NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ottawa, IL
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Ottawa, Illinois since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 102 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 102
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
17 deaths in all
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Ottawa
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s37(4 EF3+)
- 2000s12(1 EF3+)
- 1990s6
- 1980s4
- 1970s13(2 EF3+)
- 1960s8
- 1950s7(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 17, 2013 | EF4 | 24 mi | 46.36 mi | 3 / 125 |
| Apr 20, 2004 | F3 | 9 mi | 15.8 mi | 8 / 12 |
| Feb 28, 2017 | EF3 | in town | 11.5 mi | 2 / 14 |
| Dec 6, 1951 | F3 | 17 mi | 21.9 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | EF3 | 24 mi | 16.26 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF3 | 19 mi | 8.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 1977 | F3 | 14 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 17, 1972 | F3 | 3 mi | 81.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F2 | 20 mi | 35.9 mi | 2 / 90 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 25 mi | 5.96 mi | 1 / 13 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | EF2 | 25 mi | 34.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Feb 28, 2017 | EF2 | 24 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 102, 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 Ottawa 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.