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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Litchfield, IL

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

3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Litchfield, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 110 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
3

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
110

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
7

6 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Litchfield

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Litchfield, Illinois, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2008IkeSep 1432 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 4
1941Unnamed 1941 stormSep 2557 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 2813 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1

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

By decade

  • 2020s17
  • 2010s23(2 EF3+)
  • 2000s26
  • 1990s19(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s1
  • 1970s11(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s6
  • 1950s7(2 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Litchfield, Illinois
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Dec 2, 1950F324 mi18 mi2 / 25
Jun 1, 1999F310 mi10 mi1 / 4
Dec 1, 2018EF321 mi12.49 mi0 / 22
Apr 19, 2011EF319 mi4.32 mi0 / 2
Jul 28, 1976F324 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Mar 20, 1976F317 mi8.8 mi0 / 4
Jan 3, 1950F320 mi3.6 mi0 / 3
Dec 2, 1950F28 mi18.8 mi1 / 3
Dec 10, 2021EF214 mi41.54 mi0 / 1
Dec 1, 2018EF22 mi6.79 mi0 / 0
Feb 20, 2014EF223 mi22.38 mi0 / 1
May 31, 2013EF28 mi1.47 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 110, 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 Litchfield 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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