NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Clarinda, 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 Clarinda, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 127 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 17 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 127
- EF3 or stronger
- 17
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Clarinda
The highest rating among the 127 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 7 times; the most recent, on May 21, 2024, came within 12 miles. Of the 127, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 46 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 40. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Clarinda has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 51% of the 241 Iowa cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 88 times since 1960, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 51% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Clarinda.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Clarinda
By decade
- 2020s12(2 EF3+)
- 2010s17
- 2000s17
- 1990s18(1 EF3+)
- 1980s15(2 EF3+)
- 1970s13(4 EF3+)
- 1960s18(5 EF3+)
- 1950s17(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2024 | EF4 | 12 mi | 40.65 mi | 5 / 35 |
| Apr 12, 1964 | F4 | 6 mi | 13.1 mi | 1 / 28 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F4 | 11 mi | 49 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 24, 1989 | F4 | 24 mi | 49 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1979 | F4 | 6 mi | 18.8 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Jun 22, 1964 | F4 | 10 mi | 11.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 5, 1954 | F4 | 15 mi | 6.3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 28, 1979 | F3 | 17 mi | 38.3 mi | 2 / 14 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF3 | 12 mi | 33.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1984 | F3 | in town | 25 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Mar 29, 1979 | F3 | 11 mi | 29.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 5, 1971 | F3 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 12 |
The strongest 12 of 127, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Clarinda
The Storm Prediction Center has 88 hail reports within 10 miles of Clarinda since 1960, made on 58 separate days. Of these, 62 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on September 18, 2010. The most recent report is from May 19, 2024. May has the most reports, 22.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Clarinda
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Clarinda, IA, 1 mile southeast of Clarinda at 980 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 12°F. May is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 36.8 inches over 64 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 20 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 149 nights a year. Snowfall averages 22.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 36.8 inches is more than at 63 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (51%). Shenandoah, 17 miles west, has its own station (Shenandoah, IA): 36.4 inches a year, 0.4 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 12 | 0.8 | 3 | 6.5 |
| Feb | 38 | 16 | 1.2 | 3 | 6.3 |
| Mar | 51 | 28 | 2.2 | 5 | 2.7 |
| Apr | 63 | 38 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.9 |
| May | 73 | 50 | 5.6 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 61 | 5.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 64 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 62 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 52 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 66 | 39 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 50 | 27 | 2.0 | 4 | 1.8 |
| Dec | 38 | 17 | 1.4 | 3 | 4.3 |
| Year | 62 | 39 | 36.8 | 64 | 22.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Clarinda, IA (980 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 Clarinda
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 92 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Clarinda: 59 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 heavy rain events, 10 floods and 6 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 84 mph, on May 18, 2026. June has had the most flash floods, 4 of 6. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 32 have had fewer than Clarinda.
May 6, 2007: flood in Clarinda — $932,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rainfall over the weekend of May 4th through the 6th, caused the Nodaway River to briefly surpass it's 19 foot flood stage near Clarinda during the mid afternoon hours on May 6th. 2 feet at 345 pm on the 6th.”
June 5, 2008: flood 4 miles from the centre of Clarinda — $550,000 damage.
NWS: “Rainfall of 3 to 5 inches during the late afternoon and overnight hours of June 4th and 5th caused the Nodaway River to flood in Page county. 0 feet.”
August 18, 2011: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Clarinda — $253,000 damage.
NWS: “Tree limbs were downed by winds estimated of 60 MPH.”
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
Page County, which includes Clarinda, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 23, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Page County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and heat waves; Relatively Low for strong wind and lightning; Very Low for inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.1 million a year, the 57th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.1 million (26%), 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 Clarinda
- Shenandoah, IA17 mi
- Bedford, IA18 mi
- Red Oak, IA21 mi
- Corning, IA23 mi
- Maryville, MO29 mi
- Lenox, IA29 mi
- Creston, IA41 mi
- Glenwood, IA42 mi
- Mount Ayr, IA42 mi
- Nebraska City, NE44 mi
- Stanberry, MO44 mi
- Atlantic, IA46 mi
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