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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Virden, 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 Virden, Illinois since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 147 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
3

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
147

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
10

6 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Virden

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Virden, Illinois, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2008IkeSep 1452 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 4
1941Unnamed 1941 stormSep 2574 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 2835 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 Virden: 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 Virden

By decade

  • 2020s19
  • 2010s22(2 EF3+)
  • 2000s34
  • 1990s20(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s9(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s27(3 EF3+)
  • 1960s11(2 EF3+)
  • 1950s5(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Virden, Illinois
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jun 14, 1957F417 mi4.3 mi2 / 50
Jun 1, 1999F313 mi10 mi1 / 4
Apr 22, 1963F324 mi42.9 mi1 / 5
Dec 1, 2018EF321 mi12.49 mi0 / 22
Apr 19, 2011EF34 mi4.32 mi0 / 2
May 1, 1983F323 mi4 mi0 / 15
Jul 26, 1978F321 mi8.9 mi0 / 0
Aug 6, 1977F39 mi4.1 mi0 / 0
Mar 20, 1976F38 mi8.8 mi0 / 4
Apr 24, 1961F311 mi64.2 mi0 / 3
Aug 6, 2023EF214 mi25.31 mi0 / 0
Jun 29, 2023EF213 mi9.07 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 147, 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 Virden 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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