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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Galesburg, MI

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

5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Galesburg, Michigan since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 74 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
5

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
74

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
6

7 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Galesburg

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Galesburg, Michigan, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2008IkeSep 1459 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1941Unnamed 1941 stormSep 2523 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 319 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1911 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1160 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 4

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

By decade

  • 2020s6
  • 2010s5
  • 2000s14(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s6
  • 1980s14(2 EF3+)
  • 1970s15(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s8(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s6
Strongest tornadoes near Galesburg, Michigan
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Apr 2, 1977F422 mi16.6 mi1 / 44
Apr 2, 1977F42 mi12.4 mi0 / 10
May 13, 1980F34 mi10.6 mi5 / 79
Oct 24, 2001F319 mi47 mi1 / 2
May 13, 1980F321 mi21 mi0 / 15
Apr 11, 1965F36 mi14.2 mi0 / 17
Aug 6, 2024EF225 mi8.46 mi0 / 0
May 7, 2024EF24 mi10.86 mi0 / 12
May 7, 2024EF221 mi19.53 mi0 / 1
Jun 19, 2009EF28 mi0.86 mi0 / 0
May 21, 2001F26 mi1 mi0 / 0
Sep 29, 1986F220 mi3.8 mi0 / 1

The strongest 12 of 74, 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 Galesburg 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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