NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Johnston, 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 Johnston, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 202 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 202
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Johnston
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Johnston; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 43 mph winds when its centre passed 47 miles away. Johnston is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The strongest of the 202 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 13, 1976; its path came within 19 miles. The deadliest, an EF4 on March 5, 2022, killed 6 people. Of the 202, 13 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 104 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 68. The most recent tornado was on July 15, 2024. Johnston has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 98% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 549 times since 1958, with stones up to 3.25 inches. Johnston has more hail reports within 10 miles than 97% of the 241 Iowa cities.
Compare Johnston's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Johnston
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 47 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 Johnston: 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 Johnston
By decade
- 2020s26(1 EF3+)
- 2010s32
- 2000s46(1 EF3+)
- 1990s26(4 EF3+)
- 1980s32(1 EF3+)
- 1970s20(4 EF3+)
- 1960s13
- 1950s7(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 13, 1976 | F5 | 19 mi | 21.3 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Mar 5, 2022 | EF4 | 14 mi | 70.57 mi | 6 / 5 |
| Jun 18, 1974 | F4 | 6 mi | 15.3 mi | 2 / 50 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F4 | 10 mi | 56 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 27, 1995 | F4 | 23 mi | 57 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 28, 1986 | F4 | 8 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 2001 | F3 | 22 mi | 76.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F3 | 23 mi | 39 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Mar 22, 1991 | F3 | 16 mi | 43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1979 | F3 | 22 mi | 57 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F3 | 20 mi | 17.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1950 | F3 | 22 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 5 |
The strongest 12 of 202, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Johnston
The Storm Prediction Center has 549 hail reports within 10 miles of Johnston since 1958, made on 160 separate days. Of these, 353 were 1 inch across or larger, and 33 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.25 inches, fell on July 9, 2021. The most recent report is from May 19, 2025. June has the most reports, 136.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Johnston
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Des Moines Wsfo-Johnston, IA, 4 miles north of Johnston at 959 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 13°F. June is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 36.4 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 135 nights a year. Snowfall averages 38.0 inches a year, most of it in February. That 36.4 inches is more than at 54 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (44%). Windsor Heights, 5 miles south, has its own station (Des Moines International Airport, IA): 36.6 inches a year, 0.2 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 13 | 1.0 | 3 | 9.7 |
| Feb | 35 | 17 | 1.3 | 4 | 10.5 |
| Mar | 49 | 29 | 2.2 | 5 | 5.0 |
| Apr | 62 | 40 | 4.0 | 7 | 1.6 |
| May | 72 | 52 | 4.8 | 9 | 0.2 |
| Jun | 81 | 62 | 5.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 66 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 64 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 55 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 43 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 48 | 30 | 2.0 | 4 | 2.2 |
| Dec | 35 | 19 | 1.5 | 3 | 8.3 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 36.4 | 65 | 38.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Des Moines Wsfo-Johnston, IA (959 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 Johnston
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 1,119 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Johnston: 534 thunderstorm wind reports, 344 heavy rain events, 113 floods, 102 flash floods and 26 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 49, and the NWS estimated $115.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 120 mph, on June 29, 1998. June has had the most flash floods, 59 of 102. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 239 have had fewer than Johnston.
June 17, 2014: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Johnston — 1 killed, $1,000 damage.
June 29, 1998: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Johnston — 40 injured, $40.0 million damage.
June 18, 2009: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Johnston — 3 injured.
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 Johnston's ZIP code 50131 have filed 26 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1993, and were paid $966,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 19% 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, 33 have fewer than Johnston.
Polk County, which includes Johnston, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 8 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 Polk County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively High for tornadoes, hail and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $137.6 million a year, the highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $60.6 million (44%), 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.