NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Skokie, 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
2 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Skokie, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 98 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 98
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
41 deaths in all
What the records show for Skokie
None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Skokie; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 59 mph winds when its centre passed 48 miles away. The record near Skokie begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm 69 miles away. Skokie has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 43% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The highest rating among the 98 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on June 13, 1976, came within 23 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 21, 1967, killed 33 people. Of the 98, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 49 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on March 14, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 81% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Skokie. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 188 times since 1957, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Skokie has more hail reports within 10 miles than 77% of the 548 Illinois cities.
Compare Skokie's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Skokie
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Skokie: 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 Skokie
By decade
- 2020s37(1 EF3+)
- 2010s7
- 2000s5
- 1990s4(1 EF3+)
- 1980s4
- 1970s18(3 EF3+)
- 1960s14(2 EF3+)
- 1950s9
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 23 mi | 15 mi | 33 / 500 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F4 | 23 mi | 3.3 mi | 2 / 23 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 22 mi | 8.8 mi | 1 / 100 |
| Sep 28, 1972 | F4 | 18 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Jun 20, 2021 | EF3 | 21 mi | 17.6 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F3 | 24 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 18 mi | 22.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F2 | 1 mi | 15.1 mi | 2 / 66 |
| Jun 9, 1966 | F2 | 11 mi | 2.5 mi | 1 / 30 |
| Mar 4, 1961 | F2 | 8 mi | 7.9 mi | 1 / 115 |
| Oct 8, 1958 | F2 | 25 mi | 81 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 18, 1997 | F2 | 25 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 98, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Skokie
The Storm Prediction Center has 188 hail reports within 10 miles of Skokie since 1957, made on 81 separate days. Of these, 134 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently April 7, 2020. The most recent report is from August 16, 2025. April has the most reports, 55.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Skokie
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chicago Botanic Garden, IL, 8 miles north of Skokie at 630 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 16°F. May is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 39.5 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 17 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 128 nights a year. Snowfall averages 33.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.5 inches is more than at 66 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (45%). Glenview, 3 miles southwest, has its own station (Chicago Ohare International Airport, IL): 38.0 inches a year, 1.5 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 | 32 | 16 | 2.1 | 6 | 11.3 |
| Feb | 36 | 19 | 2.0 | 5 | 7.7 |
| Mar | 46 | 28 | 2.3 | 6 | 5.6 |
| Apr | 57 | 38 | 4.0 | 8 | 1.1 |
| May | 68 | 48 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 57 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 63 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 62 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 55 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 43 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 49 | 33 | 2.6 | 5 | 1.9 |
| Dec | 38 | 22 | 2.3 | 6 | 5.9 |
| Year | 59 | 40 | 39.5 | 74 | 33.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Chicago Botanic Garden, IL (630 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 Skokie
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 522 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Skokie: 399 thunderstorm wind reports, 57 floods, 40 flash floods, 14 heavy rain events and 12 lightning strikes. They killed 3 people and injured 25, and the NWS estimated $543.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on August 10, 2020. June has had the most flash floods, 14 of 40. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 452 have had fewer than Skokie.
October 13, 2001: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Skokie — 1 killed, 6 injured, $5,000 damage.
September 18, 2013: heavy rain event 7 miles from the centre of Skokie — 1 killed.
September 5, 2014: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Skokie — 1 killed.
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 Skokie's 2 ZIP codes have filed 334 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $1.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1987: 44 claims (13% of all) and $252,000, then Hurricane Ike in 2008 with 10 and Mid-spring storms in 2013 with 10. The year with the most claims was 1981, with 129. 19% 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, 291 have fewer than Skokie.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1987 | 44 | $252,000 |
| Hurricane Ike2008 | 10 | $27,000 |
| Mid-spring storms2013 | 10 | $33,000 |
Cook County, which includes Skokie, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 8 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Floodng, on September 20, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Cook County a Very High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively High for hail; Relatively Low for coastal flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $2.42 billion a year, the highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.10 billion (45%), 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.