NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Highland 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
1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Highland Park, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 82 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 82
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
12 deaths in all
What the records show for Highland Park
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Highland Park; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 59 mph winds when its centre passed 38 miles away. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Highland Park. The highest rating among the 82 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on September 28, 1972, came within 7 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 11, 1965, killed 6 people. Of the 82, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 36 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on March 14, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 93% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Highland Park. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 101 times since 1963, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Highland Park has more hail reports within 10 miles than 50% of the 548 Illinois cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Highland Park
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Highland 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 Highland Park
By decade
- 2020s27
- 2010s5
- 2000s4
- 1990s5
- 1980s4
- 1970s15(2 EF3+)
- 1960s13(2 EF3+)
- 1950s9
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 20 mi | 9.1 mi | 6 / 75 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 15 mi | 8.8 mi | 1 / 100 |
| Sep 28, 1972 | F4 | 7 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 25 mi | 22.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F2 | 8 mi | 15.1 mi | 2 / 66 |
| Jun 9, 1966 | F2 | 8 mi | 2.5 mi | 1 / 30 |
| Mar 4, 1961 | F2 | 18 mi | 7.9 mi | 1 / 115 |
| Oct 8, 1958 | F2 | 14 mi | 81 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 18, 1997 | F2 | 14 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1996 | F2 | 19 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 20, 1976 | F2 | 19 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 17, 1975 | F2 | 12 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 82, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Highland Park
The Storm Prediction Center has 101 hail reports within 10 miles of Highland Park since 1963, made on 59 separate days. Of these, 70 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on July 18, 1967. The most recent report is from August 16, 2025. April has the most reports, 37.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Highland Park
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chicago Botanic Garden, IL, 3 miles southeast of Highland Park at 630 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 16°F. May is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 39.5 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 17 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 128 nights a year. Snowfall averages 33.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.5 inches is more than at 66 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (45%). Deerfield, 3 miles west, has its own station (Chicago Palwaukee Airport, IL): 32.3 inches a year, 7.2 less than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 16 | 2.1 | 6 | 11.3 |
| Feb | 36 | 19 | 2.0 | 5 | 7.7 |
| Mar | 46 | 28 | 2.3 | 6 | 5.6 |
| Apr | 57 | 38 | 4.0 | 8 | 1.1 |
| May | 68 | 48 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 57 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 63 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 62 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 55 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 43 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 49 | 33 | 2.6 | 5 | 1.9 |
| Dec | 38 | 22 | 2.3 | 6 | 5.9 |
| Year | 59 | 40 | 39.5 | 74 | 33.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Chicago Botanic Garden, IL (630 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 Highland Park
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 213 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Highland Park: 131 thunderstorm wind reports, 37 flash floods, 31 floods, 9 heavy rain events and 5 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $523.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on August 23, 2007. June has had the most flash floods, 12 of 37. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 437 have had fewer than Highland Park.
September 5, 2014: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Highland Park — 1 killed.
August 28, 2018: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Highland Park — 2 injured.
August 23, 2007: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Highland Park — 1 injured, $50,000 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 Highland Park's ZIP code 60035 have filed 141 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $565,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1982: 32 claims (23% of all) and $77,000. 30% 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, 237 have fewer than Highland Park.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1982 | 32 | $77,000 |
Lake County, which includes Highland Park, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 snowstorms, 4 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lake County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively High for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $266.5 million a year, the 4th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $155.5 million (58%), 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 Highland Park
- Highwood, IL2 mi
- Deerfield, IL3 mi
- Glencoe, IL4 mi
- Northbrook, IL4 mi
- Lake Forest, IL5 mi
- Lincolnshire, IL6 mi
- Northfield, IL6 mi
- Wheeling, IL7 mi
- Lake Bluff, IL8 mi
- Buffalo Grove, IL8 mi
- Prospect Heights, IL8 mi
- Kenilworth, IL8 mi
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