NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rock Island, 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 Rock Island, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 176 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 176
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Rock Island
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Rock Island; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 51 mph winds when its centre passed 35 miles away. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Rock Island. The highest rating among the 176 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 9 times; the most recent, on June 1, 2007, came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an EF1 on June 24, 2013, killed 1 person. Of the 176, 16 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 93 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 46. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Rock Island has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 80% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 273 times since 1956, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Rock Island has more hail reports within 10 miles than 98% of the 548 Illinois cities.
Compare Rock Island's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Rock Island
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Rock Island: 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 Rock Island
By decade
- 2020s36
- 2010s34
- 2000s23(1 EF3+)
- 1990s34(2 EF3+)
- 1980s12(1 EF3+)
- 1970s18(3 EF3+)
- 1960s14(2 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1, 2007 | EF3 | 24 mi | 15.75 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 9, 1995 | F3 | 17 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F3 | 17 mi | 15.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 8, 1988 | F3 | 20 mi | 32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 1978 | F3 | 12 mi | 6.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1974 | F3 | 9 mi | 48.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 13, 1974 | F3 | 9 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1966 | F3 | 4 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1962 | F3 | 15 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | EF2 | 6 mi | 7.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 4, 2023 | EF2 | 24 mi | 2.79 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 4, 2023 | EF2 | 10 mi | 0.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 176, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rock Island
The Storm Prediction Center has 273 hail reports within 10 miles of Rock Island since 1956, made on 115 separate days. Of these, 165 were 1 inch across or larger, and 26 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on April 4, 2023. The most recent report is from July 11, 2025. April has the most reports, 85.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rock Island
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Rock Island L&D 15, IL, 2 miles north of Rock Island at 568 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 13°F. June is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.5 inches; the year adds up to 38.7 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 118 nights a year. That 38.7 inches is more than at 51 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (35%). Moline, 4 miles east, has its own station (Moline Quad City International Airport, IL): 38.2 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 13 | 1.5 | 4 |
| Feb | 36 | 18 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Mar | 48 | 28 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Apr | 61 | 39 | 3.8 | 7 |
| May | 72 | 51 | 5.1 | 8 |
| Jun | 81 | 61 | 5.2 | 8 |
| Jul | 84 | 65 | 4.2 | 6 |
| Aug | 82 | 63 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Sep | 77 | 55 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Oct | 64 | 43 | 2.9 | 5 |
| Nov | 49 | 30 | 2.3 | 5 |
| Dec | 36 | 20 | 2.0 | 5 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 38.7 | 67 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Rock Island L&D 15, IL (568 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 Rock Island
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 543 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rock Island: 417 thunderstorm wind reports, 67 flash floods, 46 floods, 7 heavy rain events and 6 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 9, and the NWS estimated $12.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 107 mph, on October 6, 2016. July has had the most flash floods, 24 of 67. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 515 have had fewer than Rock Island.
June 21, 1997: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Rock Island — 1 killed, 2 injured.
April 1, 2019: flood 2 miles from the centre of Rock Island — 1 killed.
NWS: “The Mississippi River remained above its major flood stage of 18 feet through the month of April. 68 feet on April 8th.”
August 3, 1997: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Rock Island — 2 injured, $10,000 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 Rock Island's ZIP code 61201 have filed 55 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $708,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1979, with 10. 22% 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 Rock Island.
Rock Island County, which includes Rock Island, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane, 1 severe storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Rock Island County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $45.4 million a year, the 23rd highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $16.6 million (36%), 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.