NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Audubon, 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 Audubon, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 120 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 120
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Audubon
The strongest of the 120 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 27, 1953; its path came within 23 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an EF3 on April 26, 2024, killed 1 person. Of the 120, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 63 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 43. The most recent tornado was on June 28, 2024. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 56% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Audubon. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 88 times since 1970, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 51% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Audubon.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Audubon
By decade
- 2020s23(1 EF3+)
- 2010s17
- 2000s23
- 1990s17(2 EF3+)
- 1980s14
- 1970s11
- 1960s10(1 EF3+)
- 1950s5(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 27, 1953 | F5 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 1 / 2 |
| May 27, 1995 | F4 | 15 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 27, 1995 | F4 | 23 mi | 36 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1959 | F4 | 23 mi | 41.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | EF3 | 22 mi | 40.27 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Apr 20, 1964 | F3 | 24 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 22, 2019 | EF2 | 22 mi | 4.75 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | EF2 | 19 mi | 9.26 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 22 mi | 29.99 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 12 mi | 19.67 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 6 mi | 27.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2014 | EF2 | 23 mi | 10.35 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 120, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Audubon
The Storm Prediction Center has 88 hail reports within 10 miles of Audubon since 1970, made on 47 separate days. Of these, 54 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 10, 2005. The most recent report is from June 25, 2024. May has the most reports, 40.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Audubon
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Audubon, IA, 2 miles south of Audubon at 1,280 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 28°F and 9°F. May is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 35.0 inches over 62 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 160 nights a year. That 35.0 inches is more than at 32 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (26%). Manning, 14 miles northwest, has its own station (Carroll, IA): 33.9 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 9 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Feb | 33 | 13 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Mar | 46 | 24 | 1.7 | 4 |
| Apr | 60 | 35 | 3.7 | 7 |
| May | 70 | 48 | 5.2 | 9 |
| Jun | 80 | 58 | 5.1 | 8 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 3.8 | 7 |
| Aug | 81 | 59 | 4.5 | 6 |
| Sep | 75 | 50 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Oct | 62 | 37 | 2.8 | 5 |
| Nov | 46 | 25 | 1.5 | 3 |
| Dec | 33 | 14 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Year | 58 | 36 | 35.0 | 62 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Audubon, IA (1,280 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 Audubon
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 96 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Audubon: 67 thunderstorm wind reports, 23 heavy rain events, 4 flash floods and 2 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $4.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 87 mph, on December 15, 2021.
July 10, 2002: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Audubon — $3.0 million damage.
June 24, 2013: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Audubon — $300,000 damage.
NWS: “Winds lasted 30 minutes in the Audubon area. Tree limbs 4 to 5 inches in diameter were down, corn flattened, town totally without electricity.”
April 25, 2007: flood 2 miles from the centre of Audubon — $250,000 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 Audubon's ZIP code 50025 have filed 11 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1990, and were paid $110,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 36% 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, 1 have fewer than Audubon.
Audubon County, which includes Audubon, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 7 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on February 23, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Audubon County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and hail; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.5 million a year, the 60th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.3 million (20%), 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 Audubon
- Manning, IA14 mi
- Harlan, IA20 mi
- Guthrie Center, IA21 mi
- Carroll, IA23 mi
- Atlantic, IA23 mi
- Denison, IA29 mi
- Panora, IA29 mi
- Jefferson, IA34 mi
- Stuart, IA35 mi
- Dunlap, IA36 mi
- Greenfield, IA40 mi
- Woodbine, IA40 mi
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