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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hinsdale, 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 Hinsdale, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 201 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
2

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
201

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
9

72 deaths in all

What the records show for Hinsdale

None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Hinsdale; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 64 miles away. The record near Hinsdale begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm 69 miles away. Hinsdale has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 43% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The strongest of the 201 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on August 28, 1990; its path came within 19 miles, and it killed 29 people. The deadliest, an F4 on April 21, 1967, killed 33 people. Of the 201, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 103 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 48. The most recent tornado was on March 19, 2025. Hinsdale has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 96% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 228 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Hinsdale has more hail reports within 10 miles than 89% of the 548 Illinois cities.

Compare Hinsdale's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Hinsdale

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Hinsdale, Illinois, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1941Unnamed 1941 stormSep 2569 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 3
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1164 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Hinsdale: 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 Hinsdale

By decade

  • 2020s71(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s15
  • 2000s17
  • 1990s11(2 EF3+)
  • 1980s18(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s28(4 EF3+)
  • 1960s27(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s14
Strongest tornadoes near Hinsdale, Illinois
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Aug 28, 1990F519 mi16.4 mi29 / 350
Apr 21, 1967F49 mi15 mi33 / 500
Jun 13, 1976F43 mi3.3 mi2 / 23
Jun 29, 1979F418 mi5.4 mi0 / 1
Apr 27, 1984F317 mi9 mi1 / 5
Jun 20, 2021EF32 mi17.6 mi0 / 11
Mar 27, 1991F37 mi15 mi0 / 7
Mar 12, 1976F36 mi22.6 mi0 / 3
Jul 17, 1972F323 mi81.5 mi0 / 0
Mar 12, 1976F210 mi15.1 mi2 / 66
Nov 12, 1965F216 mi35.9 mi2 / 90
Apr 6, 1972F216 mi6.8 mi1 / 22

The strongest 12 of 201, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Hinsdale

The Storm Prediction Center has 228 hail reports within 10 miles of Hinsdale since 1955, made on 125 separate days. Of these, 132 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently February 27, 2024. The most recent report is from August 16, 2025. May has the most reports, 44.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Radar-estimated hail days in Hinsdale since 2019 →

Weather by month in Hinsdale

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Wheaton 3 SE, IL, 8 miles west of Hinsdale at 680 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 17°F. June is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 40.1 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 29 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 128 nights a year. Snowfall averages 24.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 40.1 inches is more than at 78 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (53%). Western Springs, 3 miles northeast, has its own station (Chicago Midway Airport, IL): 34.7 inches a year, 5.4 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 86°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Wheaton 3 SE, IL
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow in
Jan33172.159.3
Feb38202.045.1
Mar50292.564.5
Apr63384.170.3
May74494.580.0
Jun83594.770.0
Jul86633.960.0
Aug84624.460.0
Sep78543.350.0
Oct65433.660.0
Nov50322.850.9
Dec38232.244.2
Year624140.16924.3

Averages for 1991–2020 at Wheaton 3 SE, IL (680 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.

Illinois weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Hinsdale

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 652 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hinsdale: 471 thunderstorm wind reports, 71 floods, 68 flash floods, 24 heavy rain events and 18 lightning strikes. They killed 3 people and injured 29, and the NWS estimated $328.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on June 13, 2022. May has had the most flash floods, 16 of 68. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 516 have had fewer than Hinsdale.

  • June 18, 2010: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Hinsdale — 1 killed, 2 injured.

  • May 30, 2013: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Hinsdale — 1 killed.

  • September 3, 2018: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Hinsdale — 1 killed.

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 Hinsdale's ZIP code 60521 have filed 99 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $6.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Mid-spring storms in 2013: 34 claims (34% of all) and $4.1 million, then Flooding in 1987 with 13. 48% 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, 214 have fewer than Hinsdale.

Flood insurance claims in Hinsdale by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Mid-spring storms201334$4.1 million
Flooding198713$196,000

DuPage County, which includes Hinsdale, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 floods, 4 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives DuPage 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 heat waves; Relatively Low for hail; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $366.0 million a year, the 2nd highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $195.3 million (53%), 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 Hinsdale