NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Zion, 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 Zion, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 50 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 50
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
9 deaths in all
What the records show for Zion
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Zion; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 59 mph winds when its centre passed 19 miles away. Of the 548 Illinois cities on this site, 57% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Zion. The highest rating among the 50 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on September 28, 1972, came within 6 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 11, 1965, killed 6 people. Of the 50, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 21 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 10. The most recent tornado was on June 22, 2024. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 100% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Zion. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 75 times since 1959, with stones up to 2.25 inches. Of the 548 Illinois cities, 63% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Zion.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Zion
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Zion: 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 Zion
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s7
- 2000s7(1 EF3+)
- 1990s5
- 1980s2
- 1970s8(1 EF3+)
- 1960s7(3 EF3+)
- 1950s7
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 21 mi | 9.1 mi | 6 / 75 |
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 21 mi | 8.8 mi | 1 / 100 |
| Sep 28, 1972 | F4 | 6 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Jan 7, 2008 | EF3 | 18 mi | 10.78 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Jul 19, 1963 | F3 | 22 mi | 10.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 1966 | F2 | 25 mi | 2.5 mi | 1 / 30 |
| Oct 8, 1958 | F2 | 5 mi | 81 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 18, 1997 | F2 | 6 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1996 | F2 | 1 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 20, 1976 | F2 | 1 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 21, 1966 | F2 | 19 mi | 33.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F2 | 7 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 50, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Zion
The Storm Prediction Center has 75 hail reports within 10 miles of Zion since 1959, made on 51 separate days. Of these, 42 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.25 inches, fell on May 2, 2018. The most recent report is from May 15, 2025. May has the most reports, 22.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Zion
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chicago Waukegan Regional Airport, IL, 3 miles south of Zion at 727 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 16°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 35.5 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 132 nights a year. That 35.5 inches is more than at 5 of the 146 Illinois stations used on this site (3%). Pleasant Prairie, WI, 5 miles north, has its own station (Kenosha, WI): 37.5 inches a year, 2.0 more than here, and a July average high of 80°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 16 | 1.4 | 4 |
| Feb | 34 | 18 | 1.5 | 3 |
| Mar | 44 | 27 | 2.2 | 5 |
| Apr | 56 | 36 | 3.8 | 7 |
| May | 67 | 46 | 3.9 | 8 |
| Jun | 77 | 56 | 4.5 | 7 |
| Jul | 81 | 62 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Aug | 80 | 61 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Sep | 73 | 54 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Oct | 61 | 43 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Nov | 48 | 31 | 2.3 | 5 |
| Dec | 36 | 22 | 1.9 | 4 |
| Year | 57 | 39 | 35.5 | 67 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Chicago Waukegan Regional Airport, IL (727 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 Zion
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 126 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Zion: 93 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 flash floods, 13 floods, 6 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on July 12, 2014. May has had the most flash floods, 4 of 13. Of the 547 Illinois cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 195 have had fewer than Zion.
August 7, 2007: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Zion — 1 killed, 1 injured.
NWS: “A tree was blown down onto a tent with two people sleeping inside at Illinois Beach State Park. One person was killed and the other was injured.”
April 19, 1996: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Zion — $1.1 million damage.
June 30, 2011: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Zion — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Over 1,000 trees were either uprooted or split in half at the Illinois Beach State Park. Various structures as well as mobile campers sustained damage from the falling trees.”
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 Zion's ZIP code 60099 have filed 28 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $457,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 21% 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, 103 have fewer than Zion.
Lake County, which includes Zion, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 snowstorms, 4 floods, 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 Lake County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively High for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $266.5 million a year, the 4th highest of 102 Illinois counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $155.5 million (58%), 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 Zion
- Winthrop Harbor, IL2 mi
- Wadsworth, IL4 mi
- Waukegan, IL5 mi
- Pleasant Prairie, WI5 mi
- Gurnee, IL7 mi
- North Chicago, IL9 mi
- Kenosha, WI9 mi
- Great Lakes, IL10 mi
- Lake Villa, IL11 mi
- Lake Bluff, IL11 mi
- Grayslake, IL12 mi
- Libertyville, IL12 mi
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