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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit La Grange, 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 La Grange, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 191 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
2

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
191

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
8

72 deaths in all

What the records show for La Grange

None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed La Grange; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 63 miles away. The record near La Grange begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm 67 miles away. La Grange has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 43% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The strongest of the 191 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on August 28, 1990; its path came within 22 miles, and it killed 29 people. The deadliest, an F4 on April 21, 1967, killed 33 people. Of the 191, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 99 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 44. The most recent tornado was on March 19, 2025. La Grange has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 91% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 221 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). La Grange has more hail reports within 10 miles than 86% of the 548 Illinois cities.

Compare La Grange's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near La Grange

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of La Grange, Illinois, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1941Unnamed 1941 stormSep 2567 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 3
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1163 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 La Grange: 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 La Grange

By decade

  • 2020s69(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s12
  • 2000s18
  • 1990s10(2 EF3+)
  • 1980s18(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s27(3 EF3+)
  • 1960s23(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s14
Strongest tornadoes near La Grange, Illinois
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Aug 28, 1990F522 mi16.4 mi29 / 350
Apr 21, 1967F49 mi15 mi33 / 500
Jun 13, 1976F45 mi3.3 mi2 / 23
Jun 29, 1979F421 mi5.4 mi0 / 1
Apr 27, 1984F320 mi9 mi1 / 5
Jun 20, 2021EF34 mi17.6 mi0 / 11
Mar 27, 1991F36 mi15 mi0 / 7
Mar 12, 1976F38 mi22.6 mi0 / 3
Mar 12, 1976F29 mi15.1 mi2 / 66
Nov 12, 1965F216 mi35.9 mi2 / 90
Apr 6, 1972F218 mi6.8 mi1 / 22
Jun 9, 1966F222 mi2.5 mi1 / 30

The strongest 12 of 191, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in La Grange

The Storm Prediction Center has 221 hail reports within 10 miles of La Grange since 1955, made on 125 separate days. Of these, 130 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 30, 2011. The most recent report is from August 16, 2025. June has the most reports, 45.

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

Radar-estimated hail days in La Grange since 2019 →

Weather by month in La Grange

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chicago Midway Airport 3SW, IL, 6 miles southeast of La Grange at 620 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 20°F. May is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.1 inches; the year adds up to 40.9 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 21 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 108 nights a year. Snowfall averages 38.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 40.9 inches is more than at 92 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (63%). Western Springs, 2 miles northwest, has its own station (Chicago Midway Airport, IL): 34.7 inches a year, 6.2 less than here, and the same July average high, 85°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Chicago Midway Airport 3SW, IL
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow in
Jan33202.3612.5
Feb37232.1510.1
Mar48322.765.7
Apr60424.281.0
May72524.880.0
Jun81634.580.0
Jul85684.060.0
Aug83674.170.0
Sep77593.360.0
Oct64473.970.1
Nov50352.761.5
Dec38252.357.9
Year614440.97738.8

Averages for 1991–2020 at Chicago Midway Airport 3SW, IL (620 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 La Grange

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 686 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of La Grange: 500 thunderstorm wind reports, 74 flash floods, 71 floods, 25 heavy rain events and 16 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 29, and the NWS estimated $327.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on June 13, 2022. June has had the most flash floods, 18 of 74. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 524 have had fewer than La Grange.

  • June 18, 2010: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of La Grange — 1 killed, 2 injured.

  • May 30, 2013: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of La Grange — 1 killed.

  • July 11, 2011: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of La Grange — 6 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 La Grange's ZIP code 60525 have filed 60 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $906,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2021, with 13. 13% 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, 179 have fewer than La Grange.

Cook County, which includes La Grange, 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.

Cities near La Grange