NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Forest City, 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 Forest City, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 120 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 120
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
12 deaths in all
What the records show for Forest City
The strongest of the 120 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on October 14, 1966; its path came within 24 miles, and it killed 6 people. Of the 120, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 45 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 46. The most recent tornado was on August 17, 2025. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 56% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Forest City. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 65 times since 1974, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Of the 241 Iowa cities, 75% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Forest City.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Forest City
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s20(1 EF3+)
- 2000s10
- 1990s23(1 EF3+)
- 1980s22(1 EF3+)
- 1970s9(1 EF3+)
- 1960s16(6 EF3+)
- 1950s5(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 14, 1966 | F5 | 24 mi | 9.7 mi | 6 / 172 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F4 | 24 mi | 38.7 mi | 5 / 35 |
| Jun 17, 2010 | EF4 | 22 mi | 16.91 mi | 1 / 14 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F4 | 25 mi | 13.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 29, 1964 | F4 | 23 mi | 15.8 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 10, 1953 | F4 | 10 mi | 26.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 18, 1994 | F3 | 11 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1984 | F3 | 22 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 28, 1974 | F3 | 23 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F3 | 23 mi | 17.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F3 | 16 mi | 7.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 21, 1953 | F3 | 18 mi | 31.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 120, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Forest City
The Storm Prediction Center has 65 hail reports within 10 miles of Forest City since 1974, made on 37 separate days. Of these, 37 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on June 22, 1997. The most recent report is from June 20, 2025. May has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Forest City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Britt 3E, IA, 12 miles southwest of Forest City at 1,220 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 6°F. June is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 34.3 inches over 65 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 8 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 160 nights a year. That 34.3 inches is more than at 27 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (22%). Lake Mills, 13 miles northeast, has its own station (Northwood, IA): 35.4 inches a year, 1.1 more than here, and a July average high of 79°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 6 | 0.8 | 3 |
| Feb | 28 | 10 | 1.5 | 3 |
| Mar | 41 | 23 | 2.1 | 5 |
| Apr | 57 | 34 | 3.9 | 7 |
| May | 69 | 48 | 4.5 | 9 |
| Jun | 79 | 58 | 5.4 | 8 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Aug | 80 | 59 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Sep | 73 | 50 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Oct | 60 | 37 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Nov | 43 | 25 | 1.4 | 3 |
| Dec | 30 | 13 | 1.1 | 4 |
| Year | 55 | 36 | 34.3 | 65 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Britt 3E, IA (1,220 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 Forest City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 97 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Forest City: 57 thunderstorm wind reports, 26 heavy rain events, 7 flash floods and 7 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $42.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on May 25, 2010. June has had the most flash floods, 4 of 7. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 42 have had fewer than Forest City.
June 12, 2010: flood 10 miles from the centre of Forest City — $20.0 million damage.
June 8, 2018: flood 9 miles from the centre of Forest City — $600,000 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
Winnebago County, which includes Forest City, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 5 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 Winnebago County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Very Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.6 million a year, the 82nd highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.9 million (30%), 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 Forest City
- Garner, IA11 mi
- Lake Mills, IA13 mi
- Britt, IA13 mi
- Clear Lake, IA16 mi
- Mason City, IA24 mi
- Northwood, IA25 mi
- Belmond, IA29 mi
- Albert Lea, MN31 mi
- Algona, IA31 mi
- Wells, MN33 mi
- Nora Springs, IA34 mi
- Blue Earth, MN34 mi
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