NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Mt Sterling, 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 Mt Sterling, Illinois since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 82 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 82
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Mt Sterling
The highest rating among the 82 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on June 21, 1981, came within 18 miles. Of the 82, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 37 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 16. The most recent tornado was on April 20, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 93% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Mt Sterling. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 47 times since 1974, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 82% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Mt Sterling.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Mt Sterling
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s14
- 2000s16
- 1990s18
- 1980s6(1 EF3+)
- 1970s8(1 EF3+)
- 1960s4(2 EF3+)
- 1950s9
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 1981 | F3 | 18 mi | 8.8 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Sep 30, 1973 | F3 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 14, 1961 | F3 | 10 mi | 127.1 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Apr 24, 1961 | F3 | 22 mi | 64.2 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Feb 20, 2014 | EF2 | 25 mi | 12.09 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 10, 2003 | F2 | 10 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 2003 | F2 | 4 mi | 30.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F2 | 24 mi | 27.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 27, 1990 | F2 | 12 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 8, 1990 | F2 | 16 mi | 42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 12, 1982 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 30, 1974 | F2 | 18 mi | 15.8 mi | 0 / 12 |
The strongest 12 of 82, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Mt Sterling
The Storm Prediction Center has 47 hail reports within 10 miles of Mt Sterling since 1974, made on 41 separate days. Of these, 29 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 9, 2021. The most recent report is from June 25, 2024. May has the most reports, 13.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Mt Sterling
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Perry 6 NW, IL, 13 miles south of Mt Sterling at 650 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 18°F. June is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 39.2 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 31 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 125 nights a year. Snowfall averages 20.9 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.2 inches is more than at 61 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (42%). Rushville, 14 miles northeast, has its own station (Rushville, IL): 40.9 inches a year, 1.7 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 18 | 2.0 | 4 | 6.1 |
| Feb | 42 | 22 | 2.0 | 4 | 6.0 |
| Mar | 53 | 31 | 2.6 | 6 | 2.4 |
| Apr | 65 | 42 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.4 |
| May | 75 | 53 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 62 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 65 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 63 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 54 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 68 | 43 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 53 | 33 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 41 | 23 | 2.3 | 5 | 5.1 |
| Year | 64 | 42 | 39.2 | 68 | 20.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Perry 6 NW, 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.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Mt Sterling
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 62 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Mt Sterling: 56 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 flash floods and 1 flood. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $368,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 9, 2021. June has had the most flash floods, 4 of 5. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 28 have had fewer than Mt Sterling.
June 15, 2013: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Mt Sterling — 1 killed.
NWS: “Up to five inches of rain fell in about a three hour period. Several roads were flooded including County Road 550N.”
July 9, 2021: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Mt Sterling — $300,000 damage.
NWS: “Widespread wind damage from the north side of Mt. Sterling to south of Hersman.”
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
Brown County, which includes Mt Sterling, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 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 Brown County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $3.2 million a year, the 102nd highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $686,000 (22%), is from heat waves.
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 Mt Sterling
- Rushville, IL14 mi
- Beardstown, IL17 mi
- Camp Point, IL18 mi
- Liberty, IL21 mi
- Pittsfield, IL26 mi
- Virginia, IL28 mi
- Winchester, IL29 mi
- Mendon, IL29 mi
- Colchester, IL30 mi
- Quincy, IL32 mi
- Jacksonville, IL32 mi
- Macomb, IL33 mi
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