NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Iola, TX
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
29 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Iola, Texas since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Beryl in 2024. Since 1950, 58 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 27
- Tornadoes
- 58
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Iola
The strongest storm to pass near Iola was an unnamed storm in 1900, a Category 1 hurricane with 86 mph winds when its centre passed 29 miles away. The record near Iola begins with an unnamed storm in 1854; the most recent system was Beryl in 2024, a tropical storm 30 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1940s, with 6 systems. Of the 29 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Iola has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 62% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The highest rating among the 58 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 10, 1959, came within 20 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on November 15, 1987, killed 3 people. Of the 58, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 30 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 13. The most recent tornado was on October 25, 2025. Of the 753 Texas cities, 84% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Iola. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 10 times since 1994, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 753 Texas cities, 99% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Iola.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Iola
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | BerylJul 8 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2008 | IkeSep 13 | 51 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | JerryOct 16 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1989 | ChantalAug 1 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1989 | AllisonJun 27 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1983 | AliciaAug 18 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1973 | DeliaSep 6 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1970 | FeliceSep 16 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1959 | DebraJul 26 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormOct 4 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormAug 25 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormAug 28 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormJul 28 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1942 | Unnamed 1942 stormAug 22 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormAug 14 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1921 | Unnamed 1921 stormJun 23 | overhead | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 18 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 27 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 9 | 29 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 13 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1891 | Unnamed 1891 stormJul 6 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormJul 6 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormJun 18 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 15 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1875 | Unnamed 1875 stormSep 17 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormJun 10 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormJun 4 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1854 | Unnamed 1854 stormSep 20 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Iola: 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 Iola
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s8
- 2000s17
- 1990s10
- 1980s3
- 1960s7
- 1950s8(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 1959 | F3 | 20 mi | 15.8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 5, 1956 | F3 | 12 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1954 | F3 | 23 mi | 139.9 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Nov 15, 1987 | F2 | 15 mi | 10 mi | 3 / 2 |
| Apr 24, 2019 | EF2 | 13 mi | 1.74 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 3, 2012 | EF2 | 25 mi | 0.51 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 10, 1981 | F2 | 6 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 1, 1967 | F2 | 12 mi | 0.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 22, 1954 | F2 | 12 mi | 7.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1954 | F2 | 15 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 2, 1953 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 2024 | EF1 | 9 mi | 4.32 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 58, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Iola
The Storm Prediction Center has 10 hail reports within 10 miles of Iola since 1994. Of these, 5 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently August 3, 2005. The most recent report is from May 7, 2019. April and May have the most reports, 4 each.
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 Madisonville, TX, 17 miles northeast of Iola at 252 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 96°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 62°F and 37°F. May is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 46.9 inches over 62 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 49% of the year's precipitation (23.0 of 46.9 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 29 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (9); a normal September there has highs of 91°F and 3.9 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 107 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 36 nights a year. Snowfall averages 0.5 inches a year, most of it in February. That 46.9 inches is more than at 249 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (80%). Anderson, 16 miles south, has its own station (Washington Sp, TX): 44.1 inches a year, 2.8 less than here, and the same August average high, 96°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 62 | 37 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Feb | 66 | 41 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Mar | 72 | 47 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 79 | 54 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| May | 85 | 63 | 4.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 92 | 69 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 95 | 72 | 2.9 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 96 | 71 | 3.4 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 91 | 65 | 3.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 82 | 55 | 4.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 71 | 45 | 4.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 64 | 38 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Year | 80 | 55 | 46.9 | 62 | 0.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Madisonville, TX (252 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 30 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Iola: 24 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 flash floods and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $3.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 67 mph, on December 27, 2018. October has had the most flash floods, 2 of 5. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 68 have had fewer than Iola.
May 1, 2024: flood 6 miles from the centre of Iola — $3.5 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
Grimes County, which includes Iola, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1993, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 7 hurricanes, 6 fires, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Grimes County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes and lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.4 million a year, the 115th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.1 million (22%), 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
- North Zulch, TX10 mi
- Bedias, TX11 mi
- Anderson, TX16 mi
- Bryan, TX17 mi
- College Station, TX17 mi
- Madisonville, TX18 mi
- Normangee, TX21 mi
- Navasota, TX26 mi
- Midway, TX28 mi
- Franklin, TX29 mi
- Hearne, TX31 mi
- Washington, TX33 mi
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