NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Britt, 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 Britt, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 103 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 103
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Britt
The strongest of the 103 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on October 14, 1966; its path came within 19 miles, and it killed 6 people. Of the 103, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 27 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 42. The most recent tornado was on August 17, 2025. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 80% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Britt. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 52 times since 1958, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 89% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Britt.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Britt
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s9(1 EF3+)
- 2000s8
- 1990s30(1 EF3+)
- 1980s19(1 EF3+)
- 1970s13(1 EF3+)
- 1960s9(3 EF3+)
- 1950s5(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 14, 1966 | F5 | 19 mi | 9.7 mi | 6 / 172 |
| Aug 29, 1964 | F4 | 13 mi | 15.8 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 10, 1953 | F4 | 15 mi | 26.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 28, 1979 | F3 | 21 mi | 15.9 mi | 2 / 34 |
| Jun 12, 2013 | EF3 | 17 mi | 6.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1994 | F3 | 9 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1984 | F3 | 20 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F3 | 19 mi | 7.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 21, 1953 | F3 | 17 mi | 31.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 21 mi | 16.69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 1999 | F2 | 25 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 1998 | F2 | 21 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 103, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Britt
The Storm Prediction Center has 52 hail reports within 10 miles of Britt since 1958, made on 36 separate days. Of these, 34 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on August 28, 2018. The most recent report is from June 11, 2025. May has the most reports, 13.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Britt
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Britt 3E, IA, 3 miles east of Britt at 1,220 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 6°F. June is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 34.3 inches over 65 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 8 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 160 nights a year. That 34.3 inches is more than at 27 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (22%). Belmond, 20 miles southeast, has its own station (Clarion, IA): 34.2 inches a year, 0.1 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 6 | 0.8 | 3 |
| Feb | 28 | 10 | 1.5 | 3 |
| Mar | 41 | 23 | 2.1 | 5 |
| Apr | 57 | 34 | 3.9 | 7 |
| May | 69 | 48 | 4.5 | 9 |
| Jun | 79 | 58 | 5.4 | 8 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Aug | 80 | 59 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Sep | 73 | 50 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Oct | 60 | 37 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Nov | 43 | 25 | 1.4 | 3 |
| Dec | 30 | 13 | 1.1 | 4 |
| Year | 55 | 36 | 34.3 | 65 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Britt 3E, IA (1,220 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 Britt
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 62 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Britt: 45 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 heavy rain events, 1 flash flood and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on June 23, 1998.
June 23, 1998: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Britt — $240,000 damage.
July 10, 2017: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Britt — $125,000 damage.
NWS: “Emergency manager reported significant wind-driven hail damage to corn and bean fields between Britt and Klemme. Golf ball or larger hail and 70 to 80 mph winds pulverized 5 to 6 foot cornstalks to stubble.”
May 21, 2024: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Britt — $100,000 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
Hancock County, which includes Britt, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1991, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Hancock County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Very Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.2 million a year, the 64th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.1 million (27%), 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 Britt
- Garner, IA10 mi
- Forest City, IA13 mi
- Belmond, IA20 mi
- Clear Lake, IA21 mi
- Algona, IA21 mi
- Clarion, IA25 mi
- Lake Mills, IA26 mi
- Mason City, IA31 mi
- Eagle Grove, IA31 mi
- Humboldt, IA34 mi
- Northwood, IA37 mi
- Hampton, IA39 mi
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