NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Dakota City, NE
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 Dakota City, Nebraska since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 109 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 109
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Dakota City
The highest rating among the 109 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 5 times; the most recent, on June 16, 2014, came within 19 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on June 18, 1973, killed 2 people. Of the 109, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 39 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 32. The most recent tornado was on April 16, 2024. Of the 91 Nebraska cities on this site, 67% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Dakota City. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 235 times since 1955, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Dakota City has more hail reports within 10 miles than 79% of the 91 Nebraska cities.
Compare Dakota City's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Dakota City
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s14(3 EF3+)
- 2000s17
- 1990s24(1 EF3+)
- 1980s12(1 EF3+)
- 1970s15(2 EF3+)
- 1960s12(1 EF3+)
- 1950s7(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 16, 2014 | EF4 | 19 mi | 15.84 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 4, 2013 | EF4 | 18 mi | 24.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 4, 2013 | EF4 | 23 mi | 18.34 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Jul 28, 1986 | F4 | 4 mi | 52.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 7, 1977 | F4 | 23 mi | 22.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 17, 1954 | F3 | 20 mi | 23.6 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jul 5, 1994 | F3 | 10 mi | 1.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1979 | F3 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 5, 1964 | F3 | 7 mi | 67 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 18, 1973 | F2 | 19 mi | 2 mi | 2 / 10 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 13 mi | 8.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 4, 2013 | EF2 | 12 mi | 26.56 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 109, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Dakota City
The Storm Prediction Center has 235 hail reports within 10 miles of Dakota City since 1955, made on 118 separate days. Of these, 135 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.25 inches, fell on June 29, 2017. The most recent report is from June 28, 2025. June has the most reports, 69.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Dakota City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Sioux City Gateway Airport, IA, 4 miles southeast of Dakota City at 1,095 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 10°F. June is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 29.5 inches over 55 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 25 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 154 nights a year. Snowfall averages 36.0 inches a year, most of it in February. That 29.5 inches is more than at 44 of the 68 Nebraska stations used on this site (65%). Hinton, IA, 16 miles northeast, has its own station (Le Mars, IA): 30.0 inches a year, 0.5 more than here, and the same July average high, 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 10 | 0.7 | 2 | 7.7 |
| Feb | 34 | 15 | 0.9 | 3 | 8.7 |
| Mar | 48 | 26 | 1.8 | 4 | 5.7 |
| Apr | 61 | 37 | 3.2 | 6 | 2.3 |
| May | 72 | 49 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 59 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 63 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 61 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 51 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 38 | 2.2 | 4 | 0.8 |
| Nov | 47 | 25 | 1.3 | 3 | 3.2 |
| Dec | 33 | 15 | 1.0 | 3 | 7.6 |
| Year | 59 | 37 | 29.5 | 55 | 36.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Sioux City Gateway Airport, IA (1,095 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 Dakota City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 265 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Dakota City: 204 thunderstorm wind reports, 30 flash floods, 27 floods, 2 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $20.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 98 mph, on August 2, 2001. June has had the most flash floods, 11 of 30. Of the 89 Nebraska cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 84 have had fewer than Dakota City.
July 20, 2008: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Dakota City — 1 injured, $5.0 million damage.
July 16, 1996: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Dakota City — $6.0 million damage.
August 2, 2001: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Dakota City — $5.0 million 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 Dakota City's ZIP code 68731 have filed 16 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1993, and were paid $127,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Late spring storms in 2011: 10 claims (63% of all) and $83,000. 75% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 41 Nebraska cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 6 have fewer than Dakota City.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Late spring storms2011 | 10 | $83,000 |
Dakota County, which includes Dakota City, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds, on May 21, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Dakota County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and hail; Relatively Low for strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.5 million a year, the 33rd highest of 93 Nebraska counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.0 million (34%), 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.