NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Roanoke, 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
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Roanoke, Illinois since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 163 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 163
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Roanoke
The highest rating among the 163 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on November 17, 2013, came within 1 mile. Of the 163, 13 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 85 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 41. The most recent tornado was on December 28, 2025. Roanoke has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 68% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 89 times since 1974, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 54% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Roanoke.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Roanoke
By decade
- 2020s27
- 2010s24(2 EF3+)
- 2000s34(2 EF3+)
- 1990s25(1 EF3+)
- 1980s13
- 1970s24(1 EF3+)
- 1960s11(1 EF3+)
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 17, 2013 | EF4 | 1 mi | 46.36 mi | 3 / 125 |
| Jul 13, 2004 | F4 | in town | 9.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 29, 1976 | F4 | 24 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 28, 2017 | EF3 | 10 mi | 17.77 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 2003 | F3 | 17 mi | 17.5 mi | 0 / 32 |
| May 13, 1995 | F3 | 24 mi | 25 mi | 0 / 25 |
| Sep 14, 1965 | F3 | 21 mi | 6.6 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Aug 13, 1956 | F3 | 14 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 28, 2017 | EF2 | 16 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 2016 | EF2 | 23 mi | 11.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 8 mi | 2.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 11 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 163, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Roanoke
The Storm Prediction Center has 89 hail reports within 10 miles of Roanoke since 1974, made on 58 separate days. Of these, 53 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 30, 2004. The most recent report is from December 28, 2025. April has the most reports, 26.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Roanoke
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Minonk, IL, 12 miles northeast of Roanoke at 750 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 15°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 37.7 inches over 72 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 27 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 135 nights a year. Snowfall averages 21.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 37.7 inches is more than at 28 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (19%). Eureka, 7 miles southwest, has its own station (Congerville 2NW, IL): 37.5 inches a year, 0.2 less than here, and the same July average high, 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 15 | 2.0 | 5 | 5.9 |
| Feb | 38 | 19 | 1.8 | 4 | 5.2 |
| Mar | 50 | 29 | 2.5 | 6 | 3.2 |
| Apr | 63 | 39 | 3.7 | 8 | 0.8 |
| May | 74 | 51 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 64 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 62 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 54 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 66 | 42 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 51 | 31 | 2.6 | 6 | 1.1 |
| Dec | 38 | 21 | 2.2 | 5 | 5.5 |
| Year | 62 | 41 | 37.7 | 72 | 21.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Minonk, IL (750 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 Roanoke
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 140 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Roanoke: 117 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 flash floods, 6 floods and 4 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $24.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on July 15, 2024. May has had the most flash floods, 5 of 13. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 195 have had fewer than Roanoke.
July 6, 2010: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Roanoke — 1 injured.
April 17, 2013: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Roanoke — $13.0 million damage.
July 15, 2020: flood 2 miles from the centre of Roanoke — $10.0 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rainfall of 5 to 7 inches brought widespread flash flooding to much of Woodford County, including the city of Roanoke, during the afternoon of July 15th. Once the rain ended, the water continued to rise and cause significant issues in Roanoke through the morning of July 16th.”
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
Woodford County, which includes Roanoke, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Woodford County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes, hail and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $21.9 million a year, the 45th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $12.2 million (56%), 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 Roanoke
- Eureka, IL7 mi
- El Paso, IL9 mi
- Minonk, IL11 mi
- Metamora, IL11 mi
- Washington, IL15 mi
- Hudson, IL16 mi
- Chillicothe, IL18 mi
- Danvers, IL18 mi
- Morton, IL19 mi
- Lacon, IL19 mi
- Mackinaw, IL20 mi
- East Peoria, IL20 mi
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