NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Pawnee, 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
3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Pawnee, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 165 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 165
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for Pawnee
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Pawnee; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 48 miles away. The record near Pawnee begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Pawnee has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 62% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The strongest of the 165 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 14, 1957; its path came within 14 miles, and it killed 2 people. Of the 165, 16 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 93 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 37. The most recent tornado was on December 28, 2025. Pawnee has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 70% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 77 times since 1967, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 61% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Pawnee.
Compare Pawnee's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Pawnee
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 32 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 Pawnee: 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 Pawnee
By decade
- 2020s27
- 2010s29(2 EF3+)
- 2000s37
- 1990s20(2 EF3+)
- 1980s8
- 1970s30(4 EF3+)
- 1960s9(2 EF3+)
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 14, 1957 | F4 | 14 mi | 4.3 mi | 2 / 50 |
| Jun 1, 1999 | F3 | 10 mi | 10 mi | 1 / 4 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 24 mi | 20.9 mi | 1 / 26 |
| Apr 22, 1963 | F3 | 19 mi | 42.9 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Dec 1, 2018 | EF3 | 12 mi | 12.49 mi | 0 / 22 |
| Apr 19, 2011 | EF3 | 14 mi | 4.32 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 9, 1995 | F3 | 23 mi | 50 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jul 26, 1978 | F3 | 20 mi | 8.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 6, 1977 | F3 | 10 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 20, 1976 | F3 | 7 mi | 8.8 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 24, 1961 | F3 | 22 mi | 64.2 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Dec 28, 2025 | EF2 | 23 mi | 23.36 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 165, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Pawnee
The Storm Prediction Center has 77 hail reports within 10 miles of Pawnee since 1967, made on 46 separate days. Of these, 52 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on May 30, 2008. The most recent report is from March 14, 2024. May has the most reports, 27.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Pawnee
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Morrisonville, IL, 12 miles south of Pawnee at 630 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 19°F. May is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 38.1 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 25 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 122 nights a year. Snowfall averages 16.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 38.1 inches is more than at 38 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (26%). Rochester, 10 miles north, has its own station (Springfield #2, IL): 40.5 inches a year, 2.4 more than here, and the same July average high, 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 19 | 2.2 | 4 | 5.9 |
| Feb | 41 | 23 | 1.8 | 4 | 3.9 |
| Mar | 52 | 32 | 2.7 | 6 | 2.4 |
| Apr | 65 | 43 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 75 | 54 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 63 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 66 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 64 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 56 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 68 | 44 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 53 | 33 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.6 |
| Dec | 41 | 25 | 2.2 | 4 | 3.2 |
| Year | 64 | 43 | 38.1 | 67 | 16.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Morrisonville, IL (630 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 Pawnee
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 124 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Pawnee: 100 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 flash floods, 5 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 4 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $3.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 8, 1996. June has had the most flash floods, 8 of 18. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 292 have had fewer than Pawnee.
December 27, 2015: flood 5 miles from the centre of Pawnee — 4 killed, $2.8 million damage.
NWS: “An extended period of heavy rain during the evening of December 26th in Christian County combined with an already saturated ground to produce flash flooding. 50 inches in less than six hours, with the heaviest rain in the southern half of the county.”
May 8, 1996: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Pawnee — $150,000 damage.
April 8, 2015: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Pawnee — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Several large tree branches were blown down. A few caused minor roof damage to homes.”
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 Pawnee's ZIP code 62558 have filed 46 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $585,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 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, 152 have fewer than Pawnee.
Sangamon County, which includes Pawnee, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on August 15, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Sangamon County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $114.8 million a year, the 10th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $46.7 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 Pawnee
- Rochester, IL10 mi
- Chatham, IL11 mi
- Auburn, IL11 mi
- Virden, IL13 mi
- Taylorville, IL13 mi
- Springfield, IL15 mi
- Girard, IL17 mi
- Riverton, IL19 mi
- Waverly, IL21 mi
- New Berlin, IL21 mi
- Sherman, IL22 mi
- Nokomis, IL24 mi
All Illinois cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Pawnee with another place →