NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Earlham, 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 Earlham, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 147 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 147
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
11 deaths in all
What the records show for Earlham
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Earlham; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 46 miles away. Earlham 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 147 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 6 times; the most recent, on May 21, 2024, came within 17 miles. The deadliest, an EF4 on March 5, 2022, killed 6 people. Of the 147, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 85 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 56. The most recent tornado was on July 15, 2024. Earlham has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 73% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 117 times since 1971, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Earlham has more hail reports within 10 miles than 68% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Earlham
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Earlham: 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 Earlham
By decade
- 2020s21(2 EF3+)
- 2010s37
- 2000s27(1 EF3+)
- 1990s13(4 EF3+)
- 1980s23
- 1970s11(2 EF3+)
- 1960s10
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 5, 2022 | EF4 | 12 mi | 70.57 mi | 6 / 5 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF4 | 17 mi | 40.65 mi | 5 / 35 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F4 | 3 mi | 56 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F4 | 18 mi | 49 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 27, 1995 | F4 | 7 mi | 57 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 10, 1959 | F4 | 20 mi | 41.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 11, 2001 | F3 | 13 mi | 76.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 1994 | F3 | 19 mi | 14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1979 | F3 | 23 mi | 57 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F3 | 17 mi | 17.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF2 | 24 mi | 40.84 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF2 | 6 mi | 14.63 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 147, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Earlham
The Storm Prediction Center has 117 hail reports within 10 miles of Earlham since 1971, made on 59 separate days. Of these, 81 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 5 days, most recently June 25, 2024. The most recent report is from March 14, 2025. May has the most reports, 40.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Earlham
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Winterset 1S, IA, 12 miles southeast of Earlham at 1,100 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 10°F. May is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 34.8 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 145 nights a year. Snowfall averages 30.7 inches a year, most of it in February. That 34.8 inches is more than at 30 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (24%). Stuart, 11 miles west, has its own station (Greenfield, IA): 36.8 inches a year, 2.0 more than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 10 | 0.8 | 3 | 7.3 |
| Feb | 35 | 13 | 1.3 | 4 | 8.3 |
| Mar | 48 | 25 | 2.1 | 5 | 4.7 |
| Apr | 61 | 35 | 3.6 | 8 | 0.8 |
| May | 71 | 48 | 5.0 | 9 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 80 | 58 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 62 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 59 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 51 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 38 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.9 |
| Nov | 48 | 26 | 2.0 | 4 | 2.7 |
| Dec | 35 | 16 | 1.2 | 3 | 5.9 |
| Year | 59 | 37 | 34.8 | 65 | 30.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Winterset 1S, IA (1,100 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 Earlham
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 118 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Earlham: 62 thunderstorm wind reports, 33 floods, 14 heavy rain events, 6 flash floods and 3 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $27.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on August 6, 2007. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 32 have had fewer than Earlham.
June 12, 2010: flood 6 miles from the centre of Earlham — $20.0 million damage.
July 28, 2015: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Earlham — $650,000 damage.
April 25, 2007: flood 9 miles from the centre of Earlham — $500,000 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
Madison County, which includes Earlham, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 23, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Madison County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.3 million a year, the 74th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.9 million (38%), 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 Earlham
- Van Meter, IA9 mi
- Winterset, IA10 mi
- Stuart, IA11 mi
- Adel, IA11 mi
- Waukee, IA16 mi
- Cumming, IA18 mi
- Dallas Center, IA18 mi
- Greenfield, IA19 mi
- Clive, IA20 mi
- West Des Moines, IA20 mi
- Panora, IA20 mi
- Saint Charles, IA20 mi
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