NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Akron, 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 Akron, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 119 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 119
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Akron
The strongest of the 119 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on July 28, 1986; its path came within 23 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on July 14, 1970, killed 1 person. Of the 119, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 38 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 34. The most recent tornado was on April 16, 2024. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 59% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Akron. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 84 times since 1960, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 56% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Akron.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Akron
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s9
- 2000s22
- 1990s20
- 1980s20(1 EF3+)
- 1970s19(1 EF3+)
- 1960s19(5 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 1986 | F4 | 23 mi | 52.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 5, 1978 | F3 | 25 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1967 | F3 | 2 mi | 6.2 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 7, 1965 | F3 | 10 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1965 | F3 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1964 | F3 | 16 mi | 9.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1964 | F3 | 18 mi | 67 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jul 14, 1970 | F2 | 24 mi | 3.8 mi | 1 / 1 |
| May 1, 2008 | EF2 | 24 mi | 12.95 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 1994 | F2 | 11 mi | 17.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 7, 1991 | F2 | 16 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 7, 1987 | F2 | 13 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 119, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Akron
The Storm Prediction Center has 84 hail reports within 10 miles of Akron since 1960, made on 58 separate days. Of these, 53 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on August 5, 1960. The most recent report is from May 20, 2024. June has the most reports, 24.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Akron
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hawarden, IA, 13 miles north of Akron at 1,190 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 27°F and 7°F. June is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 30.0 inches over 57 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 19 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 166 nights a year. Snowfall averages 30.6 inches a year, most of it in December. That 30.0 inches is more than at 9 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (7%). Elk Point, SD, 12 miles southwest, has its own station (Vermillion 2 SE, SD): 28.1 inches a year, 1.9 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 7 | 0.7 | 2 | 6.8 |
| Feb | 32 | 11 | 0.8 | 3 | 6.4 |
| Mar | 45 | 23 | 1.7 | 4 | 4.4 |
| Apr | 59 | 34 | 3.2 | 6 | 2.3 |
| May | 71 | 47 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Jun | 81 | 58 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 62 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 59 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 50 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 36 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 45 | 23 | 1.3 | 3 | 3.1 |
| Dec | 31 | 13 | 1.3 | 3 | 7.3 |
| Year | 58 | 35 | 30.0 | 57 | 30.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Hawarden, IA (1,190 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 Akron
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 156 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Akron: 121 floods, 32 thunderstorm wind reports and 3 flash floods. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $11.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on June 3, 2010.
June 20, 2024: flood 7 miles from the centre of Akron — 1 killed, $6.5 million damage.
June 3, 2010: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Akron — 2 injured, $25,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds blew over a recreational vehicle, injuring two people. The winds also blew the roof off a building and caused tree damage.”
June 1, 2019: flood 7 miles from the centre of Akron — $2.3 million damage.
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
Flood insurance policyholders in Akron's ZIP code 51001 have filed 15 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1986, and were paid $423,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 33% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 91 Iowa cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 12 have fewer than Akron.
Plymouth County, which includes Akron, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on June 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Plymouth County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and hail; Relatively Low for inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $17.6 million a year, the 24th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.4 million (37%), 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 Akron
- Elk Point, SD12 mi
- Hawarden, IA13 mi
- Le Mars, IA16 mi
- Hinton, IA19 mi
- Dakota Dunes, SD20 mi
- Sioux City, IA23 mi
- Beresford, SD23 mi
- Vermillion, SD23 mi
- Sioux Center, IA23 mi
- South Sioux City, NE25 mi
- Orange City, IA26 mi
- Rock Valley, IA27 mi
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