NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lewistown, 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 Lewistown, Illinois since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 116 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 116
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Lewistown
The strongest of the 116 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 13, 1995; its path came within 1 mile. The deadliest, an F3 on July 23, 1975, killed 2 people. Of the 116, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 50 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 30. The most recent tornado was on March 19, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 63% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Lewistown. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 86 times since 1966, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 56% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Lewistown.
Compare Lewistown's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Lewistown
By decade
- 2020s17(1 EF3+)
- 2010s19
- 2000s14(1 EF3+)
- 1990s34(2 EF3+)
- 1980s4(1 EF3+)
- 1970s18(3 EF3+)
- 1960s9(4 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 13, 1995 | F4 | 1 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 45 |
| Jul 23, 1975 | F3 | 12 mi | 14 mi | 2 / 69 |
| Jun 21, 1981 | F3 | 22 mi | 8.8 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Jan 24, 1967 | F3 | 15 mi | 5.1 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Apr 4, 2023 | EF3 | 4 mi | 19.92 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 10, 2003 | F3 | 25 mi | 17.5 mi | 0 / 32 |
| May 13, 1995 | F3 | 11 mi | 25 mi | 0 / 25 |
| Jul 23, 1975 | F3 | 11 mi | 11.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 1975 | F3 | 19 mi | 6.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 1968 | F3 | 20 mi | 12.6 mi | 0 / 25 |
| Apr 21, 1964 | F3 | 20 mi | 14.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 14, 1961 | F3 | 16 mi | 127.1 mi | 0 / 8 |
The strongest 12 of 116, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lewistown
The Storm Prediction Center has 86 hail reports within 10 miles of Lewistown since 1966, made on 63 separate days. Of these, 57 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on April 4, 2023. The most recent report is from June 25, 2024. May has the most reports, 22.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lewistown
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Havana, IL, 7 miles southeast of Lewistown at 463 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 16°F. May is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 41.1 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 35 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 133 nights a year. Snowfall averages 27.9 inches a year, most of it in January. That 41.1 inches is more than at 97 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (66%). Manito, 19 miles east, has its own station (Peoria Gtr Peoria Airport, IL): 37.6 inches a year, 3.5 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 16 | 2.2 | 5 | 9.7 |
| Feb | 39 | 20 | 2.2 | 5 | 5.8 |
| Mar | 51 | 30 | 2.7 | 6 | 3.2 |
| Apr | 64 | 41 | 4.2 | 8 | 1.2 |
| May | 75 | 53 | 5.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 62 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 65 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 63 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 54 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 68 | 42 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 52 | 32 | 2.7 | 6 | 1.1 |
| Dec | 39 | 22 | 2.4 | 5 | 6.9 |
| Year | 63 | 42 | 41.1 | 73 | 27.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Havana, IL (463 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 Lewistown
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 153 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lewistown: 134 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 flash floods, 3 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $6.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on April 4, 2023. July has had the most flash floods, 5 of 14. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 221 have had fewer than Lewistown.
June 29, 1998: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Lewistown — 1 injured, $100,000 damage.
NWS: “As the bow echo moved through Fulton County it blew down hundreds of trees, one of which fell on a woman in Cuba, who was trying to seek shelter from the storm. She sustained serious injuries and was hospitalized for a time.”
April 18, 2013: flood 8 miles from the centre of Lewistown — $5.0 million damage.
August 28, 2008: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Lewistown — $150,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Lewistown's ZIP code 61542 have filed 21 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $121,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 29% 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, 74 have fewer than Lewistown.
Fulton County, which includes Lewistown, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 4 snowstorms, 3 severe storms, 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 Fulton County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $21.2 million a year, the 47th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.6 million (41%), 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 Lewistown
- Cuba, IL8 mi
- Havana, IL8 mi
- Canton, IL12 mi
- Manito, IL19 mi
- Glasford, IL21 mi
- Farmington, IL21 mi
- Bushnell, IL23 mi
- Mason City, IL26 mi
- Mapleton, IL27 mi
- Hanna City, IL28 mi
- Rushville, IL28 mi
- Macomb, IL28 mi
All Illinois cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Lewistown with another place →