NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lanark, 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 Lanark, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 77 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 77
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Lanark
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Lanark; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 9 miles away. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Lanark. The highest rating among the 77 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on August 5, 1979, came within 14 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 20, 1974, killed 1 person. Of the 77, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 38 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on July 15, 2024. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 95% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Lanark. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 42 times since 1960, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 88% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Lanark.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Lanark
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Lanark: 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 Lanark
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s15
- 2000s8
- 1990s16
- 1980s2
- 1970s6(2 EF3+)
- 1960s8(1 EF3+)
- 1950s7
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 20, 1974 | F3 | 25 mi | 10.6 mi | 1 / 20 |
| Aug 5, 1979 | F3 | 14 mi | 5.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 24, 1967 | F3 | 6 mi | 7.4 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Apr 6, 1972 | F2 | 12 mi | 17.5 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | EF2 | 19 mi | 15.41 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 2013 | EF2 | 12 mi | 6.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 11, 1967 | F2 | 24 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 21, 1966 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1962 | F2 | 23 mi | 7.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1962 | F2 | 23 mi | 7.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 26, 1959 | F2 | 14 mi | 3.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 18, 1955 | F2 | 4 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 77, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lanark
The Storm Prediction Center has 42 hail reports within 10 miles of Lanark since 1960, made on 31 separate days. Of these, 22 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on July 26, 1978. The most recent report is from March 4, 2024. June has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lanark
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mt Carroll, IL, 8 miles west of Lanark at 640 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 11°F. June is the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.7 inches; the year adds up to 40.3 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 19 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 155 nights a year. Snowfall averages 33.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 40.3 inches is more than at 81 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (55%). Polo, 15 miles southeast, has its own station (Polo 5NW, IL): 40.1 inches a year, 0.2 less than here, and the same July average high, 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 11 | 1.7 | 5 | 10.2 |
| Feb | 35 | 14 | 1.8 | 5 | 7.9 |
| Mar | 48 | 26 | 2.5 | 5 | 3.6 |
| Apr | 61 | 36 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.8 |
| May | 72 | 47 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 57 | 5.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 60 | 4.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 58 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 50 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 38 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 49 | 27 | 2.6 | 5 | 1.7 |
| Dec | 36 | 17 | 2.2 | 5 | 8.8 |
| Year | 60 | 37 | 40.3 | 73 | 33.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Mt Carroll, IL (640 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 Lanark
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 115 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lanark: 95 thunderstorm wind reports, 12 flash floods, 5 heavy rain events, 2 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $12.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on June 23, 1996. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 179 have had fewer than Lanark.
June 28, 1998: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Lanark — 2 injured, $8,000 damage.
NWS: “High winds blew down trees and power lines, and ripped the roof off of a small building. Two people were injured after they were hit by debris.”
July 5, 2003: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Lanark — 1 injured, $30,000 damage.
July 24, 2010: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Lanark — $10.0 million damage.
NWS: “After about a foot of rain in 2 days, creek and small river basins rose rapidly Saturday morning. Numerous rural roads throughout the county suffered from washouts and excessive erosion.”
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
Carroll County, which includes Lanark, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Carroll County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.8 million a year, the 73rd highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.3 million (49%), 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 Lanark
- Mount Carroll, IL8 mi
- Polo, IL15 mi
- Savanna, IL16 mi
- Freeport, IL16 mi
- Thomson, IL17 mi
- Lena, IL19 mi
- Stockton, IL19 mi
- Mount Morris, IL20 mi
- Sterling, IL21 mi
- Morrison, IL21 mi
- Fulton, IL24 mi
- Rock Falls, IL25 mi
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