NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sterling, 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 Sterling, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 103 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 103
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Sterling
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Sterling; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 30 miles away. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Sterling. The highest rating among the 103 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 9, 2015, came within 22 miles. Of the 103, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 52 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on April 20, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 74% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Sterling. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 67 times since 1958, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 69% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Sterling.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Sterling
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Sterling: 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 Sterling
By decade
- 2020s21
- 2010s24(1 EF3+)
- 2000s7
- 1990s18(1 EF3+)
- 1980s7(1 EF3+)
- 1970s7(1 EF3+)
- 1960s11(1 EF3+)
- 1950s8
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 9, 2015 | EF4 | 22 mi | 30.14 mi | 2 / 11 |
| Mar 29, 1981 | F4 | 10 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 1995 | F3 | 18 mi | 22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 5, 1979 | F3 | 14 mi | 5.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 24, 1967 | F3 | 23 mi | 7.4 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Apr 6, 1972 | F2 | 14 mi | 17.5 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 23 mi | 9.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 21 mi | 9.32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | EF2 | 23 mi | 7.8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jul 27, 1995 | F2 | 24 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F2 | 18 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F2 | 21 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 103, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sterling
The Storm Prediction Center has 67 hail reports within 10 miles of Sterling since 1958, made on 45 separate days. Of these, 31 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on July 13, 2004. The most recent report is from July 10, 2025. May has the most reports, 15.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sterling
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Dixon 1W, IL, 10 miles east of Sterling at 660 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 29°F and 14°F. June is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 40.6 inches over 73 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 138 nights a year. Snowfall averages 31.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 40.6 inches is more than at 88 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (60%). Morrison, 13 miles west, has its own station (Morrison, IL): 38.3 inches a year, 2.3 less than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29 | 14 | 2.0 | 5 | 13.0 |
| Feb | 34 | 17 | 1.8 | 5 | 5.7 |
| Mar | 46 | 28 | 2.6 | 5 | 4.5 |
| Apr | 60 | 39 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.6 |
| May | 71 | 51 | 4.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 61 | 5.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 64 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 62 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 54 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 42 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 48 | 31 | 2.4 | 5 | 1.8 |
| Dec | 35 | 20 | 2.2 | 5 | 5.6 |
| Year | 59 | 40 | 40.6 | 73 | 31.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Dixon 1W, IL (660 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 Sterling
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 108 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sterling: 87 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 flash floods, 7 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $388,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 26, 2020. June has had the most flash floods, 9 of 13. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 195 have had fewer than Sterling.
June 18, 2010: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Sterling — 2 injured, $25,000 damage.
February 11, 1999: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Sterling — 1 injured, $28,000 damage.
September 13, 2005: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Sterling — 1 injured.
NWS: “A tree was blown onto a moving vehicle, injuring the driver.”
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 Sterling's ZIP code 61081 have filed 37 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $218,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 27% 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, 130 have fewer than Sterling.
Whiteside County, which includes Sterling, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Whiteside County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and hail; Relatively Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $24.6 million a year, the 39th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $12.8 million (52%), 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 Sterling
- Rock Falls, IL4 mi
- Dixon, IL12 mi
- Morrison, IL13 mi
- Polo, IL13 mi
- Prophetstown, IL18 mi
- Walnut, IL19 mi
- Amboy, IL20 mi
- Mount Morris, IL21 mi
- Lanark, IL21 mi
- Erie, IL22 mi
- Fulton, IL23 mi
- Thomson, IL23 mi
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