Elmhurst

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for DuPage County, the county that contains Elmhurst.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in DuPage County, the county that contains Elmhurst.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for DuPage County, the county that contains Elmhurst.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 14, 2008Flash Flood$8.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding or significant flooding was reported across most of Dupage County, including street closures due to flooding, basement flooding and creek, stream and river flooding. A few of the more extensive flooding reports included the West Branch of the Dupage River in and near Warrenville, in Addison where 1,800 people had to be evacuated, along Salt Creek in Villa Park and 300 houses were affected by flooding in Carol Stream. Numerous vehicles were also reported stalled or abandoned in flood waters.

2. Apr 18, 2013Flash Flood$6.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flooding was reported over much of DuPage County. Dozens of homes were underwater in Towers of Four Lakes Village requiring emergency crews to rescue people trapped inside. Numerous roadways were covered with flowing water causing several cars to stall. Lower levels of several apartment buildings were flooded. Retention ponds were overflowing. Roosevelt Road was closed between Wegner Drive and Joliet Street due to high water. Portions of Route 53 were closed between 75th Street and Royce Road. Numerous basements were flooded near Elmhurst, Lisle, and Naperville. Some residents had to be rescued in Lisle. The Glen Ellyn Public Library building's sub-basement flooded…

3. Jul 24, 2010Flash Flood$5.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very heavy rain fell across north central Dupage County during the early morning hours of July 24th producing widespread flooding and flash flooding. Widespread street and basement flooding was reported. North Avenue at Interstate 290 was flooded with a car stuck in the water. Lake Ellyn overflowed its banks with six inches or more of water covering nearby streets. The Village Links Golf Course was flooded with waist high water and a mail truck was submerged in the flood waters. In Elmhurst, Interstate 290 was closed near York Street with two cars floating in water at least four feet deep; Route 83 was flooded and closed under the Union Pacific tracks with several cars floating in…

4. Jul 17, 1996Flash Flood$4.4 million
5. Sep 13, 2008Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding was reported across many areas of Dupage County. Street and yard flooding was reported near Wheaton. A retention pond overflowed on Bartlett Road in Bartlett. Major street and parking lot flooding was reported around Route 53 and North Avenue in Lombard. Route 53 was closed south of Butterfield Road and North of Morton Arboretum because the east branch of the Dupage River had overflowed its banks. A dam at the end of Lake Ellyn in Glen Ellyn overflowed and flooded numerous streets. Rainfall totals included 6.40 inches in Carol Stream, 5.69 inches two miles north of Wheaton.

6. Aug 23, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines blown down. A garage door was blown in by the high winds, a roof was partially blown off, some trees fell onto houses. In Villa Park, at least 1,500 trees were either destroyed or heavily damaged and 2,000 structures in Villa Park were damaged.

7. Dec 27, 2008Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A combination of melting snow and heavy rain caused flash flooding across much of Dupage County. Basement flooding was reported in Naperville, Addison and Elmhurst. Many streets were closed due to flooding in Wheaton, Westmont, Glen Ellyn, Downers Grove, Carol Stream, Naperville, Villa Park, Lisle, Warrenville, and Willowbrook. Stormtotal rainfall amounts included 2.19 inches near Downers Grove, 1.95 inches near Westmont, 1.95 inches near Wheaton, 1.82 inches near Lisle and 1.66 inches near Carol Stream.

8. Mar 31, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A microburst caused significant wind damage in Carol Stream and Glendale Heights. The damage occurred across an area about one half mile long and 250 yards wide, just to the east of Schmale Road near the intersection with North Avenue. |The most severe damage occurred at an apartment complex east of Schmale Road between Willow Woods Drive and Burns Street in Carol Stream. Here a three story apartment building had a substantial portion of its roof entirely peeled off by winds and many windows were blown out. Two other apartment buildings lost significant portions of their roofs, while six other buildings sustained significant roof damage. Many large trees were uprooted around the…

9. Jun 21, 2011Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service storm survey confirmed an EF1 tornado touched down near Sunnydale Park and lifted near 55th and Main in Downers Grove. Most of the damage was to trees. Many mature hardwood trees had been snapped or knocked down. A fence was blown down at Downers Grove High School. An estimated 35 homes were damaged by falling trees.

10. Jun 18, 2014Lightning$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Lightning struck a home on Seneca Drive in unincorporated Wheaton sparking a fire and causing extensive damage. It is believed that a second lightning strike hit near an aerial truck that three fire fighters were working on causing minor injuries to the fire fighters who were treated and released from the hospital a few hours later.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

104°F2 times, most recently Jul 13, 1995

All-time low

−27°FJan 20, 1985

Warmest night

83°FJul 14, 1995

Coldest day

−11°F2 times, most recently Jan 18, 1994

Wettest day

6.86 inJul 23, 2011

Snowiest day

18.6 inJan 2, 1999

Hottest year

2024mean 55.0°F

Coldest year

1985mean 47.1°F

Wettest year

200850.86 in

Driest year

196221.77 in

Snowiest season

83.7 in1978-79

Station Chicago O'hare International Airport (USW00094846), 672 ft elevation, 4.4 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1958 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for DuPage County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00094846.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.