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Storms That Hit

NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Greenfield, 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 Greenfield, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 126 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
1

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
126

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
12

13 deaths in all

What the records show for Greenfield

None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Greenfield; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 39 mph winds when its centre passed 46 miles away. Greenfield is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The strongest of the 126 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 27, 1953; its path came within 17 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an EF4 on March 5, 2022, killed 6 people. Of the 126, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 70 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 40. The most recent tornado was on June 28, 2024. Greenfield has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 50% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 94 times since 1961, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Greenfield has more hail reports within 10 miles than 53% of the 241 Iowa cities.

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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Greenfield

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Greenfield, Iowa, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1146 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 4

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

By decade

  • 2020s18(3 EF3+)
  • 2010s28
  • 2000s24(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s10(4 EF3+)
  • 1980s24
  • 1970s8(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s8
  • 1950s6(3 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Greenfield, Iowa
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jun 27, 1953F517 mi0.1 mi1 / 2
Mar 5, 2022EF413 mi70.57 mi6 / 5
May 21, 2024EF4in town40.65 mi5 / 35
Apr 8, 1999F413 mi56 mi0 / 1
Apr 8, 1999F48 mi49 mi0 / 3
May 27, 1995F45 mi57 mi0 / 2
May 10, 1959F417 mi41.1 mi0 / 1
May 21, 2024EF317 mi33.86 mi0 / 0
Apr 11, 2001F324 mi76.5 mi0 / 0
Apr 14, 1994F35 mi14 mi0 / 0
May 13, 1974F324 mi10.9 mi0 / 0
Jul 14, 1958F319 mi14.8 mi0 / 1

The strongest 12 of 126, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Greenfield

The Storm Prediction Center has 94 hail reports within 10 miles of Greenfield since 1961, made on 48 separate days. Of these, 70 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on April 20, 1961. The most recent report is from May 19, 2024. May has the most reports, 25.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Greenfield

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Greenfield, IA, 2 miles southwest of Greenfield at 1,316 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 11°F. May is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 36.8 inches over 64 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 138 nights a year. Snowfall averages 25.5 inches a year, most of it in February. That 36.8 inches is more than at 63 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (51%). Earlham, 19 miles northeast, has its own station (Winterset 1S, IA): 34.8 inches a year, 2.0 less than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Greenfield, IA
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow in
Jan30110.936.8
Feb35151.337.3
Mar48272.053.0
Apr61383.880.8
May71505.390.1
Jun80604.870.0
Jul84644.060.0
Aug83624.460.0
Sep76533.960.0
Oct64412.950.4
Nov48282.041.7
Dec34171.535.4
Year593936.86425.5

Averages for 1991–2020 at Greenfield, IA (1,316 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.

Iowa weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Greenfield

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 102 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Greenfield: 77 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 heavy rain events, 4 flash floods, 1 flood and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $21.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 21, 1998.

  • June 12, 2010: flood 9 miles from the centre of Greenfield — $20.0 million damage.

  • June 18, 2010: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Greenfield — $175,000 damage.

    NWS: “Semi was blown off the road on Highway 25 north of Greenfield.”

  • June 22, 2007: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Greenfield — $150,000 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

Adair County, which includes Greenfield, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Adair County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.2 million a year, the 44th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.5 million (18%), 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 Greenfield

All Iowa cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Greenfield with another place →

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