NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Indianola, 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 Indianola, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 167 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 167
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Indianola
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Indianola; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 43 mph winds when its centre passed 24 miles away. Indianola is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The highest rating among the 167 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on March 5, 2022, came within 9 miles. Of the 167, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 89 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 53. The most recent tornado was on July 15, 2024. Indianola has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 84% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 167 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Indianola has more hail reports within 10 miles than 84% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Indianola
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Indianola: 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 Indianola
By decade
- 2020s26(1 EF3+)
- 2010s31(1 EF3+)
- 2000s32(1 EF3+)
- 1990s17(1 EF3+)
- 1980s27
- 1970s15(2 EF3+)
- 1960s14(1 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 5, 2022 | EF4 | 9 mi | 70.57 mi | 6 / 5 |
| Jun 18, 1974 | F4 | 12 mi | 15.3 mi | 2 / 50 |
| Aug 20, 2019 | EF3 | 7 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 2001 | F3 | 17 mi | 76.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F3 | 9 mi | 39 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Mar 29, 1979 | F3 | 3 mi | 57 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Oct 14, 1966 | F3 | 21 mi | 29.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF2 | 24 mi | 40.84 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | EF2 | 13 mi | 7.61 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | EF2 | 21 mi | 5.84 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 2018 | EF2 | 24 mi | 2.95 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 22, 2011 | EF2 | 22 mi | 9.98 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 167, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Indianola
The Storm Prediction Center has 167 hail reports within 10 miles of Indianola since 1962, made on 91 separate days. Of these, 111 were 1 inch across or larger, and 11 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently June 30, 2014. The most recent report is from September 16, 2025. June has the most reports, 68.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Indianola
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Indianola 2W, IA, 4 miles west of Indianola at 924 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 12°F. June is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 37.8 inches over 65 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 143 nights a year. Snowfall averages 30.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 37.8 inches is more than at 82 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (66%). Norwalk, 10 miles northwest, has its own station (Des Moines International Airport, IA): 36.6 inches a year, 1.2 less than here, and the same July average high, 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 12 | 0.9 | 3 | 8.5 |
| Feb | 36 | 15 | 1.4 | 4 | 8.2 |
| Mar | 50 | 27 | 1.9 | 5 | 3.7 |
| Apr | 62 | 38 | 3.9 | 7 | 1.0 |
| May | 72 | 50 | 5.6 | 9 | 0.3 |
| Jun | 81 | 60 | 5.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 64 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 62 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 52 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 65 | 40 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 50 | 28 | 1.9 | 4 | 1.9 |
| Dec | 37 | 17 | 1.4 | 3 | 6.7 |
| Year | 61 | 39 | 37.8 | 65 | 30.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Indianola 2W, IA (924 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 Indianola
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 182 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Indianola: 94 thunderstorm wind reports, 51 heavy rain events, 17 flash floods, 17 floods and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $5.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 109 mph, on June 23, 2000. July has had the most flash floods, 10 of 17. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 155 have had fewer than Indianola.
March 8, 2002: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Indianola — 1 injured, $100,000 damage.
NWS: “S. Highway 65.”
July 28, 2015: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Indianola — $750,000 damage.
June 25, 2015: flood 10 miles from the centre of Indianola — $500,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Indianola's ZIP code 50125 have filed 12 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $191,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 50% 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, 4 have fewer than Indianola.
Warren County, which includes Indianola, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Warren County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $18.7 million a year, the 23rd highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.9 million (37%), 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 Indianola
- Milo, IA10 mi
- Norwalk, IA10 mi
- Carlisle, IA11 mi
- Saint Charles, IA12 mi
- Cumming, IA14 mi
- Pleasantville, IA16 mi
- Runnells, IA16 mi
- Des Moines, IA16 mi
- Pleasant Hill, IA17 mi
- West Des Moines, IA18 mi
- Windsor Heights, IA18 mi
- Clive, IA21 mi
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