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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Olney, IL

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

4 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Olney, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 77 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
4

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
77

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
8

6 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Olney

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Olney, Illinois, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2008IkeSep 1448 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 4
1941Unnamed 1941 stormSep 2531 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 2128 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 2860 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 Olney: 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 Olney

By decade

  • 2020s9(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s17
  • 2000s10
  • 1990s15(2 EF3+)
  • 1980s6(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s7(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s5(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s8(2 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Olney, Illinois
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jun 2, 1990F4in town23 mi0 / 2
Jun 2, 1990F418 mi12.5 mi0 / 6
Jan 7, 1989F424 mi19 mi0 / 55
Mar 31, 2023EF312 mi40.89 mi6 / 16
Apr 1, 1974F319 mi3.3 mi0 / 0
Mar 6, 1961F318 mi21.2 mi0 / 3
Dec 18, 1957F315 mi19.6 mi0 / 1
Dec 18, 1957F314 mi4.5 mi0 / 0
Nov 17, 2013EF219 mi7.86 mi0 / 0
Nov 17, 2013EF220 mi4.14 mi0 / 0
Nov 17, 2013EF219 mi10.28 mi0 / 1
May 25, 2011EF225 mi5.5 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 77, 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 Olney 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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