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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Deerfield, IL

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Deerfield, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 96 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
96

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
4

12 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Deerfield

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Deerfield, Illinois, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1138 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 4

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

By decade

  • 2020s32
  • 2010s5
  • 2000s4
  • 1990s7
  • 1980s5
  • 1970s18(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s15(2 EF3+)
  • 1950s10
Strongest tornadoes near Deerfield, Illinois
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Apr 11, 1965F418 mi9.1 mi6 / 75
Apr 21, 1967F413 mi8.8 mi1 / 100
Sep 28, 1972F48 mi5.2 mi0 / 20
Mar 12, 1976F323 mi22.6 mi0 / 3
Mar 12, 1976F210 mi15.1 mi2 / 66
Jun 9, 1966F26 mi2.5 mi1 / 30
Mar 4, 1961F220 mi7.9 mi1 / 115
Oct 8, 1958F215 mi81 mi1 / 0
May 18, 1997F214 mi6 mi0 / 0
Apr 19, 1996F220 mi2 mi0 / 2
Apr 20, 1976F220 mi0.8 mi0 / 2
Jun 17, 1975F29 mi1.5 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 96, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Deerfield while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

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