NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Boone, 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 Boone, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 180 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 180
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Boone
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Boone; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 43 mph winds when its centre passed 74 miles away. Boone is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The strongest of the 180 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 13, 1976; its path came within 6 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on November 12, 2005, killed 1 person. Of the 180, 13 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 93 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 50. The most recent tornado was on July 19, 2025. Boone has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 88% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 141 times since 1965, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Boone has more hail reports within 10 miles than 78% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Boone
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 74 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 Boone: 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 Boone
By decade
- 2020s25
- 2010s31
- 2000s37(1 EF3+)
- 1990s33(2 EF3+)
- 1980s14(1 EF3+)
- 1970s18(3 EF3+)
- 1960s13
- 1950s9(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 13, 1976 | F5 | 6 mi | 21.3 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F4 | 21 mi | 56 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 24, 1989 | F4 | 11 mi | 66 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1959 | F4 | 15 mi | 41.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 12, 2005 | F3 | 12 mi | 17.6 mi | 1 / 3 |
| May 20, 1953 | F3 | 10 mi | 116.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Mar 22, 1991 | F3 | 17 mi | 43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F3 | 7 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F3 | 10 mi | 17.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1950 | F3 | 16 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF2 | 22 mi | 40.84 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 12 mi | 12.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 180, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Boone
The Storm Prediction Center has 141 hail reports within 10 miles of Boone since 1965, made on 70 separate days. Of these, 99 were 1 inch across or larger, and 11 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 5 days, most recently July 27, 2008. The most recent report is from March 14, 2025. July has the most reports, 36.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Boone
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Boone, IA, 2 miles south of Boone at 1,035 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 9°F. June is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.2 inches; the year adds up to 39.3 inches over 70 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 16 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 153 nights a year. Snowfall averages 35.9 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.3 inches is more than at 114 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (92%). Ames, 13 miles east, has its own station (Ames Municipal Airport, IA): 36.1 inches a year, 3.2 less than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 9 | 1.2 | 3 | 9.9 |
| Feb | 33 | 13 | 1.4 | 4 | 9.3 |
| Mar | 46 | 26 | 2.3 | 5 | 5.0 |
| Apr | 60 | 37 | 4.1 | 7 | 1.3 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 5.2 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 59 | 5.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 63 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 61 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 52 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 39 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.6 |
| Nov | 47 | 27 | 2.1 | 4 | 1.9 |
| Dec | 34 | 16 | 1.6 | 4 | 7.9 |
| Year | 59 | 37 | 39.3 | 70 | 35.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Boone, IA (1,035 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 Boone
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 199 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Boone: 110 thunderstorm wind reports, 55 heavy rain events, 18 floods and 16 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $3.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on August 10, 2020. July has had the most flash floods, 6 of 16. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 145 have had fewer than Boone.
September 22, 2018: flood 7 miles from the centre of Boone — $350,000 damage.
July 18, 2010: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Boone — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Local law enforcement reports trees and power lines down in Boone and across the county with some roads closed due to debris.”
August 29, 2015: flood 10 miles from the centre of Boone — $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 Boone's ZIP code 50036 have filed 13 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2008, and were paid $437,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 8% 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, 6 have fewer than Boone.
Boone County, which includes Boone, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, on August 17, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Boone County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $16.5 million a year, the 28th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.9 million (36%), 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 Boone
- Ogden, IA9 mi
- Ames, IA13 mi
- Madrid, IA14 mi
- Woodward, IA15 mi
- Story City, IA16 mi
- Huxley, IA19 mi
- Perry, IA20 mi
- Polk City, IA22 mi
- Granger, IA22 mi
- Nevada, IA22 mi
- Jefferson, IA26 mi
- Dallas Center, IA27 mi
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