NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Denver, 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
1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Denver, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 119 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 119
- 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 Denver
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Denver; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 48 mph winds when its centre passed 74 miles away. Denver is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The highest rating among the 119 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5 or EF5, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 25, 2008, came within 5 miles. Of the 119, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 51 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 36. The most recent tornado was on July 5, 2022. Of the 241 Iowa cities, 59% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Denver. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 110 times since 1960, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Denver has more hail reports within 10 miles than 64% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Denver
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Denver: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Denver
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s13
- 2000s28(3 EF3+)
- 1990s14
- 1980s14
- 1970s16(1 EF3+)
- 1960s22(4 EF3+)
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 2008 | EF5 | 5 mi | 40.97 mi | 9 / 70 |
| May 15, 1968 | F5 | 21 mi | 13.1 mi | 5 / 156 |
| Sep 1, 1961 | F4 | 16 mi | 26.6 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 11, 2000 | F3 | 9 mi | 18.6 mi | 1 / 25 |
| Apr 16, 1960 | F3 | 17 mi | 29.8 mi | 1 / 5 |
| May 25, 2008 | EF3 | 17 mi | 31.99 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Nov 9, 1975 | F3 | 12 mi | 39.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1964 | F3 | 23 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 14, 2021 | EF2 | 2 mi | 12.88 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 6, 2001 | F2 | 8 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2000 | F2 | 11 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2000 | F2 | 9 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 119, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Denver
The Storm Prediction Center has 110 hail reports within 10 miles of Denver since 1960, made on 50 separate days. Of these, 81 were 1 inch across or larger, and 14 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 25, 2008. The most recent report is from September 22, 2025. June has the most reports, 40.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Denver
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Waterloo Municipal Airport, IA, 9 miles south of Denver at 868 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 28°F and 11°F. June is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 36.2 inches over 65 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 150 nights a year. Snowfall averages 39.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 36.2 inches is more than at 47 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (38%). Waverly, 8 miles northwest, has its own station (Tripoli, IA): 38.7 inches a year, 2.5 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 | 28 | 11 | 1.1 | 3 | 10.1 |
| Feb | 33 | 15 | 1.1 | 4 | 9.3 |
| Mar | 47 | 27 | 2.0 | 5 | 4.6 |
| Apr | 61 | 38 | 4.0 | 7 | 1.7 |
| May | 73 | 50 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 82 | 61 | 5.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 64 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 61 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 52 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 40 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 47 | 28 | 1.9 | 4 | 3.1 |
| Dec | 34 | 17 | 1.4 | 4 | 9.9 |
| Year | 59 | 39 | 36.2 | 65 | 39.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Waterloo Municipal Airport, IA (868 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 Denver
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 206 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Denver: 91 thunderstorm wind reports, 70 floods, 26 heavy rain events, 14 flash floods and 5 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 9, and the NWS estimated $29.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 23, 2010. July has had the most flash floods, 4 of 14. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 124 have had fewer than Denver.
July 20, 2019: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Denver — 9 injured, $20,000 damage.
June 12, 2010: flood 9 miles from the centre of Denver — $20.0 million damage.
July 23, 2010: flash flood in Denver — $1.1 million damage.
NWS: “Water covered most secondary roads in Bremer County, but was receding. Numerous flooded basements across the county, but the worst hit were in the Denver and Readlyn areas.”
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 Denver's ZIP code 50622 have filed 20 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $98,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2008, with 10. 5% 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, 25 have fewer than Denver.
Bremer County, which includes Denver, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 23, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Bremer 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 $15.3 million a year, the 34th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.1 million (46%), 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 Denver
- Janesville, IA7 mi
- Waverly, IA8 mi
- Tripoli, IA10 mi
- Cedar Falls, IA12 mi
- Waterloo, IA13 mi
- Shell Rock, IA13 mi
- Evansdale, IA14 mi
- Fairbank, IA14 mi
- Sumner, IA17 mi
- Clarksville, IA19 mi
- Jesup, IA20 mi
- Oelwein, IA21 mi
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