NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ackley, IA
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Ackley, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 121 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 121
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
23 deaths in all
What the records show for Ackley
The highest rating among the 121 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5 or EF5, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 25, 2008, came within 9 miles. The deadliest, an F5 on May 15, 1968, killed 13 people. Of the 121, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 73 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 37. The most recent tornado was on August 18, 2025. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 55% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Ackley. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 58 times since 1959, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 82% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Ackley.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Ackley
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s26
- 2000s32(1 EF3+)
- 1990s17(2 EF3+)
- 1980s7(2 EF3+)
- 1970s8
- 1960s12(2 EF3+)
- 1950s4(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 1968 | F5 | 15 mi | 62.1 mi | 13 / 462 |
| May 25, 2008 | EF5 | 9 mi | 40.97 mi | 9 / 70 |
| May 30, 1989 | F4 | 20 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 24, 1989 | F4 | 24 mi | 66 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 1, 1961 | F4 | 15 mi | 26.6 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 20, 1953 | F3 | 8 mi | 116.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Mar 22, 1991 | F3 | 12 mi | 43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 28, 1990 | F3 | in town | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 11 mi | 7.49 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 2021 | EF2 | 24 mi | 12.88 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 2013 | EF2 | 23 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 2001 | F2 | 23 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 121, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ackley
The Storm Prediction Center has 58 hail reports within 10 miles of Ackley since 1959, made on 35 separate days. Of these, 28 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 6 days, most recently April 12, 2014. The most recent report is from April 23, 2025. June has the most reports, 24.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ackley
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Iowa Falls, IA, 11 miles west of Ackley at 1,055 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 26°F and 8°F. June is the wettest at 6.1 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 38.2 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 157 nights a year. Snowfall averages 27.7 inches a year, most of it in January and February. That 38.2 inches is more than at 93 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (75%). Parkersburg, 14 miles east, has its own station (Allison, IA): 35.4 inches a year, 2.8 less than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26 | 8 | 0.9 | 3 | 7.1 |
| Feb | 31 | 12 | 1.2 | 3 | 7.1 |
| Mar | 44 | 24 | 2.1 | 5 | 4.5 |
| Apr | 58 | 35 | 3.8 | 8 | 1.3 |
| May | 70 | 48 | 5.6 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 58 | 6.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 60 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 51 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 38 | 2.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 45 | 26 | 2.0 | 4 | 1.6 |
| Dec | 32 | 15 | 1.5 | 4 | 6.1 |
| Year | 57 | 36 | 38.2 | 68 | 27.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Iowa Falls, IA (1,055 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Ackley
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 93 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ackley: 52 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 flash floods, 13 heavy rain events and 11 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $23.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 87 mph, on July 17, 2016. June has had the most flash floods, 7 of 17. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 155 have had fewer than Ackley.
May 17, 2017: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Ackley — 1 injured, $100,000 damage.
June 12, 2010: flood 3 miles from the centre of Ackley — $20.0 million damage.
June 24, 2013: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Ackley — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Highway 57 closed both east and west of Aplington due to water. Numerous County roads including black topped roads are closed in the Aplington area and to the south and west of Aplington.”
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Franklin County, which includes Ackley, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 floods, 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Franklin County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.8 million a year, the 70th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.4 million (22%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. 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).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets 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).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Ackley
- Iowa Falls, IA11 mi
- Parkersburg, IA14 mi
- Eldora, IA14 mi
- Hampton, IA15 mi
- Grundy Center, IA20 mi
- Clarksville, IA25 mi
- Shell Rock, IA25 mi
- Greene, IA26 mi
- Reinbeck, IA28 mi
- Janesville, IA30 mi
- Cedar Falls, IA30 mi
- Waverly, IA32 mi
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