NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Wood River, 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 Wood River, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 167 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 18 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 167
- EF3 or stronger
- 18
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
47 deaths in all
What the records show for Wood River
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Wood River; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 49 mph winds when its centre passed 31 miles away. The record near Wood River begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Wood River has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 62% of the 548 Illinois cities on this site. The highest rating among the 167 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 5 times; the most recent, on April 22, 2011, came within 9 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on February 10, 1959, killed 21 people. Of the 167, 13 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 91 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 37. The most recent tornado was on May 16, 2025. Wood River has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 72% of the 548 Illinois cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 172 times since 1961, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Wood River has more hail reports within 10 miles than 74% of the 548 Illinois cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Wood River
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 28 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Wood River: 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 Wood River
By decade
- 2020s26(2 EF3+)
- 2010s25(3 EF3+)
- 2000s40
- 1990s12
- 1980s13(4 EF3+)
- 1970s11(1 EF3+)
- 1960s16(3 EF3+)
- 1950s24(5 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 10, 1959 | F4 | 14 mi | 23.9 mi | 21 / 345 |
| Feb 24, 1956 | F4 | 21 mi | 77.6 mi | 6 / 36 |
| Jan 24, 1967 | F4 | 3 mi | 25 mi | 3 / 216 |
| Apr 22, 2011 | EF4 | 9 mi | 21.3 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 3, 1981 | F4 | 7 mi | 11.9 mi | 0 / 32 |
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF3 | 7 mi | 4.22 mi | 6 / 1 |
| Dec 2, 1950 | F3 | 24 mi | 18 mi | 2 / 25 |
| Dec 10, 2021 | EF3 | 23 mi | 27.3 mi | 1 / 2 |
| May 31, 2013 | EF3 | 3 mi | 10.64 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 2013 | EF3 | 7 mi | 31.71 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Nov 15, 1988 | F3 | 16 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 1, 1983 | F3 | 8 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 3 |
The strongest 12 of 167, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Wood River
The Storm Prediction Center has 172 hail reports within 10 miles of Wood River since 1961, made on 112 separate days. Of these, 103 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on July 13, 1979. The most recent report is from August 12, 2025. April has the most reports, 56.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Wood River
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Alton - Melvin Price L&D, IL, 3 miles west of Wood River at 405 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 39°F and 22°F. May is the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 41.9 inches over 72 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 29 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 85 nights a year. That 41.9 inches is more than at 105 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (72%). Florissant, MO, 12 miles west, has its own station (St Louis Lambert International Airport, MO): 41.7 inches a year, 0.2 less than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39 | 22 | 2.5 | 5 |
| Feb | 44 | 25 | 2.5 | 5 |
| Mar | 54 | 35 | 3.5 | 7 |
| Apr | 66 | 45 | 4.9 | 8 |
| May | 75 | 56 | 5.5 | 9 |
| Jun | 84 | 66 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Jul | 87 | 69 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Aug | 86 | 67 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Sep | 80 | 60 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Oct | 68 | 48 | 2.9 | 5 |
| Nov | 54 | 37 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Dec | 44 | 27 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Year | 65 | 46 | 41.9 | 72 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Alton - Melvin Price L&D, IL (405 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 Wood River
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 197 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Wood River: 179 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 flash floods and 8 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on June 14, 1998. May has had the most flash floods, 4 of 10. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 125 have had fewer than Wood River.
February 20, 2014: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Wood River — 1 injured.
August 10, 2005: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Wood River — $1.0 million damage.
July 27, 1999: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Wood River — $600,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Wood River's ZIP code 62095 have filed 94 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $423,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1986: 13 claims (14% of all) and $35,000. The year with the most claims was 1979, with 28. 23% 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, 211 have fewer than Wood River.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1986 | 13 | $35,000 |
Madison County, which includes Wood River, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Madison County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, hail, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $154.9 million a year, the 7th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $56.2 million (36%), 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 Wood River
- East Alton, ILunder 1 mi
- South Roxana, IL3 mi
- Cottage Hills, IL3 mi
- Bethalto, IL5 mi
- Alton, IL5 mi
- Edwardsville, IL8 mi
- Godfrey, IL9 mi
- Glen Carbon, IL10 mi
- Granite City, IL10 mi
- Maryville, IL12 mi
- Florissant, MO12 mi
- Brighton, IL13 mi
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