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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Saint Joseph, 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 Saint Joseph, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 148 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
4

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
148

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
10

5 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Saint Joseph

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Saint Joseph, Illinois, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2008IkeSep 1421 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 4
1941Unnamed 1941 stormSep 2517 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 3
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 34 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 1
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 2927 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 Saint Joseph: 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 Saint Joseph

By decade

  • 2020s8
  • 2010s25(2 EF3+)
  • 2000s38
  • 1990s24(2 EF3+)
  • 1980s11
  • 1970s17(3 EF3+)
  • 1960s16(2 EF3+)
  • 1950s9(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Saint Joseph, Illinois
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Mar 20, 1976F43 mi63.7 mi0 / 18
Apr 9, 1953F34 mi156.7 mi3 / 22
Apr 19, 1996F34 mi2 mi1 / 13
Apr 3, 1974F38 mi5.9 mi1 / 0
Nov 17, 2013EF310 mi29.83 mi0 / 6
Nov 17, 2013EF312 mi18.74 mi0 / 0
Apr 19, 1996F38 mi4 mi0 / 12
Apr 3, 1974F36 mi14.9 mi0 / 0
Apr 22, 1963F311 mi31.8 mi0 / 5
Apr 22, 1963F322 mi38.6 mi0 / 40
Sep 9, 2016EF29 mi6.26 mi0 / 0
Nov 17, 2013EF214 mi19.68 mi0 / 1

The strongest 12 of 148, 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 Saint Joseph 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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