NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Willow Springs, 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
3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Willow Springs, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 200 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 200
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
71 deaths in all
What the records show for Willow Springs
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Willow Springs; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 67 miles away. The record near Willow Springs begins with an unnamed storm in 1900; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm 65 miles away. Willow Springs has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 62% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The strongest of the 200 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on August 28, 1990; its path came within 19 miles, and it killed 29 people. The deadliest, an F4 on April 21, 1967, killed 33 people. Of the 200, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 104 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 45. The most recent tornado was on March 19, 2025. Willow Springs has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 96% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 223 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Willow Springs has more hail reports within 10 miles than 87% of the 548 Illinois cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Willow Springs
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Willow Springs: 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 Willow Springs
By decade
- 2020s67(1 EF3+)
- 2010s17
- 2000s20
- 1990s12(2 EF3+)
- 1980s19(1 EF3+)
- 1970s29(4 EF3+)
- 1960s24(2 EF3+)
- 1950s12
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 1990 | F5 | 19 mi | 16.4 mi | 29 / 350 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 5 mi | 15 mi | 33 / 500 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F4 | 2 mi | 3.3 mi | 2 / 23 |
| Jun 29, 1979 | F4 | 19 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 27, 1984 | F3 | 18 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Jun 20, 2021 | EF3 | in town | 17.6 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F3 | 3 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 10 mi | 22.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 17, 1972 | F3 | 22 mi | 81.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F3 | 24 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F2 | 13 mi | 15.1 mi | 2 / 66 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F2 | 13 mi | 35.9 mi | 2 / 90 |
The strongest 12 of 200, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Willow Springs
The Storm Prediction Center has 223 hail reports within 10 miles of Willow Springs since 1955, made on 123 separate days. Of these, 133 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently February 27, 2024. The most recent report is from August 16, 2025. May has the most reports, 47.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Willow Springs
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chicago Midway Airport 3SW, IL, 5 miles east of Willow Springs at 620 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 20°F. May is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.1 inches; the year adds up to 40.9 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 21 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 108 nights a year. Snowfall averages 38.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 40.9 inches is more than at 92 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (63%). Hinsdale, 4 miles northwest, has its own station (Wheaton 3 SE, IL): 40.1 inches a year, 0.8 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 20 | 2.3 | 6 | 12.5 |
| Feb | 37 | 23 | 2.1 | 5 | 10.1 |
| Mar | 48 | 32 | 2.7 | 6 | 5.7 |
| Apr | 60 | 42 | 4.2 | 8 | 1.0 |
| May | 72 | 52 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 63 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 68 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 67 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 59 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 47 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 50 | 35 | 2.7 | 6 | 1.5 |
| Dec | 38 | 25 | 2.3 | 5 | 7.9 |
| Year | 61 | 44 | 40.9 | 77 | 38.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Chicago Midway Airport 3SW, IL (620 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 Willow Springs
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 613 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Willow Springs: 441 thunderstorm wind reports, 68 flash floods, 66 floods, 26 heavy rain events and 12 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 21, and the NWS estimated $327.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on October 2, 2006. August has had the most flash floods, 18 of 68. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 516 have had fewer than Willow Springs.
June 18, 2010: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Willow Springs — 1 killed, 2 injured.
May 30, 2013: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Willow Springs — 1 killed.
July 11, 2011: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Willow Springs — 6 injured.
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
Cook County, which includes Willow Springs, 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.
Cities near Willow Springs
- Justice, IL2 mi
- Hickory Hills, IL3 mi
- La Grange, IL4 mi
- Palos Hills, IL4 mi
- Hinsdale, IL4 mi
- Bridgeview, IL4 mi
- Summit, IL5 mi
- Western Springs, IL5 mi
- Clarendon Hills, IL5 mi
- Palos Park, IL5 mi
- Darien, IL5 mi
- Worth, IL6 mi
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