NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Emmetsburg, 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
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Emmetsburg, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 106 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 106
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Emmetsburg
The highest rating among the 106 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 7 times; the most recent, on April 9, 2011, came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 28, 1979, killed 2 people. Of the 106, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 45 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 42. The most recent tornado was on April 16, 2024. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 78% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Emmetsburg. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 61 times since 1959, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 79% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Emmetsburg.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Emmetsburg
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s18(1 EF3+)
- 2000s19(1 EF3+)
- 1990s15
- 1980s12(2 EF3+)
- 1970s16(2 EF3+)
- 1960s10
- 1950s8(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 28, 1979 | F3 | 23 mi | 15.9 mi | 2 / 34 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF3 | 21 mi | 29.37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2004 | F3 | 18 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1984 | F3 | 25 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Sep 20, 1980 | F3 | 23 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 10, 1977 | F3 | 8 mi | 14.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 21, 1953 | F3 | 11 mi | 31.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2008 | EF2 | 21 mi | 13.08 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2004 | F2 | 22 mi | 12.5 mi | 0 / 15 |
| May 15, 1998 | F2 | 24 mi | 31.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 1994 | F2 | in town | 13 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 29, 1993 | F2 | 20 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 106, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Emmetsburg
The Storm Prediction Center has 61 hail reports within 10 miles of Emmetsburg since 1959, made on 44 separate days. Of these, 45 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on June 29, 1993. The most recent report is from April 28, 2025. June has the most reports, 16.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Emmetsburg
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Emmetsburg, IA, 1 mile southeast of Emmetsburg at 1,225 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 26°F and 7°F. June is the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 33.7 inches over 58 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 153 nights a year. Snowfall averages 37.1 inches a year, most of it in February. That 33.7 inches is more than at 21 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (17%). Estherville, 21 miles north, has its own station (Estherville Municipal Airport, IA): 29.4 inches a year, 4.3 less than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26 | 7 | 0.7 | 2 | 8.0 |
| Feb | 31 | 12 | 0.9 | 3 | 8.2 |
| Mar | 44 | 24 | 1.8 | 4 | 5.9 |
| Apr | 59 | 36 | 3.7 | 7 | 2.6 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 82 | 59 | 5.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 63 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 60 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 51 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 38 | 2.4 | 4 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 46 | 26 | 1.5 | 3 | 4.9 |
| Dec | 32 | 14 | 1.1 | 3 | 7.1 |
| Year | 58 | 37 | 33.7 | 58 | 37.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Emmetsburg, IA (1,225 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 Emmetsburg
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 99 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Emmetsburg: 37 thunderstorm wind reports, 29 floods, 21 heavy rain events, 10 flash floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $3.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on June 13, 2000. June has had the most flash floods, 6 of 10. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 81 have had fewer than Emmetsburg.
June 11, 2008: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Emmetsburg — 1 killed.
June 21, 2024: flood 3 miles from the centre of Emmetsburg — $721,000 damage.
NWS: “47 ft on June 24 at 01:15 pm CDT. The river remained in flood through the end of the month and into July.”
December 15, 2021: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Emmetsburg — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Law enforcement reported hog building completely destroyed.”
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
Palo Alto County, which includes Emmetsburg, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 7 floods, 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 Palo Alto County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes and strong wind; Very Low for inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.7 million a year, the 80th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.9 million (20%), 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 Emmetsburg
- Estherville, IA21 mi
- Spencer, IA23 mi
- Algona, IA24 mi
- Pocahontas, IA27 mi
- Milford, IA28 mi
- Spirit Lake, IA30 mi
- Humboldt, IA36 mi
- Fairmont, MN39 mi
- Jackson, MN39 mi
- Hartley, IA39 mi
- Storm Lake, IA41 mi
- Manson, IA42 mi
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