NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Park Forest, 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
2 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Park Forest, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 186 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 186
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
70 deaths in all
What the records show for Park Forest
None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Park Forest; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm with 44 mph winds when its centre passed 48 miles away. The record near Park Forest begins with an unnamed storm in 1932; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941. Park Forest has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 43% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The strongest of the 186 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on August 28, 1990; its path came within 22 miles, and it killed 29 people. The deadliest, an F4 on April 21, 1967, killed 33 people. Of the 186, 14 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 111 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 56. The most recent tornado was on March 19, 2025. Park Forest has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 88% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 115 times since 1956, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Park Forest has more hail reports within 10 miles than 57% of the 548 Illinois cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Park Forest
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Park Forest: 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 Park Forest
By decade
- 2020s52(1 EF3+)
- 2010s38
- 2000s21
- 1990s11(2 EF3+)
- 1980s16(1 EF3+)
- 1970s20(2 EF3+)
- 1960s17(5 EF3+)
- 1950s11(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 1990 | F5 | 22 mi | 16.4 mi | 29 / 350 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 15 mi | 15 mi | 33 / 500 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F4 | 21 mi | 3.3 mi | 2 / 23 |
| Apr 17, 1963 | F4 | 22 mi | 57.3 mi | 1 / 70 |
| Apr 7, 1954 | F3 | 16 mi | 42.6 mi | 1 / 13 |
| Jun 20, 2021 | EF3 | 20 mi | 17.6 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F3 | 18 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 2, 1982 | F3 | 21 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Jun 20, 1974 | F3 | 19 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Oct 24, 1967 | F3 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F3 | 12 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | 16 mi | 51.7 mi | 0 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 186, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Park Forest
The Storm Prediction Center has 115 hail reports within 10 miles of Park Forest since 1956, made on 68 separate days. Of these, 62 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on June 28, 2012. The most recent report is from September 21, 2025. June has the most reports, 32.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Park Forest
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Park Forest, IL, 2 miles north of Park Forest at 710 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 15°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 42.2 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 16 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 125 nights a year. Snowfall averages 28.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.2 inches is more than at 108 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (74%). Posen, 11 miles north, has its own station (Chicago Midway Airport 3SW, IL): 40.9 inches a year, 1.3 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 15 | 2.5 | 6 | 10.2 |
| Feb | 35 | 18 | 2.2 | 5 | 7.5 |
| Mar | 46 | 28 | 2.7 | 6 | 4.9 |
| Apr | 59 | 38 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.5 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 59 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 64 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 62 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 55 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 42 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 48 | 31 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 36 | 22 | 2.5 | 6 | 4.0 |
| Year | 59 | 40 | 42.2 | 77 | 28.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Park Forest, IL (710 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 Park Forest
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 287 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Park Forest: 201 thunderstorm wind reports, 37 floods, 28 flash floods, 16 heavy rain events and 5 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $9.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on August 10, 2020. June has had the most flash floods, 11 of 28. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 387 have had fewer than Park Forest.
September 13, 2008: flood 8 miles from the centre of Park Forest — 1 killed.
August 10, 2020: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Park Forest — 1 killed.
June 30, 2014: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Park Forest — 1 injured, $50,000 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 Park Forest's ZIP code 60466 have filed 15 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $24,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 53% 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, 43 have fewer than Park Forest.
Cook County, which includes Park Forest, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 8 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Floodng, on September 20, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Cook County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively High for hail; Relatively Low for coastal flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $2.42 billion a year, the highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.10 billion (45%), 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 Park Forest
- Richton Park, IL2 mi
- University Park, IL2 mi
- Steger, IL3 mi
- Olympia Fields, IL3 mi
- Matteson, IL3 mi
- Crete, IL5 mi
- Flossmoor, IL5 mi
- Chicago Heights, IL5 mi
- Monee, IL5 mi
- Homewood, IL6 mi
- Glenwood, IL6 mi
- Country Club Hills, IL6 mi
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