. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 322 have had fewer than Hamilton.
June 29, 2023: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Hamilton — 2 injured.
July 18, 2003: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Hamilton — 1 injured, $80,000 damage.
June 25, 2003: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Hamilton — $4.8 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Hamilton's ZIP code 62341 have filed 12 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1993, and were paid $170,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 50% 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, 17 have fewer than Hamilton.
Hancock County, which includes Hamilton, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 4 severe storms, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on August 15, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Hancock County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes and hail; Very Low for hurricanes and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.4 million a year, the 85th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.4 million (28%), 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 Hamilton
- Keokuk, IA4 mi
- Carthage, IL11 mi
- Fort Madison, IA16 mi
- Canton, MO20 mi
- Kahoka, MO20 mi
- Mendon, IL22 mi
- Donnellson, IA23 mi
- West Point, IA23 mi
- Colchester, IL28 mi
- Camp Point, IL30 mi
- Burlington, IA31 mi
- West Burlington, IA31 mi
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