NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Cresco, 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 Cresco, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 94 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 94
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
16 deaths in all
What the records show for Cresco
The strongest of the 94 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 15, 1968; its path came within 13 miles, and it killed 13 people. Of the 94, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 40 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 24. The most recent tornado was on June 25, 2025. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 90% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Cresco. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 69 times since 1964, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 70% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Cresco.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Cresco
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s15
- 2000s10(1 EF3+)
- 1990s21(1 EF3+)
- 1980s9
- 1970s7(1 EF3+)
- 1960s13(3 EF3+)
- 1950s4(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 1968 | F5 | 13 mi | 62.1 mi | 13 / 462 |
| May 10, 1953 | F4 | 15 mi | 162 mi | 2 / 24 |
| Jul 12, 1971 | F4 | 18 mi | 10.9 mi | 0 / 8 |
| May 5, 1965 | F4 | 4 mi | 41.6 mi | 0 / 11 |
| May 20, 1953 | F3 | 11 mi | 116.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2004 | F3 | 23 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1994 | F3 | 3 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1965 | F3 | 9 mi | 65.2 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 22, 2011 | EF2 | 10 mi | 28.68 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 19, 1994 | F2 | 11 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 7, 1994 | F2 | 23 mi | 9.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 1993 | F2 | 24 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 94, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Cresco
The Storm Prediction Center has 69 hail reports within 10 miles of Cresco since 1964, made on 40 separate days. Of these, 39 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on July 20, 1998. The most recent report is from June 28, 2022. July has the most reports, 25.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Cresco
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cresco 1 NE, IA, in Cresco at 1,255 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 6°F. June is the wettest at 6.3 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 38.1 inches over 70 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 8 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 170 nights a year. Snowfall averages 40.3 inches a year, most of it in February. That 38.1 inches is more than at 89 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (72%). Decorah, 17 miles east, has its own station (Decorah, IA): 37.7 inches a year, 0.4 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 6 | 1.1 | 4 | 9.4 |
| Feb | 29 | 9 | 1.2 | 4 | 10.0 |
| Mar | 42 | 21 | 1.9 | 5 | 6.0 |
| Apr | 57 | 33 | 3.7 | 7 | 2.4 |
| May | 69 | 45 | 4.5 | 9 | 0.2 |
| Jun | 79 | 56 | 6.3 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 60 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 57 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 48 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 36 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 44 | 24 | 1.9 | 4 | 2.6 |
| Dec | 30 | 13 | 1.4 | 4 | 9.5 |
| Year | 56 | 34 | 38.1 | 70 | 40.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Cresco 1 NE, IA (1,255 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 Cresco
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 91 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Cresco: 61 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 floods, 11 flash floods, 2 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $10.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on May 18, 1996. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 95 have had fewer than Cresco.
July 24, 2009: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Cresco — 1 injured, $30,000 damage.
NWS: “Trees were down all of over town and there were power outages. A woman was reportedly injured when a tree may have fallen on her in a park.”
June 8, 2008: flood 8 miles from the centre of Cresco — $5.2 million damage.
NWS: “Several civil cmergency messages were issued for evacuations in the county. Nursing homes and residences in the lower areas on the west side of the city of Decorah were evacuated.”
June 7, 2008: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Cresco — $2.0 million damage.
NWS: “Rounds of thunderstorms produced flash flooding over large parts of the county. Many secondary roads were damaged including infrastructures.”
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
Howard County, which includes Cresco, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 21 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 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 Howard County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.2 million a year, the 84th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.5 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 Cresco
- Decorah, IA17 mi
- Preston, MN18 mi
- Riceville, IA22 mi
- New Hampton, IA24 mi
- Spring Valley, MN25 mi
- West Union, IA31 mi
- Chatfield, MN32 mi
- Waukon, IA32 mi
- Postville, IA34 mi
- Rushford, MN34 mi
- Caledonia, MN35 mi
- Charles City, IA36 mi
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