NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Belle Plaine, 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 Belle Plaine, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 117 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 117
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Belle Plaine
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Belle Plaine; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 47 mph winds when its centre passed 23 miles away. Belle Plaine is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The strongest of the 117 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on August 12, 1974; its path came within 11 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on April 23, 1961, killed 1 person. Of the 117, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 61 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 29. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Of the 241 Iowa cities, 61% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Belle Plaine. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 76 times since 1965, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 62% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Belle Plaine.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Belle Plaine
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Belle Plaine: 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 Belle Plaine
By decade
- 2020s14
- 2010s23
- 2000s24
- 1990s9
- 1980s10
- 1970s17(6 EF3+)
- 1960s10(2 EF3+)
- 1950s10
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 12, 1974 | F4 | 11 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | 15 mi | 87.7 mi | 1 / 12 |
| May 4, 1977 | F3 | 23 mi | 17.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 9, 1975 | F3 | 24 mi | 39.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 15 mi | 9.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1971 | F3 | 22 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1971 | F3 | 10 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1966 | F3 | 10 mi | 27.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 22 mi | 1.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 5, 2022 | EF2 | 12 mi | 8.54 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 5, 2022 | EF2 | 21 mi | 17.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 17, 2016 | EF2 | 19 mi | 3.99 mi | 0 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 117, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Belle Plaine
The Storm Prediction Center has 76 hail reports within 10 miles of Belle Plaine since 1965, made on 50 separate days. Of these, 39 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 7, 2023. The most recent report is from October 11, 2023. June has the most reports, 20.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Belle Plaine
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Belle Plaine, IA, in Belle Plaine at 810 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 28°F and 10°F. June is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 36.1 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 14 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 153 nights a year. Snowfall averages 27.9 inches a year, most of it in January. That 36.1 inches is more than at 46 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (37%). Marengo, 12 miles southeast, has its own station (Williamsburg 1E, IA): 37.8 inches a year, 1.7 more than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 10 | 1.1 | 3 | 7.8 |
| Feb | 33 | 14 | 1.3 | 4 | 7.4 |
| Mar | 46 | 26 | 2.0 | 5 | 3.4 |
| Apr | 60 | 37 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.8 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 60 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 63 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 60 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 51 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 39 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 47 | 27 | 2.1 | 4 | 1.8 |
| Dec | 34 | 17 | 1.6 | 4 | 6.3 |
| Year | 59 | 38 | 36.1 | 67 | 27.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Belle Plaine, IA (810 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 Belle Plaine
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 123 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Belle Plaine: 85 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 floods, 13 flash floods and 3 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $5.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 145 mph, on August 10, 2020. June has had the most flash floods, 10 of 13. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 114 have had fewer than Belle Plaine.
June 1, 2008: flood 2 miles from the centre of Belle Plaine — $747,000 damage.
NWS: “38 feet. Flood stage is 14 feet.”
May 1, 2009: flood 2 miles from the centre of Belle Plaine — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “5 feet on April 29th around 2 am. 64 feet around 9 pm April 30.”
June 19, 2009: flood 2 miles from the centre of Belle Plaine — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “5 feet on June 19th around 8 pm. 2 feet around 730 am June 24.”
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
Benton County, which includes Belle Plaine, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, on August 17, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Benton County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $15.7 million a year, the 31st highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.2 million (52%), 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 Belle Plaine
- Marengo, IA12 mi
- Brooklyn, IA13 mi
- Tama, IA17 mi
- Toledo, IA18 mi
- Williamsburg, IA21 mi
- Amana, IA21 mi
- Atkins, IA22 mi
- Vinton, IA24 mi
- Traer, IA24 mi
- Fairfax, IA25 mi
- Montezuma, IA25 mi
- Grinnell, IA25 mi
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