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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Pecatonica, IL

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Pecatonica, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 93 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
1

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
93

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
4

29 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Pecatonica

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Pecatonica, Illinois, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 115 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 4

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Pecatonica: 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 Pecatonica

By decade

  • 2020s29
  • 2010s14(1 EF3+)
  • 2000s9
  • 1990s11
  • 1980s5
  • 1970s11(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s9(2 EF3+)
  • 1950s5
Strongest tornadoes near Pecatonica, Illinois
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Apr 21, 1967F423 mi25.5 mi24 / 450
Apr 9, 2015EF424 mi30.14 mi2 / 11
Aug 5, 1979F323 mi5.7 mi0 / 0
Jan 24, 1967F320 mi24.9 mi0 / 0
Apr 6, 1972F222 mi17.5 mi1 / 9
Oct 8, 1958F28 mi81 mi1 / 0
Jul 15, 2024EF224 mi15.41 mi0 / 0
Nov 22, 2010EF219 mi18.1 mi0 / 6
Aug 17, 1979F23 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Jun 9, 1979F225 mi2.5 mi0 / 5
Nov 1, 1971F221 mi3 mi0 / 1
Jun 12, 1969F225 mi0.3 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 93, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Pecatonica while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

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