NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Prophetstown, 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 Prophetstown, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 139 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 139
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Prophetstown
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Prophetstown; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 53 mph winds when its centre passed 39 miles away. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Prophetstown. The strongest of the 139 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on March 29, 1981; its path came within 5 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 20, 1974, killed 1 person. Of the 139, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 75 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 38. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Prophetstown has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 52% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 45 times since 1964, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 85% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Prophetstown.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Prophetstown
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Prophetstown: 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 Prophetstown
By decade
- 2020s36
- 2010s29
- 2000s10
- 1990s32(2 EF3+)
- 1980s7(2 EF3+)
- 1970s9(1 EF3+)
- 1960s11
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 29, 1981 | F4 | 5 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1974 | F3 | 21 mi | 10.6 mi | 1 / 20 |
| May 9, 1995 | F3 | 17 mi | 22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F3 | 17 mi | 15.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 8, 1988 | F3 | 23 mi | 32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 4, 2023 | EF2 | 15 mi | 2.79 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 4, 2023 | EF2 | 24 mi | 0.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 24 mi | 6.82 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 8 mi | 9.32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 9 mi | 3.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 17 mi | 3.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 15, 2016 | EF2 | 21 mi | 4.78 mi | 0 / 10 |
The strongest 12 of 139, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Prophetstown
The Storm Prediction Center has 45 hail reports within 10 miles of Prophetstown since 1964, made on 33 separate days. Of these, 32 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 15, 2025. The most recent report is from May 15, 2025. May has the most reports, 19.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Prophetstown
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Morrison, IL, 13 miles north of Prophetstown at 632 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 29°F and 12°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.5 inches; the year adds up to 38.3 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 17 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 145 nights a year. Snowfall averages 31.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 38.3 inches is more than at 41 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (28%). Geneseo, 16 miles southwest, has its own station (Geneseo, IL): 39.1 inches a year, 0.8 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29 | 12 | 1.5 | 4 | 10.4 |
| Feb | 34 | 16 | 1.7 | 4 | 7.6 |
| Mar | 46 | 27 | 2.5 | 5 | 3.6 |
| Apr | 60 | 37 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.8 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 59 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 60 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 51 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 39 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 47 | 28 | 2.5 | 5 | 2.7 |
| Dec | 35 | 18 | 2.0 | 5 | 6.3 |
| Year | 59 | 38 | 38.3 | 69 | 31.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Morrison, IL (632 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 Prophetstown
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 68 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Prophetstown: 61 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 flash floods and 3 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 97 mph, on March 31, 2023.
July 24, 2010: flood 10 miles from the centre of Prophetstown — $500,000 damage.
March 12, 2006: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Prophetstown — $300,000 damage.
May 29, 2011: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Prophetstown — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph flattened a pole barn, damaged some grain bins, blew a tree down, and moved an irrigator at a farm just north of Yorktown, IL at 1118 am CDT May 29.”
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 Prophetstown's ZIP code 61277 have filed 12 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1986, and were paid $83,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 17% 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, 17 have fewer than Prophetstown.
Whiteside County, which includes Prophetstown, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Whiteside County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and hail; 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 $24.6 million a year, the 39th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $12.8 million (52%), 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 Prophetstown
- Erie, IL9 mi
- Morrison, IL14 mi
- Geneseo, IL16 mi
- Rock Falls, IL16 mi
- Walnut, IL18 mi
- Sterling, IL18 mi
- Port Byron, IL20 mi
- Fulton, IL21 mi
- Camanche, IA22 mi
- Le Claire, IA22 mi
- Clinton, IA23 mi
- Colona, IL23 mi
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