NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lenox, 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 Lenox, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 133 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 15 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 133
- EF3 or stronger
- 15
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Lenox
The highest rating among the 133 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 5 times; the most recent, on May 21, 2024, came within 15 miles. Of the 133, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 67 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 37. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Lenox has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 59% of the 241 Iowa cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 67 times since 1957, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 72% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Lenox.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Lenox
By decade
- 2020s21(2 EF3+)
- 2010s26
- 2000s20(1 EF3+)
- 1990s18(3 EF3+)
- 1980s17(2 EF3+)
- 1970s14(3 EF3+)
- 1960s9(1 EF3+)
- 1950s8(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2024 | EF4 | 15 mi | 40.65 mi | 5 / 35 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F4 | 14 mi | 56 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F4 | 16 mi | 49 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 27, 1995 | F4 | 12 mi | 57 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 24, 1989 | F4 | in town | 49 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF3 | 19 mi | 33.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 2001 | F3 | 20 mi | 76.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1984 | F3 | 12 mi | 25 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Mar 29, 1979 | F3 | 12 mi | 57 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Mar 29, 1979 | F3 | 3 mi | 29.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 5, 1971 | F3 | 12 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Jun 19, 1964 | F3 | 19 mi | 10.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 133, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lenox
The Storm Prediction Center has 67 hail reports within 10 miles of Lenox since 1957, made on 38 separate days. Of these, 55 were 1 inch across or larger, and 11 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 5, 1971. The most recent report is from October 30, 2024. June has the most reports, 30.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lenox
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Corning, IA, 14 miles northwest of Lenox at 1,190 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 12°F. May and June are the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 35.3 inches over 62 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 17 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 148 nights a year. Snowfall averages 27.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 35.3 inches is more than at 34 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (27%). Creston, 13 miles northeast, has its own station (Greenfield, IA): 36.8 inches a year, 1.5 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 12 | 0.8 | 3 | 8.2 |
| Feb | 37 | 16 | 1.2 | 3 | 6.2 |
| Mar | 49 | 27 | 2.1 | 5 | 3.3 |
| Apr | 61 | 37 | 3.4 | 7 | 1.2 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 5.2 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 59 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 64 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 61 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 52 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 40 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 49 | 27 | 1.9 | 4 | 1.6 |
| Dec | 36 | 18 | 1.4 | 3 | 6.9 |
| Year | 60 | 38 | 35.3 | 62 | 27.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Corning, 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 Lenox
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 79 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lenox: 55 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 flash floods, 8 heavy rain events and 3 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $22.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on May 22, 2004. June has had the most flash floods, 9 of 13. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 114 have had fewer than Lenox.
June 12, 2010: flood 4 miles from the centre of Lenox — $20.0 million damage.
September 9, 2014: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Lenox — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Water over many secondary roads in southern Union County. Water in areas that rarely see flooding.”
May 22, 1998: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Lenox — $210,000 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
Adams County, which includes Lenox, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Adams County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.0 million a year, the 90th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.6 million (20%), 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 Lenox
- Creston, IA13 mi
- Corning, IA14 mi
- Bedford, IA19 mi
- Mount Ayr, IA21 mi
- Greenfield, IA28 mi
- Clarinda, IA29 mi
- Lamoni, IA36 mi
- Red Oak, IA37 mi
- Winterset, IA39 mi
- Osceola, IA40 mi
- Stuart, IA42 mi
- Leon, IA43 mi
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