NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Clarion, 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 Clarion, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 114 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 114
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Clarion
The strongest of the 114 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on October 14, 1966; its path came within 6 miles, and it killed 6 people. Of the 114, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 56 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 46. The most recent tornado was on June 26, 2025. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 66% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Clarion. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 57 times since 1965, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 83% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Clarion.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Clarion
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s21(1 EF3+)
- 2000s20
- 1990s25(1 EF3+)
- 1980s6
- 1970s13
- 1960s11(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 14, 1966 | F5 | 6 mi | 9.7 mi | 6 / 172 |
| Jun 12, 2013 | EF3 | 10 mi | 6.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1994 | F3 | 19 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 9 mi | 16.69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 6 mi | 5.91 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 22 mi | 5.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 25 mi | 12.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 2013 | EF2 | 15 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 1998 | F2 | 23 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1991 | F2 | 10 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1984 | F2 | 18 mi | 22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 1980 | F2 | 15 mi | 24.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 114, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Clarion
The Storm Prediction Center has 57 hail reports within 10 miles of Clarion since 1965, made on 40 separate days. Of these, 41 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 7, 1965. The most recent report is from September 22, 2025. May has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Clarion
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Clarion, IA, 1 mile south of Clarion at 1,156 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 26°F and 6°F. June is the wettest at 5.8 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 34.2 inches over 61 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 16 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 161 nights a year. Snowfall averages 31.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 34.2 inches is more than at 24 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (19%). Webster City, 19 miles south, has its own station (Webster City, IA): 37.5 inches a year, 3.3 more 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 | 26 | 6 | 0.7 | 2 | 8.9 |
| Feb | 31 | 11 | 0.9 | 3 | 6.2 |
| Mar | 44 | 25 | 2.0 | 4 | 5.7 |
| Apr | 59 | 35 | 3.8 | 7 | 1.4 |
| May | 72 | 48 | 4.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 59 | 5.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 62 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 60 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 51 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 38 | 2.3 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 45 | 25 | 1.5 | 3 | 2.9 |
| Dec | 31 | 13 | 1.2 | 3 | 5.9 |
| Year | 58 | 36 | 34.2 | 61 | 31.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Clarion, IA (1,156 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 Clarion
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 114 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Clarion: 67 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 heavy rain events, 16 flash floods and 13 floods. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $5.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 22, 2015. June has had the most flash floods, 10 of 16. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 145 have had fewer than Clarion.
June 8, 2008: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Clarion — 1 killed, $25,000 damage.
June 26, 2010: flood 9 miles from the centre of Clarion — $2.2 million damage.
June 22, 2010: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Clarion — $525,000 damage.
NWS: “Street flooding in Clarion. Town still without power.”
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
Wright County, which includes Clarion, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 21 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 8 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on June 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Wright County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $13.0 million a year, the 51st highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.1 million (32%), 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 Clarion
- Belmond, IA9 mi
- Eagle Grove, IA10 mi
- Webster City, IA19 mi
- Humboldt, IA25 mi
- Britt, IA25 mi
- Garner, IA26 mi
- Hampton, IA27 mi
- Fort Dodge, IA28 mi
- Iowa Falls, IA29 mi
- Clear Lake, IA33 mi
- Algona, IA34 mi
- Forest City, IA36 mi
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