NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Madrid, 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 Madrid, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 197 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 14 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 197
- EF3 or stronger
- 14
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Madrid
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Madrid; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 43 mph winds when its centre passed 61 miles away. Madrid is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The strongest of the 197 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 13, 1976; its path came within 5 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on June 18, 1974, killed 2 people. Of the 197, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 90 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 63. The most recent tornado was on July 19, 2025. Madrid has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 96% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 111 times since 1969, with stones up to 5.5 inches. Madrid has more hail reports within 10 miles than 64% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Madrid
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 61 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 Madrid: 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 Madrid
By decade
- 2020s21
- 2010s25
- 2000s44(1 EF3+)
- 1990s30(4 EF3+)
- 1980s31(2 EF3+)
- 1970s21(4 EF3+)
- 1960s16
- 1950s9(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 13, 1976 | F5 | 5 mi | 21.3 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Jun 18, 1974 | F4 | 14 mi | 15.3 mi | 2 / 50 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F4 | 8 mi | 56 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 27, 1995 | F4 | 20 mi | 57 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 24, 1989 | F4 | 24 mi | 66 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 28, 1986 | F4 | 14 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1959 | F4 | 15 mi | 41.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 12, 2005 | F3 | 25 mi | 17.6 mi | 1 / 3 |
| May 20, 1953 | F3 | 20 mi | 116.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Mar 22, 1991 | F3 | 9 mi | 43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F3 | 24 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F3 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 197, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Madrid
The Storm Prediction Center has 111 hail reports within 10 miles of Madrid since 1969, made on 55 separate days. Of these, 78 were 1 inch across or larger, and 11 reached 2 inches. The largest, 5.5 inches, fell on May 22, 2004. The most recent report is from March 14, 2025. May has the most reports, 32.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Madrid
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ames 8 WSW, IA, 10 miles north of Madrid at 1,099 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 29°F and 12°F. May is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 36.0 inches over 65 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 141 nights a year. Snowfall averages 32.7 inches a year, most of it in February. That 36.0 inches is more than at 42 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (34%). Woodward, 7 miles west, has its own station (Perry, IA): 36.2 inches a year, 0.2 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29 | 12 | 0.7 | 2 | 7.8 |
| Feb | 34 | 16 | 1.0 | 3 | 10.0 |
| Mar | 48 | 28 | 2.0 | 4 | 4.2 |
| Apr | 62 | 39 | 3.9 | 8 | 1.3 |
| May | 73 | 51 | 5.0 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 61 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 64 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 62 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 54 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 41 | 2.6 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 48 | 29 | 1.9 | 4 | 2.0 |
| Dec | 34 | 18 | 1.2 | 3 | 6.9 |
| Year | 60 | 39 | 36.0 | 65 | 32.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ames 8 WSW, IA (1,099 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 Madrid
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 223 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Madrid: 136 thunderstorm wind reports, 54 heavy rain events, 26 flash floods, 6 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $31.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on July 11, 2011. June has had the most flash floods, 13 of 26. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 188 have had fewer than Madrid.
May 22, 2004: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Madrid — 2 injured.
September 6, 2001: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Madrid — 1 injured, $85,000 damage.
May 19, 2013: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Madrid — 1 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
Boone County, which includes Madrid, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, on August 17, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Boone County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, 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 $16.5 million a year, the 28th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.9 million (36%), 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 Madrid
- Woodward, IA7 mi
- Polk City, IA8 mi
- Granger, IA8 mi
- Huxley, IA10 mi
- Ames, IA13 mi
- Grimes, IA14 mi
- Boone, IA14 mi
- Johnston, IA15 mi
- Ankeny, IA15 mi
- Dallas Center, IA15 mi
- Perry, IA16 mi
- Ogden, IA17 mi
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