NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bettendorf, 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 Bettendorf, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 182 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 182
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Bettendorf
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Bettendorf; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 51 mph winds when its centre passed 32 miles away. Bettendorf is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The highest rating among the 182 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 9 times; the most recent, on May 9, 1995, came within 20 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 20, 1974, killed 1 person. Of the 182, 14 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 93 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 47. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Bettendorf has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 89% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 291 times since 1956, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Bettendorf has more hail reports within 10 miles than 93% of the 241 Iowa cities.
Compare Bettendorf's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Bettendorf
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Bettendorf: 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 Bettendorf
By decade
- 2020s40
- 2010s36
- 2000s17
- 1990s35(2 EF3+)
- 1980s14(1 EF3+)
- 1970s18(4 EF3+)
- 1960s17(2 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 20, 1974 | F3 | 24 mi | 10.6 mi | 1 / 20 |
| May 9, 1995 | F3 | 20 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F3 | 11 mi | 15.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 8, 1988 | F3 | 17 mi | 32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 1978 | F3 | 18 mi | 6.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1974 | F3 | 15 mi | 48.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 13, 1974 | F3 | 7 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1966 | F3 | 4 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1962 | F3 | 14 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | EF2 | 7 mi | 7.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 4, 2023 | EF2 | 21 mi | 2.79 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 4, 2023 | EF2 | 8 mi | 0.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 182, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Bettendorf
The Storm Prediction Center has 291 hail reports within 10 miles of Bettendorf since 1956, made on 127 separate days. Of these, 180 were 1 inch across or larger, and 25 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on April 4, 2023. The most recent report is from July 11, 2025. April has the most reports, 90.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Bettendorf
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Rock Island L&D 15, IL, 5 miles southwest of Bettendorf at 568 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 13°F. June is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.5 inches; the year adds up to 38.7 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 118 nights a year. That 38.7 inches is more than at 102 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (82%). Moline, IL, 4 miles south, has its own station (Moline Quad City International Airport, IL): 38.2 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 13 | 1.5 | 4 |
| Feb | 36 | 18 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Mar | 48 | 28 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Apr | 61 | 39 | 3.8 | 7 |
| May | 72 | 51 | 5.1 | 8 |
| Jun | 81 | 61 | 5.2 | 8 |
| Jul | 84 | 65 | 4.2 | 6 |
| Aug | 82 | 63 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Sep | 77 | 55 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Oct | 64 | 43 | 2.9 | 5 |
| Nov | 49 | 30 | 2.3 | 5 |
| Dec | 36 | 20 | 2.0 | 5 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 38.7 | 67 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Rock Island L&D 15, IL (568 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 Bettendorf
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 607 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bettendorf: 465 thunderstorm wind reports, 68 flash floods, 60 floods, 8 heavy rain events and 6 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 14, and the NWS estimated $12.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 3, 2025. July has had the most flash floods, 26 of 68. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 231 have had fewer than Bettendorf.
June 21, 1997: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Bettendorf — 1 killed, 2 injured.
April 1, 2019: flood 7 miles from the centre of Bettendorf — 1 killed.
June 18, 2010: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Bettendorf — 3 injured, $20,000 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 Bettendorf's ZIP code 52722 have filed 395 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $7.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1990: 118 claims (30% of all) and $2.6 million, then Midwest Flooding in 1993 with 23 and Severe flooding in 2001 with 20. 42% 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, 83 have fewer than Bettendorf.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1990 | 118 | $2.6 million |
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 23 | $227,000 |
| Severe flooding2001 | 20 | $234,000 |
Scott County, which includes Bettendorf, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 floods, 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on June 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Scott County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $66.5 million a year, the 4th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $39.9 million (60%), 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.