NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Knoxville, 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
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Knoxville, Illinois since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 113 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 113
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Knoxville
The strongest of the 113 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 13, 1995; its path came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on July 23, 1975, killed 2 people. Of the 113, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 43 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 29. The most recent tornado was on June 3, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 66% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Knoxville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 67 times since 1967, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 69% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Knoxville.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Knoxville
By decade
- 2020s16
- 2010s15
- 2000s12
- 1990s34(1 EF3+)
- 1980s5
- 1970s21(4 EF3+)
- 1960s8(1 EF3+)
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 13, 1995 | F4 | 15 mi | 50 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jul 23, 1975 | F3 | 24 mi | 14 mi | 2 / 69 |
| Jul 23, 1975 | F3 | 25 mi | 11.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 1975 | F3 | 16 mi | 6.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1974 | F3 | 10 mi | 48.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 14, 1961 | F3 | 13 mi | 127.1 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Sep 26, 1959 | F2 | 15 mi | 4.9 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 17, 2017 | EF2 | 20 mi | 1.29 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 15, 2016 | EF2 | 23 mi | 7.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 15, 2016 | EF2 | 24 mi | 8.23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 16, 2015 | EF2 | 11 mi | 5.95 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 16, 2015 | EF2 | 21 mi | 1.72 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 113, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Knoxville
The Storm Prediction Center has 67 hail reports within 10 miles of Knoxville since 1967, made on 52 separate days. Of these, 38 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 9, 1995. The most recent report is from August 15, 2024.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Knoxville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Knoxville, IL, 1 mile southwest of Knoxville at 728 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 14°F. May is the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 2.1 inches; the year adds up to 40.5 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 135 nights a year. Snowfall averages 25.4 inches a year, most of it in February. That 40.5 inches is more than at 85 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (58%). Galesburg, 6 miles northwest, has its own station (Galesburg, IL): 39.0 inches a year, 1.5 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 | 14 | 2.1 | 4 | 6.4 |
| Feb | 36 | 18 | 2.1 | 5 | 7.7 |
| Mar | 49 | 29 | 2.6 | 6 | 3.4 |
| Apr | 62 | 39 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.4 |
| May | 72 | 51 | 5.5 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 61 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 65 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 63 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 54 | 4.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 42 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 49 | 31 | 2.5 | 4 | 1.4 |
| Dec | 36 | 21 | 2.2 | 5 | 5.9 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 40.5 | 71 | 25.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Knoxville, IL (728 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 Knoxville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 127 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Knoxville: 115 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 2 people and injured 34, and the NWS estimated $3.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on August 23, 2007. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 11. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 151 have had fewer than Knoxville.
August 23, 2007: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Knoxville — 1 killed, 29 injured, $1.4 million damage.
March 9, 2002: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Knoxville — 1 killed.
June 29, 1998: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Knoxville — 2 injured, $1.0 million 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
Knox County, which includes Knoxville, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 floods, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Knox County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $18.0 million a year, the 56th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.0 million (33%), 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 Knoxville
- Galesburg, IL6 mi
- Abingdon, IL10 mi
- Elmwood, IL19 mi
- Monmouth, IL19 mi
- Farmington, IL20 mi
- Galva, IL22 mi
- Brimfield, IL23 mi
- Princeville, IL26 mi
- Cambridge, IL27 mi
- Canton, IL28 mi
- Bushnell, IL28 mi
- Cuba, IL29 mi
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