NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Saint Elmo, 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 October 26, 2026

4 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Saint Elmo, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 93 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes: 0
Tropical storms: 4
Tornadoes: 93
EF3 or stronger: 3

What the records show for Saint Elmo

None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Saint Elmo; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 3 miles away. The record near Saint Elmo begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 4 systems, one has come since 2000. Saint Elmo has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 79% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The highest rating among the 93 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 6, 1961, came within 19 miles. The deadliest, an F0 on May 1, 1983, killed 2 people. Of the 93, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 51 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 30. The most recent tornado was on July 6, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 85% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Saint Elmo. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 27 times since 1964, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 97% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Saint Elmo.

Compare Saint Elmo's storm record with another city →

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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Saint Elmo

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Saint Elmo, Illinois, newest first
Year	Storm	Closest	Strength when closest	Peak
2008	IkeSep 14	3 mi	Tropical storm (52 mph)	Category 4
1941	Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25	17 mi	Tropical storm (40 mph)	Category 3
1915	Unnamed 1915 stormAug 20	71 mi	Tropical storm (40 mph)	Category 4
1902	Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28	18 mi	Tropical storm (40 mph)	Category 1

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Saint Elmo: 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 Saint Elmo

By decade

2020s15
2010s10
2000s26
1990s15
1980s7
1970s4
1960s9(1 EF3+)
1950s7(2 EF3+)

Strongest tornadoes near Saint Elmo, Illinois
Date	Rating	Distance	Path	Killed / injured
Apr 5, 1958	F3	15 mi	60.5 mi	1 / 8
Mar 6, 1961	F3	19 mi	21.2 mi	0 / 3
Jan 3, 1950	F3	20 mi	3.6 mi	0 / 3
Apr 30, 2025	EF2	13 mi	4.33 mi	0 / 0
Apr 2, 2025	EF2	19 mi	22.83 mi	0 / 1
May 26, 2024	EF2	24 mi	8.26 mi	0 / 0
Dec 10, 2021	EF2	14 mi	41.54 mi	0 / 1
Apr 3, 2018	EF2	8 mi	18.2 mi	0 / 0
Feb 20, 2014	EF2	24 mi	22.38 mi	0 / 1
Nov 17, 2013	EF2	in town	11.4 mi	0 / 0
Feb 28, 2011	EF2	5 mi	0.08 mi	0 / 0
Feb 28, 2011	EF2	9 mi	1.26 mi	0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 93, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Saint Elmo

The Storm Prediction Center has 27 hail reports within 10 miles of Saint Elmo since 1964, made on 23 separate days. Of these, 13 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 4 days, most recently March 14, 2025. The most recent report is from October 18, 2025. March and June have the most reports, 5 each.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Saint Elmo

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Brownstown 4 SW, IL, 8 miles southwest of Saint Elmo at 530 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 21°F. May is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and December the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 41.2 inches over 72 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 28 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 105 nights a year. That 41.2 inches is more than at 98 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (67%). Altamont, 7 miles east, has its own station (Effingham 3SW, IL): 44.0 inches a year, 2.8 more than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 87°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Brownstown 4 SW, IL
Month	High °F	Low °F	Precip. in	Days ≥ 0.1"
Jan	37	21	2.8	6
Feb	42	25	2.4	5
Mar	52	35	3.2	6
Apr	65	45	4.4	7
May	75	55	5.3	8
Jun	84	65	4.1	7
Jul	87	67	3.7	6
Aug	86	64	3.2	6
Sep	80	56	3.4	5
Oct	67	45	2.9	5
Nov	53	36	3.6	7
Dec	42	27	2.2	5
Year	64	45	41.2	72

Averages for 1991–2020 at Brownstown 4 SW, IL (530 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.

Illinois weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Saint Elmo

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 82 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Saint Elmo: 63 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 flash floods and 2 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $405,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on February 5, 2008. May has had the most flash floods, 6 of 17. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 278 have had fewer than Saint Elmo.

June 11, 2002: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Saint Elmo — 1 injured.

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

Fayette County, which includes Saint Elmo, has been named in 8 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 2002, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 tornadoes, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane, 1 ice storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Fayette County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $15.1 million a year, the 58th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.4 million (42%), 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 Saint Elmo

All Illinois cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Saint Elmo with another place →

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