NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Centerville, 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 Centerville, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 74 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 74
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Centerville
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Centerville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 43 mph winds when its centre passed 31 miles away. Centerville 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 74 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on June 7, 1984, came within 17 miles. Of the 74, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 31 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on April 30, 2024. Of the 241 Iowa cities, 98% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Centerville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 81 times since 1961, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 59% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Centerville.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Centerville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 31 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 Centerville: 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 Centerville
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s13(1 EF3+)
- 2000s16
- 1990s13(1 EF3+)
- 1980s15(2 EF3+)
- 1970s3
- 1960s8
- 1950s4(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 1984 | F4 | 17 mi | 134 mi | 3 / 64 |
| Jun 2, 1980 | F4 | 25 mi | 31.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 20, 1959 | F4 | 8 mi | 17.2 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 10, 1953 | F4 | 23 mi | 6.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | EF3 | 23 mi | 11.12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F3 | 25 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 5, 2022 | EF2 | 19 mi | 9.87 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 6, 2017 | EF2 | 3 mi | 9.66 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 6, 2017 | EF2 | 5 mi | 14.92 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 11, 2015 | EF2 | 13 mi | 13.03 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | EF2 | 20 mi | 1.71 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 15, 1992 | F2 | 3 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 74, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Centerville
The Storm Prediction Center has 81 hail reports within 10 miles of Centerville since 1961, made on 52 separate days. Of these, 59 were 1 inch across or larger, and 15 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 3 days, most recently June 17, 2017. The most recent report is from July 31, 2024. June has the most reports, 30.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Centerville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Centerville, IA, in Centerville at 905 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 12°F. May is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 36.3 inches over 63 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 17 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 132 nights a year. Snowfall averages 21.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 36.3 inches is more than at 49 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (40%). Unionville, MO, 18 miles south, has its own station (Unionville, MO): 41.9 inches a year, 5.6 more than here, and the same July average high, 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 12 | 1.0 | 3 | 7.1 |
| Feb | 38 | 16 | 1.3 | 3 | 5.0 |
| Mar | 51 | 27 | 2.2 | 5 | 3.2 |
| Apr | 63 | 37 | 3.9 | 7 | 1.7 |
| May | 72 | 48 | 5.2 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 59 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 63 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 61 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 52 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 41 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 50 | 28 | 2.2 | 4 | 1.9 |
| Dec | 38 | 18 | 1.5 | 3 | 2.3 |
| Year | 61 | 38 | 36.3 | 63 | 21.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Centerville, IA (905 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 Centerville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 176 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Centerville: 81 heavy rain events, 60 thunderstorm wind reports, 30 flash floods, 3 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $4.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on September 7, 2001. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 196 have had fewer than Centerville.
September 7, 2001: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Centerville — 1 injured, $105,000 damage.
August 22, 2007: lightning strike 1 mile from the centre of Centerville — 1 injured, $5,000 damage.
April 27, 2014: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Centerville — 1 injured.
NWS: “A woman was injured by flying debris.”
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
Appanoose County, which includes Centerville, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on February 23, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Appanoose County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Low for hail, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.3 million a year, the 75th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.8 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 Centerville
- Unionville, MO18 mi
- Albia, IA21 mi
- Corydon, IA22 mi
- Bloomfield, IA23 mi
- Chariton, IA30 mi
- Ottumwa, IA32 mi
- Milan, MO40 mi
- Oskaloosa, IA40 mi
- Kirksville, MO41 mi
- Memphis, MO41 mi
- Knoxville, IA41 mi
- Princeton, MO43 mi
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