NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Thomson, 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

1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Thomson, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 99 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes: 0
Tropical storms: 1
Tornadoes: 99
EF3 or stronger: 6

What the records show for Thomson

None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Thomson; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 53 mph winds when its centre passed 12 miles away. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Thomson. The highest rating among the 99 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on March 29, 1981, came within 19 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 20, 1974, killed 1 person. Of the 99, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 49 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on April 20, 2025. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 79% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Thomson. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 62 times since 1960, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 71% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Thomson.

Compare Thomson's storm record with another city →

ShareX Facebook WhatsApp Email

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Thomson

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Thomson, Illinois, newest first
Year	Storm	Closest	Strength when closest	Peak
1900	Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11	12 mi	Tropical storm (53 mph)	Category 4

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

By decade

2020s18
2010s23
2000s8
1990s21(1 EF3+)
1980s9(2 EF3+)
1970s5(1 EF3+)
1960s9(2 EF3+)
1950s6

Strongest tornadoes near Thomson, Illinois
Date	Rating	Distance	Path	Killed / injured
Apr 11, 1965	F4	23 mi	91.5 mi	1 / 3
Mar 29, 1981	F4	19 mi	5.1 mi	0 / 0
Jun 20, 1974	F3	9 mi	10.6 mi	1 / 20
Mar 13, 1990	F3	15 mi	15.5 mi	0 / 1
May 8, 1988	F3	9 mi	32 mi	0 / 0
Jan 24, 1967	F3	6 mi	7.4 mi	0 / 12
Mar 31, 2023	EF2	16 mi	18.02 mi	0 / 1
Mar 6, 2017	EF2	13 mi	34.68 mi	0 / 0
Jun 12, 2013	EF2	9 mi	6.6 mi	0 / 1
Jun 1, 2007	EF2	23 mi	3.44 mi	0 / 0
Jul 27, 1995	F2	14 mi	20 mi	0 / 0
Jan 24, 1967	F2	12 mi	0.1 mi	0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 99, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Thomson

The Storm Prediction Center has 62 hail reports within 10 miles of Thomson since 1960, made on 52 separate days. Of these, 34 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on August 16, 1968. The most recent report is from July 10, 2025. June has the most reports, 14.

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

Weather by month in Thomson

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Fulton L&D #13, IL, 6 miles southwest of Thomson at 592 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 29°F and 14°F. June is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.4 inches; the year adds up to 34.3 inches over 63 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 132 nights a year. That 34.3 inches is more than at 3 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (2%). Savanna, 9 miles north, has its own station (Mt Carroll, IL): 40.3 inches a year, 6.0 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 84°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Fulton L&D #13, IL
Month	High °F	Low °F	Precip. in	Days ≥ 0.1"
Jan	29	14	1.4	4
Feb	34	17	1.6	4
Mar	46	28	2.4	5
Apr	59	40	3.4	6
May	71	51	4.0	8
Jun	81	62	4.5	7
Jul	84	65	3.4	6
Aug	82	63	3.4	6
Sep	76	55	3.7	5
Oct	63	43	2.6	5
Nov	48	31	2.2	4
Dec	35	21	1.7	4
Year	59	41	34.3	63

Averages for 1991–2020 at Fulton L&D #13, IL (592 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 Thomson

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 139 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Thomson: 107 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 flash floods, 14 floods and 2 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on July 10, 2025. July has had the most flash floods, 7 of 16. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 263 have had fewer than Thomson.

April 18, 2011: flood 7 miles from the centre of Thomson — $250,000 damage.
July 28, 2011: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Thomson — $250,000 damage.
September 11, 2000: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Thomson — $200,000 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

Carroll County, which includes Thomson, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Carroll County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.8 million a year, the 73rd highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.3 million (49%), 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 Thomson

All Illinois cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Thomson with another place →

ShareX Facebook WhatsApp Email