NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Normal, 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
4 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Normal, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 182 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 182
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Normal
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Normal; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 55 mph winds when its centre passed 75 miles away. The record near Normal begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 4 systems, one has come since 2000. Normal has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 79% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The highest rating among the 182 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on November 17, 2013, came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an F1 on May 15, 1968, killed 4 people. Of the 182, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 73 have come since 2000. May and June have had the most tornadoes, 48 each. The most recent tornado was on June 18, 2025. Normal has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 85% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 130 times since 1961, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Normal has more hail reports within 10 miles than 60% of the 548 Illinois cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Normal
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Normal: 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 Normal
By decade
- 2020s19
- 2010s13(1 EF3+)
- 2000s41(1 EF3+)
- 1990s33(2 EF3+)
- 1980s29
- 1970s29(2 EF3+)
- 1960s11
- 1950s7(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 17, 2013 | EF4 | 24 mi | 46.36 mi | 3 / 125 |
| Jul 13, 2004 | F4 | 21 mi | 9.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 5, 1977 | F4 | 15 mi | 7.3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 27, 1951 | F3 | 18 mi | 18.2 mi | 1 / 15 |
| Apr 19, 1996 | F3 | 14 mi | 9.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 1995 | F3 | 22 mi | 50 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 19 mi | 7.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 1, 2018 | EF2 | 16 mi | 2.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 25 mi | 2.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 2004 | F2 | 16 mi | 13.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2003 | F2 | 21 mi | 7.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 2003 | F2 | 22 mi | 12.5 mi | 0 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 182, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Normal
The Storm Prediction Center has 130 hail reports within 10 miles of Normal since 1961, made on 70 separate days. Of these, 70 were 1 inch across or larger, and 12 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.25 inches, fell on July 13, 2004. The most recent report is from May 15, 2025. May has the most reports, 38.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Normal
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Normal 4NE, IL, 3 miles northeast of Normal at 790 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 16°F. May is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 39.3 inches over 76 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 133 nights a year. Snowfall averages 20.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.3 inches is more than at 63 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (43%). Danvers, 11 miles west, has its own station (Bloomington 5W, IL): 40.6 inches a year, 1.3 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 16 | 2.4 | 6 | 7.5 |
| Feb | 38 | 19 | 2.0 | 5 | 5.5 |
| Mar | 50 | 28 | 2.6 | 6 | 2.2 |
| Apr | 63 | 38 | 3.7 | 8 | 0.5 |
| May | 74 | 50 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 60 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 63 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 61 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 53 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 66 | 42 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 50 | 31 | 2.8 | 6 | 0.8 |
| Dec | 38 | 21 | 2.3 | 6 | 3.6 |
| Year | 62 | 40 | 39.3 | 76 | 20.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Normal 4NE, IL (790 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 Normal
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 185 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Normal: 165 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 flash floods, 4 lightning strikes and 1 flood. They killed 1 person and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $8.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 28, 1998. June has had the most flash floods, 6 of 15. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 245 have had fewer than Normal.
June 27, 2009: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Normal — 1 killed, 3 injured, $35,000 damage.
August 9, 2012: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Normal — 1 injured, $3.5 million damage.
June 15, 2008: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Normal — 1 injured, $40,000 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 Normal's ZIP code 61761 have filed 33 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $279,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2003, with 14. 9% 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, 119 have fewer than Normal.
McLean County, which includes Normal, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives McLean County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $81.3 million a year, the 13th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $33.5 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 Normal
- Bloomington, IL3 mi
- Hudson, IL8 mi
- Danvers, IL11 mi
- Downs, IL11 mi
- Lexington, IL13 mi
- Heyworth, IL13 mi
- El Paso, IL15 mi
- Le Roy, IL17 mi
- Mackinaw, IL19 mi
- Eureka, IL20 mi
- Chenoa, IL21 mi
- Roanoke, IL22 mi
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