NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Princeton, 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 Princeton, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 108 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 108
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
9 deaths in all
What the records show for Princeton
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Princeton; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 63 miles away. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Princeton. The highest rating among the 108 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 7 times; the most recent, on April 20, 2004, came within 12 miles. Of the 108, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 60 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on April 20, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 70% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Princeton. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 64 times since 1974, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 70% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Princeton.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Princeton
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 63 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 Princeton: 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 Princeton
By decade
- 2020s20
- 2010s24
- 2000s16(1 EF3+)
- 1990s15(1 EF3+)
- 1980s3
- 1970s12(2 EF3+)
- 1960s13(2 EF3+)
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 20, 2004 | F3 | 12 mi | 15.8 mi | 8 / 12 |
| Dec 6, 1951 | F3 | 14 mi | 21.9 mi | 1 / 1 |
| May 9, 1995 | F3 | 13 mi | 22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 4, 1976 | F3 | 14 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 17, 1972 | F3 | 16 mi | 81.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 24, 1965 | F3 | 18 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 14, 1961 | F3 | 23 mi | 127.1 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 20 mi | 9.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 25 mi | 6.82 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 23 mi | 9.32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | EF2 | 20 mi | 7.8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 18 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 108, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Princeton
The Storm Prediction Center has 64 hail reports within 10 miles of Princeton since 1974, made on 39 separate days. Of these, 37 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on April 13, 1981. The most recent report is from April 20, 2023. April has the most reports, 20.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Princeton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Princeton, IL, in Princeton at 697 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 14°F. May is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 39.7 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 127 nights a year. Snowfall averages 28.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.7 inches is more than at 69 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (47%). Spring Valley, 12 miles east, has its own station (Peru, IL): 38.1 inches a year, 1.6 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 14 | 2.0 | 5 | 8.6 |
| Feb | 35 | 18 | 2.0 | 4 | 6.9 |
| Mar | 48 | 28 | 2.5 | 6 | 3.7 |
| Apr | 62 | 38 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.9 |
| May | 73 | 50 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 60 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 63 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 61 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 53 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 42 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 48 | 30 | 2.6 | 5 | 1.3 |
| Dec | 35 | 20 | 2.2 | 5 | 6.8 |
| Year | 60 | 40 | 39.7 | 72 | 28.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Princeton, IL (697 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 Princeton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 114 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Princeton: 102 thunderstorm wind reports and 12 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on July 24, 2009. July has had the most flash floods, 6 of 12. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 179 have had fewer than Princeton.
May 10, 2003: thunderstorm wind in Princeton — $500,000 damage.
September 13, 2008: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Princeton — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “ South of Princeton, several area creeks were flooded and flood waters approached Route 26.”
July 24, 2009: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Princeton — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Wind gusts estimated to be 85 mph caused widespread wind damage across the central and southern parts of Princeton, IL between 950 pm and 1000 pm July 24. Several trees were blown down or uprooted.”
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 Princeton's ZIP code 61356 have filed 15 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $61,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 40% 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 Princeton.
Bureau County, which includes Princeton, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 5 snowstorms, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Bureau County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $22.4 million a year, the 42nd highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $9.9 million (44%), 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 Princeton
- Spring Valley, IL12 mi
- Granville, IL13 mi
- Walnut, IL15 mi
- Peru, IL17 mi
- Henry, IL18 mi
- La Salle, IL18 mi
- Oglesby, IL21 mi
- Mendota, IL21 mi
- Utica, IL22 mi
- Amboy, IL24 mi
- Lacon, IL24 mi
- Kewanee, IL27 mi
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