NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Brooklyn, 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 Brooklyn, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 101 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 101
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for Brooklyn
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Brooklyn; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 46 mph winds when its centre passed 17 miles away. Brooklyn is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The strongest of the 101 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on August 12, 1974; its path came within 14 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on September 16, 1978, killed 6 people. Of the 101, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 45 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 25. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Of the 241 Iowa cities, 83% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Brooklyn. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 45 times since 1967, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 94% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Brooklyn.
Compare Brooklyn's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Brooklyn
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Brooklyn: 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 Brooklyn
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s18
- 2000s21
- 1990s9
- 1980s8
- 1970s16(3 EF3+)
- 1960s13(3 EF3+)
- 1950s10(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 12, 1974 | F4 | 14 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 16, 1978 | F3 | 15 mi | 31.8 mi | 6 / 45 |
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | 23 mi | 87.7 mi | 1 / 12 |
| May 18, 1971 | F3 | 22 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1966 | F3 | 13 mi | 27.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 23, 1965 | F3 | 16 mi | 47.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 12, 1956 | F3 | 17 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Mar 5, 2022 | EF2 | 13 mi | 8.54 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 5, 2022 | EF2 | 15 mi | 17.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 11, 2015 | EF2 | 16 mi | 6.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 2011 | EF2 | 13 mi | 3.88 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 30, 2007 | EF2 | 9 mi | 21.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 101, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Brooklyn
The Storm Prediction Center has 45 hail reports within 10 miles of Brooklyn since 1967, made on 33 separate days. Of these, 28 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on July 10, 1980. The most recent report is from April 27, 2024. April and May have the most reports, 12 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Brooklyn
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Belle Plaine, IA, 13 miles northeast of Brooklyn 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%). Montezuma, 13 miles south, has its own station (Grinnell 3 SW, IA): 38.3 inches a year, 2.2 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 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 Brooklyn
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 65 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Brooklyn: 47 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 flash floods, 7 heavy rain events and 3 floods. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $1.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on August 10, 2020. May has had the most flash floods, 3 of 8. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 58 have had fewer than Brooklyn.
August 10, 2020: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Brooklyn — 1 killed.
NWS: “Law enforcement reported a large tree fell on a home.”
August 10, 2020: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Brooklyn — 1 killed.
NWS: “Law enforcement reported damage to power lines in the area.”
September 5, 2018: flood 9 miles from the centre of Brooklyn — $300,000 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
Poweshiek County, which includes Brooklyn, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 4 floods, 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 Poweshiek County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.8 million a year, the 59th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.9 million (24%), 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 Brooklyn
- Montezuma, IA13 mi
- Belle Plaine, IA13 mi
- Grinnell, IA14 mi
- Tama, IA15 mi
- Marengo, IA19 mi
- Toledo, IA20 mi
- Williamsburg, IA24 mi
- New Sharon, IA24 mi
- Amana, IA30 mi
- Traer, IA30 mi
- Marshalltown, IA31 mi
- Newton, IA31 mi
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