NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Kewanee, 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 Kewanee, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 122 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 122
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Kewanee
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Kewanee; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 62 miles away. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Kewanee. The highest rating among the 122 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 5 times; the most recent, on May 9, 1995, came within 8 miles. Of the 122, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 62 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 34. The most recent tornado was on May 13, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 58% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Kewanee. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 99 times since 1958, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 51% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Kewanee.
Compare Kewanee's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Kewanee
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Kewanee: 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 Kewanee
By decade
- 2020s34
- 2010s13
- 2000s15
- 1990s21(1 EF3+)
- 1980s2
- 1970s22(2 EF3+)
- 1960s12(2 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 9, 1995 | F3 | 8 mi | 22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 4, 1976 | F3 | 19 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 17, 1972 | F3 | 20 mi | 81.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 24, 1965 | F3 | 17 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 14, 1961 | F3 | 14 mi | 127.1 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Apr 4, 2023 | EF2 | 14 mi | 2.79 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | in town | 6.82 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 15 mi | 9.32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 17 mi | 3.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 19 mi | 3.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 2017 | EF2 | 9 mi | 1.29 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 4, 1976 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 122, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Kewanee
The Storm Prediction Center has 99 hail reports within 10 miles of Kewanee since 1958, made on 67 separate days. Of these, 45 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on February 28, 2017. The most recent report is from May 15, 2025. April has the most reports, 29.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Kewanee
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Kewanee 1 E, IL, 2 miles east of Kewanee at 780 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 14°F. May is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.9 inches; the year adds up to 39.8 inches over 72 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 142 nights a year. Snowfall averages 30.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.8 inches is more than at 72 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (49%). Galva, 8 miles southwest, has its own station (Galva, IL): 38.7 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 14 | 1.9 | 5 | 8.7 |
| Feb | 35 | 17 | 2.1 | 5 | 8.5 |
| Mar | 48 | 27 | 2.6 | 6 | 3.2 |
| Apr | 61 | 38 | 4.0 | 8 | 1.2 |
| May | 72 | 50 | 5.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 60 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 63 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 61 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 52 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 41 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 49 | 30 | 2.7 | 5 | 1.4 |
| Dec | 36 | 20 | 2.2 | 5 | 7.5 |
| Year | 60 | 39 | 39.8 | 72 | 30.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Kewanee 1 E, IL (780 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 Kewanee
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 104 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Kewanee: 88 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 flash floods, 3 floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $10.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on November 22, 2010. May has had the most flash floods, 4 of 10. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 125 have had fewer than Kewanee.
June 4, 1999: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Kewanee — 1 injured.
NWS: “Straight line winds blew a truck over in Kewanee. The driver escaped with only minor injuries.”
June 24, 2013: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Kewanee — $9.0 million damage.
April 30, 2003: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Kewanee — $400,000 damage.
NWS: “Barn destroyed & house damaged”
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 Kewanee's ZIP code 61443 have filed 15 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $24,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 20% 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, 43 have fewer than Kewanee.
Henry County, which includes Kewanee, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 5 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Floodng, on September 20, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Henry County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $24.4 million a year, the 40th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.8 million (36%), 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 Kewanee
- Galva, IL8 mi
- Cambridge, IL13 mi
- Wyoming, IL15 mi
- Geneseo, IL19 mi
- Princeville, IL23 mi
- Orion, IL25 mi
- Prophetstown, IL25 mi
- Princeton, IL27 mi
- Walnut, IL27 mi
- Colona, IL27 mi
- Coal Valley, IL29 mi
- Knoxville, IL29 mi
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