NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Iola, KS
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 Iola, Kansas since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 84 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 84
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Iola
The highest rating among the 84 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on February 28, 2007, came within 22 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 12, 1964, killed 3 people. Of the 84, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 37 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 31. The most recent tornado was on June 29, 2024. Of the 171 Kansas cities on this site, 92% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Iola. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 163 times since 1964, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Of the 171 Kansas cities, 63% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Iola.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Iola
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s2
- 2000s27(2 EF3+)
- 1990s3
- 1980s12
- 1970s8
- 1960s11(1 EF3+)
- 1950s13(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 12, 1964 | F4 | 14 mi | 19.4 mi | 3 / 9 |
| Feb 28, 2007 | EF4 | 22 mi | 24.49 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2003 | F3 | 8 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 20, 1956 | F3 | 8 mi | 69.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | EF2 | 22 mi | 6.71 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2003 | F2 | 21 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2003 | F2 | 8 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Mar 26, 1991 | F2 | 4 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 7, 1986 | F2 | 18 mi | 22.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 15, 1982 | F2 | 6 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 27, 1973 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 24, 1973 | F2 | 19 mi | 7.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 84, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Iola
The Storm Prediction Center has 163 hail reports within 10 miles of Iola since 1964, made on 79 separate days. Of these, 104 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.25 inches, fell on September 13, 2005. The most recent report is from May 19, 2025. May has the most reports, 49.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Iola
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Iola 1 W, KS, 2 miles west of Iola at 954 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 20°F. May is the wettest at 5.8 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.3 inches; the year adds up to 42.0 inches over 62 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 40 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 106 nights a year. Snowfall averages 7.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.0 inches is more than at 93 of the 103 Kansas stations used on this site (90%). Humboldt, 9 miles south, has its own station (Humboldt, KS): 42.3 inches a year, 0.3 more than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 20 | 1.3 | 3 | 2.7 |
| Feb | 47 | 25 | 1.6 | 4 | 1.1 |
| Mar | 57 | 34 | 2.6 | 5 | 1.0 |
| Apr | 67 | 45 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 75 | 56 | 5.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 65 | 5.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 69 | 4.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 67 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 58 | 4.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 69 | 46 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 56 | 35 | 2.4 | 4 | 0.2 |
| Dec | 44 | 24 | 1.8 | 3 | 2.4 |
| Year | 66 | 45 | 42.0 | 62 | 7.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Iola 1 W, KS (954 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 Iola
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 151 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Iola: 96 thunderstorm wind reports, 21 floods, 19 flash floods and 15 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $8.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on March 8, 2002. May has had the most flash floods, 5 of 19. Of the 169 Kansas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 102 have had fewer than Iola.
June 11, 2021: thunderstorm wind in Iola — 1 injured.
NWS: “A large tree was uprooted with numerous other reports of tree and limbs down. One tree fell on top of a car.”
July 1, 2007: flash flood in Iola — $6.0 million damage.
NWS: “Extremely heavy rainfall from the end of June into early July caused flash flooding throughout Allen County. The flash flooding and the ensuing river flooding caused an estimated 3 million dollars in damages to private property and 3 million dollars in damage to public infrastructure.”
October 6, 2016: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Iola — $750,000 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 Iola's ZIP code 66749 have filed 89 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $3.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Thunderstorms in 2007: 66 claims (74% of all) and $2.4 million. 83% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 65 Kansas cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 41 have fewer than Iola.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorms2007 | 66 | $2.4 million |
Allen County, which includes Iola, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 flood, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on July 15, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Allen County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $7.7 million a year, the 56th highest of 105 Kansas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.9 million (51%), 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 Iola
- Humboldt, KS9 mi
- Chanute, KS18 mi
- Yates Center, KS19 mi
- Garnett, KS25 mi
- Burlington, KS27 mi
- Fredonia, KS36 mi
- Fort Scott, KS37 mi
- Neodesha, KS38 mi
- Parsons, KS41 mi
- Girard, KS41 mi
- Pleasanton, KS42 mi
- Osawatomie, KS45 mi
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