NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Malta, 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 Malta, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 115 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 115
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
28 deaths in all
What the records show for Malta
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Malta; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 56 mph winds when its centre passed 38 miles away. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Malta. The highest rating among the 115 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 9, 2015, came within 11 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 21, 1967, killed 24 people. Of the 115, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 79 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on June 3, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 64% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Malta. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 58 times since 1973, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 74% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Malta.
Compare Malta's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Malta
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Malta: 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 Malta
By decade
- 2020s43
- 2010s22(1 EF3+)
- 2000s14
- 1990s8
- 1980s5
- 1970s10
- 1960s8(1 EF3+)
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 20 mi | 25.5 mi | 24 / 450 |
| Apr 9, 2015 | EF4 | 11 mi | 30.14 mi | 2 / 11 |
| Dec 6, 1951 | F3 | 23 mi | 21.9 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 20 mi | 9.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 8, 1993 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 16, 1980 | F2 | 22 mi | 1.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1975 | F2 | 8 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 15, 1958 | F2 | 19 mi | 74.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF1 | 16 mi | 27.51 mi | 1 / 40 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | EF1 | 22 mi | 8.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 2024 | EF1 | 18 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 27, 2024 | EF1 | 23 mi | 8.13 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 115, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Malta
The Storm Prediction Center has 58 hail reports within 10 miles of Malta since 1973, made on 48 separate days. Of these, 33 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on September 21, 1973. The most recent report is from March 4, 2024. June has the most reports, 13.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Malta
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is De Kalb, IL, 6 miles east of Malta at 873 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 28°F and 13°F. May is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.7 inches; the year adds up to 37.3 inches over 70 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 141 nights a year. Snowfall averages 33.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 37.3 inches is more than at 20 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (14%). Rochelle, 10 miles west, has its own station (Rochelle, IL): 36.7 inches a year, 0.6 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 13 | 1.7 | 4 | 10.2 |
| Feb | 33 | 17 | 1.7 | 4 | 8.7 |
| Mar | 45 | 27 | 2.2 | 5 | 4.4 |
| Apr | 59 | 37 | 3.6 | 7 | 1.3 |
| May | 70 | 49 | 4.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 60 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 63 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 61 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 53 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 41 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 46 | 30 | 2.3 | 5 | 1.8 |
| Dec | 34 | 19 | 2.0 | 5 | 6.6 |
| Year | 58 | 39 | 37.3 | 70 | 33.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at De Kalb, IL (873 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 Malta
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 163 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Malta: 135 thunderstorm wind reports, 12 flash floods, 12 floods, 2 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $4.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on May 20, 2014. August has had the most flash floods, 6 of 12. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 179 have had fewer than Malta.
April 5, 2010: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Malta — 1 injured, $50,000 damage.
August 4, 2008: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Malta — 1 injured, $2,000 damage.
August 23, 2007: flood 7 miles from the centre of Malta — $1.0 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
DeKalb County, which includes Malta, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 3 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 DeKalb County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for hail, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $47.4 million a year, the 21st highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $24.3 million (51%), 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 Malta
- Dekalb, IL7 mi
- Rochelle, IL10 mi
- Cortland, IL10 mi
- Sycamore, IL11 mi
- Kirkland, IL12 mi
- Waterman, IL13 mi
- Kingston, IL13 mi
- Genoa, IL15 mi
- Maple Park, IL16 mi
- Davis Junction, IL16 mi
- Hinckley, IL16 mi
- Stillman Valley, IL20 mi
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