NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Jefferson, 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 Jefferson, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 137 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 137
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Jefferson
The highest rating among the 137 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on May 27, 1995, came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on November 12, 2005, killed 1 person. Of the 137, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 82 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 34. The most recent tornado was on May 24, 2024. Jefferson has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 63% of the 241 Iowa cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 73 times since 1960, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 65% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Jefferson.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Jefferson
By decade
- 2020s25(1 EF3+)
- 2010s26
- 2000s31(1 EF3+)
- 1990s24(2 EF3+)
- 1980s10
- 1970s6(1 EF3+)
- 1960s9(1 EF3+)
- 1950s6(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 27, 1995 | F4 | 9 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 27, 1995 | F4 | 21 mi | 57 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 5, 1965 | F4 | 20 mi | 9.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1959 | F4 | 15 mi | 41.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 12, 2005 | F3 | 19 mi | 17.6 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Jul 14, 2021 | EF3 | 21 mi | 10.81 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F3 | 19 mi | 17.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 20 mi | 16.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 10 mi | 18.83 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 19 mi | 17.97 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 9 mi | 17.69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 7 mi | 2.74 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 137, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Jefferson
The Storm Prediction Center has 73 hail reports within 10 miles of Jefferson since 1960, made on 53 separate days. Of these, 55 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 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 May 21, 2024. June has the most reports, 20.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Jefferson
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Jefferson, IA, 1 mile southwest of Jefferson at 1,055 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 28°F and 9°F. June is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 35.5 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 June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 149 nights a year. Snowfall averages 31.7 inches a year, most of it in January and February. That 35.5 inches is more than at 40 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (32%). Ogden, 17 miles east, has its own station (Boone, IA): 39.3 inches a year, 3.8 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 9 | 1.0 | 3 | 8.2 |
| Feb | 33 | 13 | 1.3 | 3 | 8.2 |
| Mar | 46 | 25 | 2.0 | 4 | 4.8 |
| Apr | 60 | 36 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.9 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 59 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 63 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 60 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 51 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 39 | 2.6 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Nov | 46 | 26 | 1.7 | 4 | 1.5 |
| Dec | 33 | 16 | 1.4 | 3 | 7.5 |
| Year | 58 | 37 | 35.5 | 63 | 31.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Jefferson, IA (1,055 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 Jefferson
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 104 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Jefferson: 68 thunderstorm wind reports, 26 heavy rain events, 5 flash floods and 5 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on July 21, 2008. May has had the most flash floods, 3 of 5. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 27 have had fewer than Jefferson.
April 24, 2007: flood in Jefferson — $250,000 damage.
April 13, 2018: thunderstorm wind in Jefferson — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “Emergency Manager relayed damages in Jefferson to several buildings and trees, power lines down, and trees on cars.”
May 30, 2008: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Jefferson — $110,000 damage.
NWS: “Numerous locations have water across the road throughout the county. Locations include Highway 25 south of Scranton, Old Highway 30 east and west of Jefferson, Highway 4 north of Jefferson.”
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
Greene County, which includes Jefferson, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on February 23, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Greene County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes; Relatively Low for hail and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.2 million a year, the 56th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.6 million (21%), 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.
Cities near Jefferson
- Ogden, IA17 mi
- Perry, IA18 mi
- Panora, IA22 mi
- Guthrie Center, IA24 mi
- Carroll, IA25 mi
- Woodward, IA26 mi
- Boone, IA26 mi
- Rockwell City, IA29 mi
- Madrid, IA31 mi
- Dallas Center, IA32 mi
- Adel, IA33 mi
- Granger, IA34 mi
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