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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Macomb, 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 Macomb, Illinois since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 113 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
0

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
113

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
10

1 deaths in all

What the records show for Macomb

The highest rating among the 113 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 13, 1995, came within 16 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 21, 1981, killed 1 person. Of the 113, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 46 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 30. The most recent tornado was on April 20, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 66% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Macomb. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 138 times since 1973, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Macomb has more hail reports within 10 miles than 62% of the 548 Illinois cities.

Compare Macomb's storm record with another city →

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Macomb

By decade

  • 2020s20(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s15
  • 2000s11
  • 1990s32(2 EF3+)
  • 1980s7(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s17(3 EF3+)
  • 1960s5(2 EF3+)
  • 1950s6(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Macomb, Illinois
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
May 13, 1995F420 mi7 mi0 / 45
May 13, 1995F416 mi50 mi0 / 7
Jun 21, 1981F316 mi8.8 mi1 / 12
Apr 4, 2023EF320 mi19.92 mi0 / 4
Jul 23, 1975F319 mi11.1 mi0 / 0
Jun 14, 1974F323 mi48.6 mi0 / 2
Sep 30, 1973F321 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Apr 21, 1964F31 mi14.1 mi0 / 0
May 14, 1961F38 mi127.1 mi0 / 8
May 21, 1957F36 mi13.7 mi0 / 0
Mar 15, 2016EF27 mi8.23 mi0 / 0
May 10, 2003F222 mi6 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 113, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Macomb

The Storm Prediction Center has 138 hail reports within 10 miles of Macomb since 1973, made on 68 separate days. Of these, 82 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 13, 1995. The most recent report is from May 2, 2024. April has the most reports, 46.

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

Radar-estimated hail days in Macomb since 2019 →

Weather by month in Macomb

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Prairie City 2S, IL, 14 miles northeast of Macomb at 650 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 16°F. May is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and December the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 38.5 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 26 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 128 nights a year. Snowfall averages 21.3 inches a year, most of it in February. That 38.5 inches is more than at 43 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (29%). Colchester, 8 miles west, has its own station (La Harpe, IL): 38.9 inches a year, 0.4 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 86°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Prairie City 2S, IL
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow in
Jan33161.945.7
Feb38191.946.0
Mar51292.762.5
Apr64403.871.0
May74525.180.0
Jun82624.870.0
Jul86644.160.0
Aug84633.250.0
Sep78553.850.0
Oct66433.060.0
Nov50312.441.1
Dec38221.855.0
Year624138.56721.3

Averages for 1991–2020 at Prairie City 2S, IL (650 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 Macomb

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 189 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Macomb: 158 thunderstorm wind reports, 24 flash floods, 4 heavy rain events, 2 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $4.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 29, 2023. June has had the most flash floods, 10 of 24. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 349 have had fewer than Macomb.

  • August 12, 1999: thunderstorm wind in Macomb — 1 injured.

    NWS: “5 year old boy sustained injuries when he was shocked by downed power lines.”

  • June 25, 2003: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Macomb — $1.9 million damage.

  • June 25, 2003: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Macomb — $1.9 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

McDonough County, which includes Macomb, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1999, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on August 15, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives McDonough County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.1 million a year, the 77th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.2 million (22%), 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 Macomb