NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rochelle, 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 Rochelle, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 101 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 101
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
29 deaths in all
What the records show for Rochelle
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Rochelle; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 55 mph winds when its centre passed 34 miles away. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Rochelle. The highest rating among the 101 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 9, 2015, came within 4 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 21, 1967, killed 24 people. Of the 101, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 60 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 22. The most recent tornado was on June 3, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 77% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Rochelle. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 26 times since 1966, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 98% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Rochelle.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Rochelle
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Rochelle: 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 Rochelle
By decade
- 2020s29
- 2010s23(1 EF3+)
- 2000s8
- 1990s8
- 1980s6
- 1970s12(2 EF3+)
- 1960s7(1 EF3+)
- 1950s8(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 21 mi | 25.5 mi | 24 / 450 |
| Apr 9, 2015 | EF4 | 4 mi | 30.14 mi | 2 / 11 |
| Dec 6, 1951 | F3 | 20 mi | 21.9 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Aug 5, 1979 | F3 | 22 mi | 5.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 1977 | F3 | 25 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 6, 1972 | F2 | 18 mi | 17.5 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 15 mi | 9.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | EF2 | 23 mi | 7.8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jul 8, 1993 | F2 | 9 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1975 | F2 | 14 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 15, 1958 | F2 | 16 mi | 74.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 30, 1956 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 101, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rochelle
The Storm Prediction Center has 26 hail reports within 10 miles of Rochelle since 1966, made on 18 separate days. Of these, 16 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on September 21, 1973. The most recent report is from February 27, 2024. May has the most reports, 7.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rochelle
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Rochelle, IL, 2 miles south of Rochelle at 775 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 28°F and 12°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.7 inches; the year adds up to 36.7 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 145 nights a year. That 36.7 inches is more than at 13 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (9%). Malta, 10 miles east, has its own station (De Kalb, IL): 37.3 inches a year, 0.6 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 12 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Feb | 32 | 16 | 1.7 | 5 |
| Mar | 45 | 26 | 2.3 | 5 |
| Apr | 59 | 37 | 3.4 | 7 |
| May | 70 | 48 | 4.7 | 9 |
| Jun | 79 | 59 | 4.9 | 8 |
| Jul | 82 | 61 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Aug | 81 | 60 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Sep | 75 | 52 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Oct | 62 | 40 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Nov | 47 | 29 | 2.3 | 5 |
| Dec | 34 | 18 | 2.0 | 5 |
| Year | 58 | 38 | 36.7 | 71 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Rochelle, IL (775 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 Rochelle
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 95 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rochelle: 77 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 floods, 5 flash floods, 2 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $769,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on October 26, 2010. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 28 have had fewer than Rochelle.
April 5, 2010: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Rochelle — 1 injured, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “Two semi trucks were blown over along Interstate 39 and one on Interstate 88. One driver was taken to the hospital.”
August 4, 2008: thunderstorm wind in Rochelle — 1 injured, $2,000 damage.
NWS: “A large tree was blown down on Route 38 just east of Route 251. Tree limbs and power lines were blown down across parts of Rochelle.”
July 24, 2010: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Rochelle — $268,000 damage.
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 Rochelle's ZIP code 61068 have filed 53 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $237,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1996, with 23. 6% 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, 169 have fewer than Rochelle.
Ogle County, which includes Rochelle, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 snowstorms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Ogle County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $36.1 million a year, the 25th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $21.1 million (58%), 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 Rochelle
- Malta, IL10 mi
- Davis Junction, IL12 mi
- Stillman Valley, IL14 mi
- Oregon, IL15 mi
- Kirkland, IL15 mi
- Dekalb, IL17 mi
- Byron, IL17 mi
- Waterman, IL19 mi
- Kingston, IL19 mi
- Cortland, IL20 mi
- Sycamore, IL20 mi
- Mount Morris, IL21 mi
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