NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ankeny, 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
1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Ankeny, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 203 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 203
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Ankeny
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Ankeny; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 43 mph winds when its centre passed 46 miles away. Ankeny is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The strongest of the 203 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 13, 1976; its path came within 20 miles. The deadliest, an EF4 on March 5, 2022, killed 6 people. Of the 203, 14 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 98 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 68. The most recent tornado was on July 15, 2024. Ankeny has more tornadoes within 25 miles than any other of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 472 times since 1956, with stones up to 3.25 inches. Ankeny has more hail reports within 10 miles than 97% of the 241 Iowa cities.
Compare Ankeny's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Ankeny
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Ankeny: 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 Ankeny
By decade
- 2020s24(1 EF3+)
- 2010s29
- 2000s45
- 1990s28(4 EF3+)
- 1980s29(1 EF3+)
- 1970s22(4 EF3+)
- 1960s17
- 1950s9(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 13, 1976 | F5 | 20 mi | 21.3 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Mar 5, 2022 | EF4 | 14 mi | 70.57 mi | 6 / 5 |
| Jun 18, 1974 | F4 | in town | 15.3 mi | 2 / 50 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F4 | 14 mi | 56 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 28, 1986 | F4 | 2 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F3 | 19 mi | 39 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Mar 22, 1991 | F3 | 13 mi | 43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F3 | 24 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 29, 1979 | F3 | 24 mi | 57 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F3 | 25 mi | 17.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1950 | F3 | 18 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF2 | 4 mi | 40.84 mi | 0 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 203, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ankeny
The Storm Prediction Center has 472 hail reports within 10 miles of Ankeny since 1956, made on 156 separate days. Of these, 303 were 1 inch across or larger, and 26 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.25 inches, fell on July 9, 2021. The most recent report is from May 19, 2025. May has the most reports, 107.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ankeny
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ankeny, IA, 2 miles northwest of Ankeny at 975 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 12°F. June is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 37.2 inches over 64 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 23 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 150 nights a year. Snowfall averages 24.7 inches a year, most of it in February. That 37.2 inches is more than at 70 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (56%). Johnston, 6 miles southwest, has its own station (Des Moines Wsfo-Johnston, IA): 36.4 inches a year, 0.8 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 12 | 1.0 | 3 | 6.2 |
| Feb | 34 | 16 | 1.0 | 3 | 8.0 |
| Mar | 47 | 27 | 2.0 | 5 | 3.7 |
| Apr | 61 | 38 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.7 |
| May | 72 | 50 | 5.3 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 61 | 5.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 65 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 62 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 53 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 41 | 2.7 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Nov | 48 | 29 | 1.9 | 4 | 1.0 |
| Dec | 35 | 18 | 1.4 | 3 | 4.5 |
| Year | 60 | 39 | 37.2 | 64 | 24.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ankeny, IA (975 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 Ankeny
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 910 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ankeny: 471 thunderstorm wind reports, 276 heavy rain events, 78 flash floods, 60 floods and 25 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 46, and the NWS estimated $108.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 120 mph, on June 29, 1998. June has had the most flash floods, 44 of 78. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 233 have had fewer than Ankeny.
June 30, 2018: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Ankeny — 1 killed, $1.5 million damage.
June 17, 2014: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Ankeny — 1 killed, $1,000 damage.
June 29, 1998: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Ankeny — 40 injured, $40.0 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 Ankeny's 2 ZIP codes have filed 31 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1998, and were paid $500,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2018, with 14. Of the 91 Iowa cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 42 have fewer than Ankeny.
Polk County, which includes Ankeny, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Polk County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively High for tornadoes, hail and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $137.6 million a year, the highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $60.6 million (44%), 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.