NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Harvey, 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 Harvey, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 168 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 168
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
68 deaths in all
What the records show for Harvey
None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Harvey; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm with 44 mph winds when its centre passed 51 miles away. The record near Harvey begins with an unnamed storm in 1932; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941. Harvey has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 43% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The strongest of the 168 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on August 28, 1990; its path came within 23 miles, and it killed 29 people. The deadliest, an F4 on April 21, 1967, killed 33 people. Of the 168, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 103 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 43. The most recent tornado was on March 19, 2025. Harvey has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 73% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 166 times since 1956, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Harvey has more hail reports within 10 miles than 72% of the 548 Illinois cities.
Compare Harvey's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Harvey
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 60 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 Harvey: 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 Harvey
By decade
- 2020s54(1 EF3+)
- 2010s30
- 2000s19
- 1990s7(2 EF3+)
- 1980s16
- 1970s17(2 EF3+)
- 1960s16(3 EF3+)
- 1950s9
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 1990 | F5 | 23 mi | 16.4 mi | 29 / 350 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 6 mi | 15 mi | 33 / 500 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F4 | 16 mi | 3.3 mi | 2 / 23 |
| Jun 20, 2021 | EF3 | 14 mi | 17.6 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F3 | 12 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 24 mi | 22.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Oct 24, 1967 | F3 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F3 | 10 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F2 | 7 mi | 35.9 mi | 2 / 90 |
| Apr 6, 1972 | F2 | 21 mi | 6.8 mi | 1 / 22 |
| Mar 4, 1961 | F2 | 20 mi | 7.9 mi | 1 / 115 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | EF2 | 7 mi | 34.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 168, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Harvey
The Storm Prediction Center has 166 hail reports within 10 miles of Harvey since 1956, made on 83 separate days. Of these, 112 were 1 inch across or larger, and 10 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 28, 1993. The most recent report is from September 21, 2025. May has the most reports, 54.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Harvey
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Park Forest, IL, 8 miles south of Harvey at 710 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 15°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 42.2 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 125 nights a year. Snowfall averages 28.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.2 inches is more than at 108 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (74%). Posen, 2 miles northwest, has its own station (Chicago Midway Airport 3SW, IL): 40.9 inches a year, 1.3 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 | 15 | 2.5 | 6 | 10.2 |
| Feb | 35 | 18 | 2.2 | 5 | 7.5 |
| Mar | 46 | 28 | 2.7 | 6 | 4.9 |
| Apr | 59 | 38 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.5 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 59 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 64 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 62 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 55 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 42 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 48 | 31 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 36 | 22 | 2.5 | 6 | 4.0 |
| Year | 59 | 40 | 42.2 | 77 | 28.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Park Forest, IL (710 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 Harvey
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 471 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Harvey: 342 thunderstorm wind reports, 64 floods, 51 flash floods, 11 heavy rain events and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 11, and the NWS estimated $320.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on February 28, 2017. August has had the most flash floods, 11 of 51. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 486 have had fewer than Harvey.
September 13, 2008: flood 8 miles from the centre of Harvey — 1 killed.
August 10, 2020: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Harvey — 1 killed.
June 18, 2010: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Harvey — 3 injured.
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 Harvey's ZIP code 60426 have filed 886 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 297 claims (34% of all) and $383,000, then Hurricane Ike in 2008 with 62 and Mid-spring storms in 2013 with 44. 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, 314 have fewer than Harvey.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 297 | $383,000 |
| Hurricane Ike2008 | 62 | $282,000 |
| Mid-spring storms2013 | 44 | $260,000 |
Cook County, which includes Harvey, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 8 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Floodng, on September 20, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Cook County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively High for hail; Relatively Low for coastal flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $2.42 billion a year, the highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.10 billion (45%), 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.