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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Riverdale, IL

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

2 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Riverdale, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 135 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
2

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
135

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
7

41 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Riverdale

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Riverdale, Illinois, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1941Unnamed 1941 stormSep 2551 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 3
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 361 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 1

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

By decade

  • 2020s38(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s20
  • 2000s13
  • 1990s6(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s16
  • 1970s17(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s16(3 EF3+)
  • 1950s9
Strongest tornadoes near Riverdale, Illinois
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Apr 21, 1967F44 mi15 mi33 / 500
Jun 13, 1976F416 mi3.3 mi2 / 23
Jun 20, 2021EF313 mi17.6 mi0 / 11
Mar 27, 1991F312 mi15 mi0 / 7
Mar 12, 1976F323 mi22.6 mi0 / 3
Oct 24, 1967F322 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Nov 12, 1965F311 mi4.1 mi0 / 14
Mar 12, 1976F224 mi15.1 mi2 / 66
Nov 12, 1965F29 mi35.9 mi2 / 90
Apr 6, 1972F223 mi6.8 mi1 / 22
Mar 4, 1961F218 mi7.9 mi1 / 115
Jul 15, 2024EF210 mi34.6 mi0 / 2

The strongest 12 of 135, 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 Riverdale 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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