NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Liberty, 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 Liberty, Illinois since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 70 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 70
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Liberty
The highest rating among the 70 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 10, 2003, came within 22 miles. Of the 70, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 34 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 15. The most recent tornado was on April 20, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 97% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Liberty. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 64 times since 1962, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 70% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Liberty.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Liberty
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s3
- 2000s23(1 EF3+)
- 1990s16
- 1980s4
- 1970s5
- 1960s5(2 EF3+)
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 2003 | F3 | 22 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 14, 1961 | F3 | in town | 127.1 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Apr 24, 1961 | F3 | 12 mi | 64.2 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 10, 2003 | F2 | 2 mi | 30.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 8, 1990 | F2 | 24 mi | 42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 23, 1977 | F2 | 14 mi | 19.5 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 30, 1974 | F2 | 11 mi | 15.8 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Oct 14, 1966 | F2 | 20 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Jun 14, 1957 | F2 | 23 mi | 18.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 19, 1956 | F2 | 13 mi | 14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 1956 | F2 | 19 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 1955 | F2 | 11 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 70, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Liberty
The Storm Prediction Center has 64 hail reports within 10 miles of Liberty since 1962, made on 54 separate days. Of these, 34 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 11, 2016. The most recent report is from March 31, 2023. April and May have the most reports, 17 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Liberty
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Quincy Regional Airport, IL, 6 miles northwest of Liberty at 769 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 35°F and 19°F. May is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 36.6 inches over 64 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 24 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 112 nights a year. That 36.6 inches is more than at 11 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (8%). Quincy, 13 miles west, has its own station (Quincy Dam 21, IL): 36.5 inches a year, the same as here, and a July average high of 87°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35 | 19 | 1.6 | 3 |
| Feb | 40 | 23 | 1.8 | 3 |
| Mar | 52 | 32 | 2.3 | 5 |
| Apr | 64 | 43 | 4.0 | 8 |
| May | 73 | 54 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Jun | 82 | 63 | 4.5 | 7 |
| Jul | 86 | 67 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Aug | 85 | 65 | 3.9 | 5 |
| Sep | 78 | 56 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Oct | 65 | 45 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Nov | 51 | 33 | 2.4 | 5 |
| Dec | 39 | 24 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Year | 62 | 44 | 36.6 | 64 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Quincy Regional Airport, IL (769 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 Liberty
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 54 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Liberty: 53 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 flash flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $57,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 27, 2011.
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
Adams County, which includes Liberty, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 floods, 4 severe storms, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Adams County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for hail, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes and inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $25.9 million a year, the 38th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.0 million (39%), 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 Liberty
- Camp Point, IL10 mi
- Quincy, IL13 mi
- Mendon, IL17 mi
- Hannibal, MO20 mi
- Mt Sterling, IL21 mi
- Palmyra, MO24 mi
- New London, MO25 mi
- Pittsfield, IL25 mi
- Louisiana, MO30 mi
- Canton, MO32 mi
- Rushville, IL35 mi
- Monroe City, MO37 mi
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