NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Blue Grass, 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 Blue Grass, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 171 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 171
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Blue Grass
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Blue Grass; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 51 mph winds when its centre passed 30 miles away. Blue Grass 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 171 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 8 times; the most recent, on June 1, 2007, came within 13 miles. The deadliest, an EF1 on June 24, 2013, killed 1 person. Of the 171, 13 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 86 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 48. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Blue Grass has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 85% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 102 times since 1962, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Blue Grass has more hail reports within 10 miles than 60% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Blue Grass
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 30 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 Blue Grass: 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 Blue Grass
By decade
- 2020s33
- 2010s30
- 2000s23(1 EF3+)
- 1990s33(1 EF3+)
- 1980s17(1 EF3+)
- 1970s15(3 EF3+)
- 1960s15(2 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1, 2007 | EF3 | 13 mi | 15.75 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 9, 1995 | F3 | 7 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1988 | F3 | 17 mi | 32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 1978 | F3 | 11 mi | 6.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1974 | F3 | 10 mi | 48.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 13, 1974 | F3 | 12 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1966 | F3 | 14 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1962 | F3 | 12 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | EF2 | 2 mi | 7.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 4, 2023 | EF2 | 21 mi | 0.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 23 mi | 18.02 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 18 mi | 19.56 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 171, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Blue Grass
The Storm Prediction Center has 102 hail reports within 10 miles of Blue Grass since 1962, made on 58 separate days. Of these, 68 were 1 inch across or larger, and 12 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 8, 2018. The most recent report is from July 11, 2025. April has the most reports, 28.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Blue Grass
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Rock Island L&D 15, IL, 11 miles east of Blue Grass 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%). Taylor Ridge, IL, 7 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 Blue Grass
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 191 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Blue Grass: 131 thunderstorm wind reports, 31 floods, 26 flash floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $13.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 107 mph, on March 12, 2006. June has had the most flash floods, 11 of 26. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 188 have had fewer than Blue Grass.
April 1, 2019: flood 9 miles from the centre of Blue Grass — 1 killed.
August 2, 2001: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Blue Grass — 2 injured.
NWS: “Law enforcement officials said winds estimated at 70 mph were the likely cause of an accident that injured two people (directly-related). Thunderstorm winds blew a car off a rural road into a parked pickup truck.”
June 1, 2008: flood 3 miles from the centre of Blue Grass — $9.1 million damage.
NWS: “40 feet. Flood stage is 13 feet.”
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
Scott County, which includes Blue Grass, 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.
Cities near Blue Grass
- Taylor Ridge, IL7 mi
- Walcott, IA8 mi
- Durant, IA10 mi
- Davenport, IA10 mi
- Rock Island, IL11 mi
- Milan, IL11 mi
- Muscatine, IA13 mi
- Wilton, IA14 mi
- Moline, IL14 mi
- Bettendorf, IA15 mi
- Eldridge, IA15 mi
- Coal Valley, IL18 mi
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