NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ida Grove, 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 Ida Grove, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 87 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 87
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Ida Grove
The strongest of the 87 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF4 on October 4, 2013; its path came within 23 miles. Of the 87, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 43 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on May 13, 2023. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 94% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Ida Grove. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 65 times since 1956, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 75% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Ida Grove.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Ida Grove
By decade
- 2020s12
- 2010s19(4 EF3+)
- 2000s12
- 1990s16(2 EF3+)
- 1980s7
- 1970s5
- 1960s9(1 EF3+)
- 1950s7
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 4, 2013 | EF4 | 23 mi | 24.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF3 | 22 mi | 29.37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF3 | 9 mi | 10.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF3 | 19 mi | 3.38 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F3 | 24 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F3 | 17 mi | 7.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 26, 1969 | F3 | 6 mi | 22.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 23 mi | 17.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF2 | 12 mi | 8.34 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF2 | 4 mi | 4.13 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 16, 1999 | F2 | 16 mi | 22.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1984 | F2 | 5 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 87, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ida Grove
The Storm Prediction Center has 65 hail reports within 10 miles of Ida Grove since 1956, made on 41 separate days. Of these, 42 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on June 17, 1978. The most recent report is from April 19, 2023. June has the most reports, 23.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ida Grove
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Holstein, IA, 12 miles north of Ida Grove at 1,370 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 26°F and 9°F. June is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 33.2 inches over 62 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 10 days a year, almost all from May to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 150 nights a year. Snowfall averages 35.3 inches a year, most of it in February. That 33.2 inches is more than at 19 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (15%). Denison, 22 miles south, has its own station (Denison, IA): 33.6 inches a year, 0.4 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26 | 9 | 0.9 | 3 | 6.9 |
| Feb | 31 | 13 | 1.1 | 3 | 8.9 |
| Mar | 45 | 25 | 2.0 | 4 | 5.3 |
| Apr | 59 | 36 | 3.4 | 6 | 2.1 |
| May | 70 | 49 | 4.5 | 9 | 0.2 |
| Jun | 79 | 59 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 63 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 61 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 52 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 39 | 2.4 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 44 | 25 | 1.5 | 3 | 3.5 |
| Dec | 31 | 14 | 1.2 | 3 | 8.1 |
| Year | 57 | 37 | 33.2 | 62 | 35.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Holstein, IA (1,370 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 Ida Grove
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 56 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ida Grove: 49 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 flash floods, 2 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $6.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 79 mph, on July 10, 2002.
July 6, 2008: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Ida Grove — 2 injured, $5,000 damage.
NWS: “Lightning struck a car, slightly injuring the two occupants, and damaging the car's engine and electrical system.”
March 13, 2019: flood 9 miles from the centre of Ida Grove — $4.2 million damage.
NWS: “This is for flooding along the Maple River. 60 feet at 6:15 pm on March 14th.”
July 10, 2002: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Ida Grove — $2.5 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
Ida County, which includes Ida Grove, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 6 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 23, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Ida County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail; Relatively Low for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $7.3 million a year, the 94th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.4 million (32%), 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 Ida Grove
- Denison, IA22 mi
- Sac City, IA25 mi
- Alta, IA26 mi
- Storm Lake, IA26 mi
- Cherokee, IA29 mi
- Moville, IA32 mi
- Kingsley, IA32 mi
- Dunlap, IA34 mi
- Manning, IA35 mi
- Carroll, IA36 mi
- Onawa, IA39 mi
- Remsen, IA40 mi
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