NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Dubuque, 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 Dubuque, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 114 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 114
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Dubuque
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Dubuque; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 33 miles away. Dubuque is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The strongest of the 114 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on March 13, 1990; its path came within 23 miles. Of the 114, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 47 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 35. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Of the 241 Iowa cities, 66% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Dubuque. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 138 times since 1962, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Dubuque has more hail reports within 10 miles than 76% of the 241 Iowa cities.
Compare Dubuque's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Dubuque
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Dubuque: 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 Dubuque
By decade
- 2020s19
- 2010s13
- 2000s15
- 1990s22(2 EF3+)
- 1980s9(1 EF3+)
- 1970s15(1 EF3+)
- 1960s15
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 13, 1990 | F4 | 23 mi | 19 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 1993 | F3 | 6 mi | 14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1988 | F3 | 24 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 9, 1970 | F3 | 2 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | EF2 | 14 mi | 2.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 2014 | EF2 | 19 mi | 3.76 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 1, 2007 | EF2 | 25 mi | 3.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 1998 | F2 | 16 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F2 | 13 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 7, 1984 | F2 | 24 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1980 | F2 | 21 mi | 70.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 28, 1972 | F2 | 7 mi | 64.5 mi | 0 / 3 |
The strongest 12 of 114, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Dubuque
The Storm Prediction Center has 138 hail reports within 10 miles of Dubuque since 1962, made on 68 separate days. Of these, 90 were 1 inch across or larger, and 11 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on August 19, 1994. The most recent report is from September 22, 2025. May has the most reports, 38.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Dubuque
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Dubuque L&D 11, IA, 4 miles northeast of Dubuque at 620 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 10°F. June is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.3 inches; the year adds up to 38.8 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 134 nights a year. Snowfall averages 36.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 38.8 inches is more than at 105 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (85%). Peosta, 8 miles southwest, has its own station (Dubuque Regional Airport, IA): 38.3 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 10 | 1.3 | 4 | 11.7 |
| Feb | 32 | 13 | 1.4 | 4 | 8.6 |
| Mar | 45 | 25 | 2.1 | 5 | 3.7 |
| Apr | 59 | 38 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.9 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 4.4 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 60 | 5.6 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 64 | 5.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 62 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 54 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 42 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 46 | 29 | 2.4 | 5 | 1.2 |
| Dec | 33 | 18 | 1.7 | 5 | 9.9 |
| Year | 58 | 39 | 38.8 | 73 | 36.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Dubuque L&D 11, IA (620 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 Dubuque
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 292 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Dubuque: 196 thunderstorm wind reports, 43 flash floods, 29 heavy rain events, 19 floods and 5 lightning strikes. They killed 3 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $24.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on July 15, 2024. July has had the most flash floods, 22 of 43. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 217 have had fewer than Dubuque.
July 27, 2011: flash flood 1 mile from the centre of Dubuque — 3 killed, $7.0 million damage.
NWS: “Torrential rains of 7 to 15 inches caused some flash flooding across Jo Davies County during the evening of July 27 and morning of July 28. Numerous streets were reported flooded in East Dubuque causing sink holes to form as well as buckling of the road rending them impassible.”
June 30, 2019: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Dubuque — 1 injured.
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 Dubuque's 3 ZIP codes have filed 63 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $549,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Late spring storms in 2011: 14 claims (22% of all) and $190,000. 29% 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, 56 have fewer than Dubuque.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Late spring storms2011 | 14 | $190,000 |
Dubuque County, which includes Dubuque, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 floods, 8 severe storms, 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 Dubuque County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $41.7 million a year, the 8th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $19.4 million (47%), 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 Dubuque
- East Dubuque, IL6 mi
- Peosta, IA8 mi
- Hazel Green, WI10 mi
- Epworth, IA12 mi
- Potosi, WI13 mi
- Cuba City, WI15 mi
- Farley, IA16 mi
- Galena, IL17 mi
- Platteville, WI20 mi
- Bellevue, IA21 mi
- Cascade, IA21 mi
- Dyersville, IA22 mi
All Iowa cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Dubuque with another place →