NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fort Madison, 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 Fort Madison, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 98 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 98
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Fort Madison
The strongest of the 98 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 13, 1995; its path came within 4 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 1, 1973, killed 2 people. Of the 98, 16 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 35 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 31. The most recent tornado was on August 10, 2025. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 87% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Fort Madison. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 93 times since 1967, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Fort Madison has more hail reports within 10 miles than 52% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Fort Madison
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s15
- 2000s13
- 1990s14(2 EF3+)
- 1980s13
- 1970s16(2 EF3+)
- 1960s12(2 EF3+)
- 1950s8
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 13, 1995 | F4 | 4 mi | 50 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 1, 1973 | F3 | 22 mi | 3.6 mi | 2 / 20 |
| Jan 24, 1967 | F3 | 2 mi | 4.3 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F3 | 15 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 13, 1974 | F3 | 18 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 25, 1965 | F3 | 16 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 16, 2024 | EF2 | 17 mi | 41.66 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 4, 2017 | EF2 | 17 mi | 7.97 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 10, 2003 | F2 | 21 mi | 69.2 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 10, 2003 | F2 | 4 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 1977 | F2 | 16 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 1977 | F2 | 17 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 98, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fort Madison
The Storm Prediction Center has 93 hail reports within 10 miles of Fort Madison since 1967, made on 61 separate days. Of these, 54 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on June 17, 1992. The most recent report is from May 24, 2024. April has the most reports, 26.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fort Madison
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Fort Madison, IA, 1 mile south of Fort Madison at 530 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 17°F. June is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.7 inches; the year adds up to 39.4 inches over 70 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 19 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 110 nights a year. Snowfall averages 18.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.4 inches is more than at 115 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (93%). West Point, 9 miles northwest, has its own station (Donnellson, IA): 39.3 inches a year, 0.1 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 17 | 1.7 | 4 | 6.1 |
| Feb | 38 | 21 | 1.9 | 4 | 4.6 |
| Mar | 50 | 32 | 2.7 | 6 | 1.7 |
| Apr | 62 | 43 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.5 |
| May | 72 | 54 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 63 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 68 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 66 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 57 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 45 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 50 | 33 | 2.4 | 5 | 0.8 |
| Dec | 38 | 23 | 1.9 | 4 | 4.3 |
| Year | 61 | 43 | 39.4 | 70 | 18.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Fort Madison, IA (530 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 Fort Madison
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 146 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fort Madison: 108 thunderstorm wind reports, 21 floods, 16 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $8.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 29, 2023. July has had the most flash floods, 8 of 16. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 145 have had fewer than Fort Madison.
June 8, 2005: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Fort Madison — 1 injured, $3,000 damage.
NWS: “Trees and power lines down. A girl was injured when a temporary display at a store fell on her.”
July 18, 2003: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Fort Madison — $3.5 million damage.
NWS: “Also by spotters. Trees flattened.”
September 11, 2000: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Fort Madison — $1.0 million 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Fort Madison's ZIP code 52627 have filed 67 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $2.0 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2008, with 26. 12% 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, 59 have fewer than Fort Madison.
Lee County, which includes Fort Madison, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 9 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Flooding, on August 25, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lee County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $22.6 million a year, the 19th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $13.0 million (58%), 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 Fort Madison
- West Point, IA9 mi
- Donnellson, IA13 mi
- West Burlington, IA16 mi
- Keokuk, IA16 mi
- Hamilton, IL16 mi
- Burlington, IA17 mi
- Carthage, IL19 mi
- New London, IA20 mi
- Kahoka, MO25 mi
- Mt Pleasant, IA26 mi
- Mediapolis, IA28 mi
- Colchester, IL32 mi
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