NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Seneca, 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 Seneca, Illinois since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 120 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 120
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
17 deaths in all
What the records show for Seneca
The highest rating among the 120 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on November 17, 2013, came within 25 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on April 20, 2004, killed 8 people. Of the 120, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 72 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 41. The most recent tornado was on March 14, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 59% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Seneca. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 31 times since 1975, with stones up to 3.75 inches. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 95% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Seneca.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Seneca
By decade
- 2020s21
- 2010s33(4 EF3+)
- 2000s18(1 EF3+)
- 1990s4
- 1980s12(1 EF3+)
- 1970s17(3 EF3+)
- 1960s8(1 EF3+)
- 1950s7
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 17, 2013 | EF4 | 25 mi | 46.36 mi | 3 / 125 |
| Jun 29, 1979 | F4 | 24 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 20, 2004 | F3 | 21 mi | 15.8 mi | 8 / 12 |
| Feb 28, 2017 | EF3 | 7 mi | 11.5 mi | 2 / 14 |
| Apr 27, 1984 | F3 | 22 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | EF3 | 12 mi | 16.26 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF3 | 16 mi | 8.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 1977 | F3 | 21 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 17, 1972 | F3 | 3 mi | 81.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | 20 mi | 51.7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F2 | 9 mi | 35.9 mi | 2 / 90 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 17 mi | 5.96 mi | 1 / 13 |
The strongest 12 of 120, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Seneca
The Storm Prediction Center has 31 hail reports within 10 miles of Seneca since 1975, made on 24 separate days. Of these, 17 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.75 inches, fell on July 13, 2015. The most recent report is from May 23, 2020. March and May have the most reports, 7 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Seneca
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Marseilles Lock, IL, 7 miles west of Seneca at 490 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 14°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.9 inches; the year adds up to 39.1 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 14 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 139 nights a year. Snowfall averages 25.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.1 inches is more than at 59 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (40%). Morris, 11 miles east, has its own station (Morris 1 NW, IL): 38.7 inches a year, 0.4 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 14 | 2.0 | 5 | 8.4 |
| Feb | 35 | 17 | 1.9 | 5 | 7.3 |
| Mar | 48 | 27 | 2.5 | 6 | 2.9 |
| Apr | 61 | 37 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.3 |
| May | 73 | 49 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 58 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 62 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 61 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 53 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 41 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 49 | 30 | 2.7 | 6 | 0.8 |
| Dec | 37 | 21 | 2.1 | 5 | 5.3 |
| Year | 60 | 39 | 39.1 | 74 | 25.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Marseilles Lock, IL (490 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 Seneca
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 90 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Seneca: 61 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 floods, 11 flash floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $32.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on June 30, 2014. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 151 have had fewer than Seneca.
April 18, 2013: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Seneca — $15.0 million damage.
September 14, 2008: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Seneca — $9.0 million damage.
September 15, 2008: flood 2 miles from the centre of Seneca — $5.0 million damage.
NWS: “79 feet at LaSalle on the 16th. Major flooding occurred along the river in LaSalle County.”
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 Seneca's ZIP code 61360 have filed 25 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1985, and were paid $617,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 64% 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, 93 have fewer than Seneca.
LaSalle County, which includes Seneca, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 5 snowstorms, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives LaSalle County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for hail and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $60.5 million a year, the 16th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $33.1 million (55%), 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 Seneca
- Marseilles, IL5 mi
- Morris, IL11 mi
- Ottawa, IL13 mi
- Sheridan, IL15 mi
- Newark, IL15 mi
- Coal City, IL17 mi
- Streator, IL18 mi
- Dwight, IL19 mi
- Gardner, IL19 mi
- Minooka, IL20 mi
- Braidwood, IL20 mi
- Utica, IL21 mi
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