NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lake Mills, 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 Lake Mills, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 137 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 137
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Lake Mills
The highest rating among the 137 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 5 times; the most recent, on June 17, 2010, came within 12 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 30, 1967, killed 5 people. Of the 137, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 58 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 55. The most recent tornado was on August 17, 2025. Lake Mills has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 63% of the 241 Iowa cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 56 times since 1960, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 86% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Lake Mills.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Lake Mills
By decade
- 2020s24
- 2010s23(2 EF3+)
- 2000s11
- 1990s20(1 EF3+)
- 1980s27(2 EF3+)
- 1970s5(1 EF3+)
- 1960s18(6 EF3+)
- 1950s9(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 1967 | F4 | 11 mi | 38.7 mi | 5 / 35 |
| Jun 17, 2010 | EF4 | 12 mi | 16.91 mi | 1 / 14 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F4 | 18 mi | 7.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F4 | 19 mi | 13.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1953 | F4 | 6 mi | 26.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F3 | 18 mi | 18.4 mi | 2 / 23 |
| Jun 17, 2010 | EF3 | 20 mi | 18.15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1994 | F3 | 23 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1984 | F3 | 19 mi | 14 mi | 0 / 12 |
| May 17, 1982 | F3 | 16 mi | 46 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 1974 | F3 | 16 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F3 | 17 mi | 17.2 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 Lake Mills
The Storm Prediction Center has 56 hail reports within 10 miles of Lake Mills since 1960, made on 35 separate days. Of these, 37 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 7, 2008. The most recent report is from June 20, 2025. June has the most reports, 19.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lake Mills
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Northwood, IA, 15 miles east of Lake Mills at 1,190 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 79°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 21°F and 4°F. June is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 35.4 inches over 63 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 4 days a year, almost all from June to July. Lows fall below freezing on about 164 nights a year. Snowfall averages 40.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 35.4 inches is more than at 37 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (30%). Forest City, 13 miles southwest, has its own station (Britt 3E, IA): 34.3 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 79°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | 4 | 1.1 | 3 | 10.9 |
| Feb | 26 | 8 | 1.0 | 3 | 9.3 |
| Mar | 38 | 21 | 2.0 | 4 | 6.2 |
| Apr | 54 | 33 | 3.8 | 7 | 3.3 |
| May | 66 | 45 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 76 | 56 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 79 | 59 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 76 | 57 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 48 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 57 | 35 | 2.7 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 41 | 23 | 1.7 | 4 | 2.6 |
| Dec | 27 | 11 | 1.3 | 4 | 7.6 |
| Year | 53 | 33 | 35.4 | 63 | 40.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Northwood, IA (1,190 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 Lake Mills
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 75 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lake Mills: 43 thunderstorm wind reports, 21 heavy rain events, 7 flash floods and 4 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $21.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on July 15, 1998. July has had the most flash floods, 4 of 7. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 42 have had fewer than Lake Mills.
June 12, 2010: flood 6 miles from the centre of Lake Mills — $20.0 million damage.
June 13, 2013: flood 2 miles from the centre of Lake Mills — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Portions of Apple Ave washed out or with water over the road at 470th, 490th, and between Apple and HWY 69.”
June 27, 1998: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Lake Mills — $180,000 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
Winnebago County, which includes Lake Mills, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on June 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Winnebago County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Very Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.6 million a year, the 82nd highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.9 million (30%), 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 Lake Mills
- Forest City, IA13 mi
- Northwood, IA14 mi
- Albert Lea, MN18 mi
- Clear Lake, IA21 mi
- Garner, IA22 mi
- Wells, MN24 mi
- Mason City, IA24 mi
- Britt, IA26 mi
- Saint Ansgar, IA29 mi
- Nora Springs, IA32 mi
- Austin, MN32 mi
- Blue Earth, MN33 mi
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