NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Peru, 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
1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Peru, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 107 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 107
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
11 deaths in all
What the records show for Peru
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Peru; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 72 miles away. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Peru. The highest rating among the 107 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 8 times; the most recent, on February 28, 2017, came within 9 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on April 20, 2004, killed 8 people. Of the 107, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 65 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 30. The most recent tornado was on July 14, 2024. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 72% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Peru. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 89 times since 1969, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 54% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Peru.
Compare Peru's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Peru
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Peru: 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 Peru
By decade
- 2020s19
- 2010s33(2 EF3+)
- 2000s13(1 EF3+)
- 1990s9
- 1980s4
- 1970s14(3 EF3+)
- 1960s10(1 EF3+)
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 20, 2004 | F3 | 2 mi | 15.8 mi | 8 / 12 |
| Feb 28, 2017 | EF3 | 9 mi | 11.5 mi | 2 / 14 |
| Dec 6, 1951 | F3 | 3 mi | 21.9 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Feb 28, 2017 | EF3 | 24 mi | 17.77 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 1977 | F3 | 19 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 4, 1976 | F3 | 25 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 17, 1972 | F3 | 7 mi | 81.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 24, 1965 | F3 | 25 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 24 mi | 9.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 28, 2017 | EF2 | 25 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 2016 | EF2 | 22 mi | 8.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | EF2 | 19 mi | 7.8 mi | 0 / 7 |
The strongest 12 of 107, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Peru
The Storm Prediction Center has 89 hail reports within 10 miles of Peru since 1969, made on 51 separate days. Of these, 55 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 13, 2004. The most recent report is from April 4, 2023. April has the most reports, 18.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Peru
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Peru, IL, 2 miles northeast of Peru at 620 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 14°F. June is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 38.1 inches over 72 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 19 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 138 nights a year. Snowfall averages 28.5 inches a year, most of it in December. That 38.1 inches is more than at 37 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (25%). Mendota, 15 miles north, has its own station (Paw Paw 2S, IL): 36.6 inches a year, 1.5 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 14 | 1.8 | 5 | 8.6 |
| Feb | 35 | 18 | 1.8 | 4 | 5.5 |
| Mar | 48 | 27 | 2.3 | 6 | 4.0 |
| Apr | 61 | 38 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.6 |
| May | 73 | 49 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 59 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 63 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 61 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 53 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 41 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 48 | 30 | 2.7 | 6 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 36 | 20 | 2.1 | 5 | 8.7 |
| Year | 60 | 39 | 38.1 | 72 | 28.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Peru, IL (620 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 Peru
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 179 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Peru: 151 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 flash floods, 5 heavy rain events, 5 lightning strikes and 2 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $1.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on October 3, 2000. August has had the most flash floods, 5 of 16. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 263 have had fewer than Peru.
August 10, 2020: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Peru — 3 injured.
August 10, 2020: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Peru — 1 injured.
NWS: “A semi truck was blown over on Route 251, north of Peru. The driver was injured.”
May 11, 2022: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of Peru — 1 injured.
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 Peru's ZIP code 61354 have filed 55 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $1.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 36% 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, 176 have fewer than Peru.
LaSalle County, which includes Peru, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 5 snowstorms, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives LaSalle County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for hail and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $60.5 million a year, the 16th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $33.1 million (55%), 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.