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Storms That Hit

NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Walnut, 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 Walnut, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 106 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
1

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
106

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
4

2 deaths in all

What the records show for Walnut

None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Walnut; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 53 mph winds when its centre passed 49 miles away. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Walnut. The strongest of the 106 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on March 29, 1981; its path came within 20 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on April 6, 1972, killed 1 person. Of the 106, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 57 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, 72% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Walnut. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 32 times since 1991, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 548 Illinois cities, 95% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Walnut.

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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Walnut

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Walnut, Illinois, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1149 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 4

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

By decade

  • 2020s24
  • 2010s23
  • 2000s10
  • 1990s18(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s5(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s8(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s11
  • 1950s7(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Walnut, Illinois
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Mar 29, 1981F420 mi5.1 mi0 / 0
Dec 6, 1951F324 mi21.9 mi1 / 1
May 9, 1995F3in town22 mi0 / 0
Mar 4, 1976F324 mi0.8 mi0 / 0
Apr 6, 1972F220 mi17.5 mi1 / 9
Mar 31, 2023EF217 mi9.29 mi0 / 0
Mar 31, 2023EF225 mi6.82 mi0 / 0
Mar 31, 2023EF213 mi9.32 mi0 / 0
Mar 31, 2023EF221 mi3.05 mi0 / 0
Jun 22, 2015EF216 mi7.8 mi0 / 7
Apr 21, 1967F225 mi0.3 mi0 / 1
Apr 21, 1967F28 mi5.6 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 106, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Walnut

The Storm Prediction Center has 32 hail reports within 10 miles of Walnut since 1991, made on 26 separate days. Of these, 21 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 9, 1995. The most recent report is from May 15, 2025. May has the most reports, 16.

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

Weather by month in Walnut

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Walnut, IL, in Walnut at 671 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 29°F and 13°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.5 inches; the year adds up to 36.7 inches over 66 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 14 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 136 nights a year. Snowfall averages 35.9 inches a year, most of it in January. That 36.7 inches is more than at 13 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (9%). Princeton, 15 miles southeast, has its own station (Princeton, IL): 39.7 inches a year, 3.0 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 83°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Walnut, IL
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow in
Jan29131.5412.7
Feb34171.748.4
Mar47282.254.7
Apr61393.470.6
May72514.680.0
Jun81604.970.0
Jul83633.960.0
Aug82613.860.0
Sep76533.450.0
Oct63413.050.2
Nov48302.352.0
Dec35192.047.3
Year594036.76635.9

Averages for 1991–2020 at Walnut, IL (671 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 Walnut

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 55 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Walnut: 54 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 flash flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $440,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 119 mph, on March 31, 2023.

  • May 10, 2003: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Walnut — $250,000 damage.

    NWS: “Old Opera House destroyed”

  • June 24, 2013: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Walnut — $100,000 damage.

    NWS: “Winds were estimated in excess of 80 mph and upwards of 100 mph for a 13 mile swath. A large outbuilding bolted to its foundation was destroyed.”

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

Bureau County, which includes Walnut, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 5 snowstorms, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Bureau County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; 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 $22.4 million a year, the 42nd highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $9.9 million (44%), 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 Walnut

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

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