NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Cedar Falls, 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 Cedar Falls, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 122 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 122
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
12 deaths in all
What the records show for Cedar Falls
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Cedar Falls; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 47 mph winds when its centre passed 67 miles away. Cedar Falls is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The strongest of the 122 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF5 on May 25, 2008; its path came within 4 miles, and it killed 9 people. Of the 122, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 65 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 37. The most recent tornado was on August 18, 2025. Of the 241 Iowa cities, 54% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Cedar Falls. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 216 times since 1962, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Cedar Falls has more hail reports within 10 miles than 89% of the 241 Iowa cities.
Compare Cedar Falls's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Cedar Falls
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Cedar Falls: 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 Cedar Falls
By decade
- 2020s12
- 2010s19
- 2000s34(3 EF3+)
- 1990s12
- 1980s14(1 EF3+)
- 1970s18(2 EF3+)
- 1960s12(3 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 2008 | EF5 | 4 mi | 40.97 mi | 9 / 70 |
| Aug 26, 1965 | F4 | 20 mi | 4.7 mi | 1 / 17 |
| May 24, 1989 | F4 | 24 mi | 66 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 1, 1961 | F4 | 24 mi | 26.6 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 11, 2000 | F3 | in town | 18.6 mi | 1 / 25 |
| Apr 16, 1960 | F3 | 10 mi | 29.8 mi | 1 / 5 |
| May 25, 2008 | EF3 | 23 mi | 31.99 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 4, 1977 | F3 | 22 mi | 17.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 9, 1975 | F3 | 12 mi | 39.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 2021 | EF2 | 12 mi | 12.88 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 2014 | EF2 | 22 mi | 3.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 6, 2001 | F2 | 12 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 122, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Cedar Falls
The Storm Prediction Center has 216 hail reports within 10 miles of Cedar Falls since 1962, made on 85 separate days. Of these, 148 were 1 inch across or larger, and 27 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on July 16, 2007. The most recent report is from September 16, 2025. May has the most reports, 56.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Cedar Falls
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Waterloo Municipal Airport, IA, 3 miles northeast of Cedar Falls at 868 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 28°F and 11°F. June is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 36.2 inches over 65 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 150 nights a year. Snowfall averages 39.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 36.2 inches is more than at 47 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (38%). Shell Rock, 15 miles northwest, has its own station (Allison, IA): 35.4 inches a year, 0.8 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 11 | 1.1 | 3 | 10.1 |
| Feb | 33 | 15 | 1.1 | 4 | 9.3 |
| Mar | 47 | 27 | 2.0 | 5 | 4.6 |
| Apr | 61 | 38 | 4.0 | 7 | 1.7 |
| May | 73 | 50 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 82 | 61 | 5.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 64 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 61 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 52 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 40 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 47 | 28 | 1.9 | 4 | 3.1 |
| Dec | 34 | 17 | 1.4 | 4 | 9.9 |
| Year | 59 | 39 | 36.2 | 65 | 39.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Waterloo Municipal Airport, IA (868 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 Cedar Falls
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 443 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Cedar Falls: 172 thunderstorm wind reports, 151 floods, 83 heavy rain events, 28 flash floods and 9 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $46.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 105 mph, on July 10, 2009. June has had the most flash floods, 9 of 28. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 192 have had fewer than Cedar Falls.
May 29, 2008: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Cedar Falls — 1 injured.
June 12, 2010: flood 10 miles from the centre of Cedar Falls — $20.0 million damage.
June 7, 2008: flood 3 miles from the centre of Cedar Falls — $2.3 million 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 Cedar Falls's ZIP code 50613 have filed 781 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $16.7 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Storm in 2008: 185 claims (24% of all) and $10.4 million, then Midwest Flooding in 1993 with 27 and March 2019 Midwest Flooding in 2019 with 13. 29% 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, 87 have fewer than Cedar Falls.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Storm2008 | 185 | $10.4 million |
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 27 | $115,000 |
| March 2019 Midwest Flooding2019 | 13 | $130,000 |
Black Hawk County, which includes Cedar Falls, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 floods, 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 23, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Black Hawk County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for hail and inland flooding; Relatively Low for lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $41.8 million a year, the 7th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $19.7 million (47%), 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.