NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Harvard, 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 Harvard, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 109 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 109
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
34 deaths in all
What the records show for Harvard
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Harvard; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 11 miles away. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Harvard. The highest rating among the 109 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 9, 2015, came within 23 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 21, 1967, killed 24 people. Of the 109, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 61 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on June 3, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 70% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Harvard. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 37 times since 1975, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 91% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Harvard.
Compare Harvard's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Harvard
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Harvard: 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 Harvard
By decade
- 2020s33
- 2010s19(1 EF3+)
- 2000s9(2 EF3+)
- 1990s14
- 1980s6
- 1970s10
- 1960s12(3 EF3+)
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 8 mi | 25.5 mi | 24 / 450 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 19 mi | 9.1 mi | 6 / 75 |
| Apr 9, 2015 | EF4 | 23 mi | 30.14 mi | 2 / 11 |
| Jan 7, 2008 | EF3 | 17 mi | 10.78 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Jan 7, 2008 | EF3 | 2 mi | 13.1 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jul 19, 1963 | F3 | 11 mi | 10.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 8, 1958 | F2 | 2 mi | 81 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Nov 22, 2010 | EF2 | 2 mi | 18.1 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jul 16, 1980 | F2 | 21 mi | 1.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 1978 | F2 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 1, 1971 | F2 | 21 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 21, 1966 | F2 | 13 mi | 33.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 109, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Harvard
The Storm Prediction Center has 37 hail reports within 10 miles of Harvard since 1975, made on 32 separate days. Of these, 24 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 6 days, most recently August 27, 2024. The most recent report is from August 27, 2024. July has the most reports, 7.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Harvard
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Marengo, IL, 11 miles south of Harvard at 815 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 29°F and 13°F. May and June are the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 37.7 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 147 nights a year. Snowfall averages 30.8 inches a year, most of it in December. That 37.7 inches is more than at 26 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (18%). Walworth, WI, 8 miles north, has its own station (Lake Geneva Wwtp, WI): 37.0 inches a year, 0.7 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29 | 13 | 1.7 | 4 | 8.0 |
| Feb | 33 | 16 | 1.6 | 4 | 9.1 |
| Mar | 45 | 26 | 2.1 | 5 | 2.4 |
| Apr | 59 | 36 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.4 |
| May | 70 | 47 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 57 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 62 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 60 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 52 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 40 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 47 | 29 | 2.4 | 5 | 1.6 |
| Dec | 35 | 19 | 1.9 | 4 | 9.3 |
| Year | 58 | 38 | 37.7 | 69 | 30.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Marengo, IL (815 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 Harvard
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 125 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Harvard: 105 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 floods, 6 flash floods, 4 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on May 17, 2017. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 51 have had fewer than Harvard.
June 25, 2024: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Harvard — 1 injured.
April 19, 1996: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Harvard — $300,000 damage.
September 19, 1997: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Harvard — $250,000 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 Harvard's ZIP code 60033 have filed 17 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1985, and were paid $58,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 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, 58 have fewer than Harvard.
McHenry County, which includes Harvard, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 snowstorms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives McHenry County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $142.5 million a year, the 8th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $85.1 million (60%), 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.