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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Eldora, IA

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Eldora, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 129 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
1

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
129

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
10

11 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Eldora

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Eldora, Iowa, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1169 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 4

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Eldora: 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 Eldora

By decade

  • 2020s13
  • 2010s21(1 EF3+)
  • 2000s33(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s21(3 EF3+)
  • 1980s6(2 EF3+)
  • 1970s17
  • 1960s14(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s4(2 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Eldora, Iowa
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
May 25, 2008EF517 mi40.97 mi9 / 70
May 30, 1989F46 mi11 mi0 / 3
May 24, 1989F410 mi66 mi0 / 0
Apr 23, 1961F324 mi87.7 mi1 / 12
May 20, 1953F315 mi116.1 mi1 / 0
Jul 19, 2018EF319 mi8.41 mi0 / 22
Mar 22, 1991F34 mi43 mi0 / 0
Jun 28, 1990F313 mi9 mi0 / 0
Mar 13, 1990F319 mi9 mi0 / 1
Jun 1, 1951F322 mi1.5 mi0 / 7
May 21, 2024EF218 mi40.84 mi0 / 4
Dec 15, 2021EF225 mi7.49 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 129, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Eldora while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

Other cities in Iowa