NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Clarksville, 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 Clarksville, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 102 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 102
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
24 deaths in all
What the records show for Clarksville
The highest rating among the 102 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5 or EF5, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 25, 2008, came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an F5 on May 15, 1968, killed 13 people. Of the 102, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 53 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 31. The most recent tornado was on August 18, 2025. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 82% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Clarksville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 101 times since 1962, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Clarksville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 58% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Clarksville
By decade
- 2020s16
- 2010s17
- 2000s20(2 EF3+)
- 1990s16
- 1980s11
- 1970s11
- 1960s9(2 EF3+)
- 1950s2(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 1968 | F5 | 17 mi | 62.1 mi | 13 / 462 |
| May 25, 2008 | EF5 | 15 mi | 40.97 mi | 9 / 70 |
| Sep 1, 1961 | F4 | 4 mi | 26.6 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 11, 2000 | F3 | 22 mi | 18.6 mi | 1 / 25 |
| May 20, 1953 | F3 | 14 mi | 116.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 18 mi | 7.49 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 2021 | EF2 | 7 mi | 12.88 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 6, 2001 | F2 | 9 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 1999 | F2 | 17 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 1998 | F2 | 9 mi | 25.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 7, 1994 | F2 | 16 mi | 9.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 1993 | F2 | 22 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 102, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Clarksville
The Storm Prediction Center has 101 hail reports within 10 miles of Clarksville since 1962, made on 48 separate days. Of these, 68 were 1 inch across or larger, and 11 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on June 1, 2001. The most recent report is from September 16, 2025. June has the most reports, 46.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Clarksville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Allison, IA, 7 miles west of Clarksville at 1,038 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 25°F and 8°F. June is the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 35.4 inches over 64 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 150 nights a year. That 35.4 inches is more than at 37 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (30%). Waverly, 11 miles east, has its own station (Tripoli, IA): 38.7 inches a year, 3.3 more than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25 | 8 | 0.9 | 3 |
| Feb | 29 | 12 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Mar | 43 | 24 | 1.8 | 5 |
| Apr | 59 | 36 | 3.8 | 7 |
| May | 70 | 49 | 5.1 | 9 |
| Jun | 80 | 59 | 5.5 | 8 |
| Jul | 83 | 63 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Aug | 80 | 60 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Sep | 74 | 51 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Oct | 61 | 39 | 2.5 | 5 |
| Nov | 44 | 25 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Dec | 31 | 15 | 1.4 | 3 |
| Year | 57 | 37 | 35.4 | 64 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Allison, IA (1,038 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 Clarksville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 127 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Clarksville: 76 thunderstorm wind reports, 23 floods, 19 heavy rain events, 7 flash floods and 2 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $6.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on September 13, 2005. September has had the most flash floods, 3 of 7. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 42 have had fewer than Clarksville.
June 8, 2008: flood 5 miles from the centre of Clarksville — $750,000 damage.
June 8, 2008: flood 7 miles from the centre of Clarksville — $750,000 damage.
July 1, 2018: flood 9 miles from the centre of Clarksville — $600,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Clarksville's ZIP code 50619 have filed 32 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1998, and were paid $1.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2016, with 21. 19% 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, 44 have fewer than Clarksville.
Butler County, which includes Clarksville, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 23 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 floods, 11 severe storms, 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 Butler County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.5 million a year, the 39th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.1 million (49%), 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 Clarksville
- Shell Rock, IA6 mi
- Greene, IA10 mi
- Waverly, IA11 mi
- Nashua, IA13 mi
- Janesville, IA14 mi
- Parkersburg, IA16 mi
- Denver, IA19 mi
- Charles City, IA20 mi
- Tripoli, IA20 mi
- Cedar Falls, IA21 mi
- Ackley, IA25 mi
- New Hampton, IA26 mi
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