NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Iowa City, 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 Iowa City, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 130 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 130
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for Iowa City
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Iowa City; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 48 mph winds when its centre passed 6 miles away. Iowa City 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 130 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on March 31, 2023, came within 16 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on June 7, 1984, killed 3 people. Of the 130, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 57 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 40. The most recent tornado was on June 25, 2024. Iowa City has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 54% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 157 times since 1968, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Iowa City has more hail reports within 10 miles than 80% of the 241 Iowa cities.
Compare Iowa City's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Iowa City
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Iowa City: 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 Iowa City
By decade
- 2020s23(1 EF3+)
- 2010s13
- 2000s21
- 1990s18(1 EF3+)
- 1980s27(1 EF3+)
- 1970s14
- 1960s8(1 EF3+)
- 1950s6(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 1984 | F4 | 17 mi | 134 mi | 3 / 64 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF4 | 16 mi | 19.9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 15, 1998 | F3 | 8 mi | 47 mi | 0 / 47 |
| Apr 23, 1965 | F3 | 11 mi | 47.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 20, 1953 | F3 | 23 mi | 38.6 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 22, 1962 | F2 | in town | 4.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 20 mi | 19.56 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 20 mi | 16.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 11 mi | 8.97 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 4 mi | 14.69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 5 mi | 16.93 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 17, 2016 | EF2 | 22 mi | 3.99 mi | 0 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 130, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Iowa City
The Storm Prediction Center has 157 hail reports within 10 miles of Iowa City since 1968, made on 79 separate days. Of these, 85 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 6 days, most recently April 13, 2006. The most recent report is from July 10, 2025. May has the most reports, 37.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Iowa City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Iowa City Municipal Airport, IA, 2 miles southwest of Iowa City at 650 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 15°F. June is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 35.7 inches over 63 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 19 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 135 nights a year. That 35.7 inches is more than at 41 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (33%). West Branch, 10 miles east, has its own station (Iowa City, IA): 38.6 inches a year, 2.9 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 15 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Feb | 36 | 19 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Mar | 50 | 30 | 2.2 | 5 |
| Apr | 63 | 40 | 3.8 | 7 |
| May | 73 | 52 | 4.5 | 8 |
| Jun | 83 | 62 | 5.3 | 8 |
| Jul | 86 | 66 | 3.9 | 5 |
| Aug | 84 | 63 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Sep | 78 | 54 | 3.2 | 5 |
| Oct | 64 | 42 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Nov | 49 | 30 | 2.2 | 4 |
| Dec | 36 | 20 | 1.5 | 3 |
| Year | 61 | 41 | 35.7 | 63 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Iowa City Municipal Airport, IA (650 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 Iowa City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 231 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Iowa City: 177 thunderstorm wind reports, 33 flash floods, 14 floods, 6 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 1 person and injured 15, and the NWS estimated $48.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on September 19, 2013. June has had the most flash floods, 19 of 33. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 200 have had fewer than Iowa City.
May 29, 2011: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Iowa City — 1 killed, $10,000 damage.
June 29, 1998: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Iowa City — 12 injured, $44.7 million damage.
August 20, 2010: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Iowa City — 1 injured, $1,000 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 Iowa City's 5 ZIP codes have filed 315 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $18.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Midwest Flooding in 1993: 67 claims (21% of all) and $950,000, then Storm in 2008 with 34. The year with the most claims was 2008, with 129. 33% 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, 79 have fewer than Iowa City.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 67 | $950,000 |
| Storm2008 | 34 | $2.2 million |
Johnson County, which includes Iowa City, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 floods, 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, on August 17, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Johnson County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively High for tornadoes and hail; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $96.3 million a year, the 2nd highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $36.2 million (38%), is from tornadoes.
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.