NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Manchester, 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 Manchester, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 120 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 120
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Manchester
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Manchester; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 49 mph winds when its centre passed 46 miles away. Manchester is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The highest rating among the 120 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 13, 1990, came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on April 23, 1961, killed 1 person. Of the 120, 15 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 65 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 28. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Of the 241 Iowa cities, 56% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Manchester. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 93 times since 1972, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Manchester has more hail reports within 10 miles than 52% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Manchester
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Manchester: 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 Manchester
By decade
- 2020s16
- 2010s17
- 2000s32(1 EF3+)
- 1990s22(3 EF3+)
- 1980s7
- 1970s5(2 EF3+)
- 1960s13(2 EF3+)
- 1950s8(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 13, 1990 | F4 | 15 mi | 19 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 12, 1974 | F4 | 9 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Apr 30, 1954 | F4 | 4 mi | 80.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | 18 mi | 87.7 mi | 1 / 12 |
| May 25, 2008 | EF3 | 6 mi | 31.99 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 27, 1995 | F3 | in town | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 1993 | F3 | 1 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1971 | F3 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 7, 1964 | F3 | 23 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | EF2 | 23 mi | 6.74 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 28, 2017 | EF2 | 19 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 28, 2017 | EF2 | 15 mi | 11.69 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 120, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Manchester
The Storm Prediction Center has 93 hail reports within 10 miles of Manchester since 1972, made on 55 separate days. Of these, 52 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on July 24, 2009. The most recent report is from July 3, 2025. July has the most reports, 22.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Manchester
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Manchester #2, IA, in Manchester at 990 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 26°F and 8°F. June is the wettest at 6.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 38.5 inches over 70 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 158 nights a year. Snowfall averages 34.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 38.5 inches is more than at 99 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (80%). Strawberry Point, 15 miles north, has its own station (Elkader 6 SSW, IA): 38.9 inches a year, 0.4 more than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26 | 8 | 1.1 | 4 | 9.2 |
| Feb | 31 | 12 | 1.4 | 4 | 8.7 |
| Mar | 44 | 24 | 2.1 | 5 | 4.2 |
| Apr | 58 | 35 | 3.8 | 7 | 1.4 |
| May | 70 | 47 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 58 | 6.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 61 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 58 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 49 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 37 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 45 | 26 | 2.2 | 4 | 2.3 |
| Dec | 32 | 15 | 1.6 | 4 | 8.5 |
| Year | 57 | 36 | 38.5 | 70 | 34.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Manchester #2, IA (990 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 Manchester
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 126 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Manchester: 102 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 flash floods, 5 floods, 3 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $28.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on May 10, 2003. May has had the most flash floods, 6 of 14. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 124 have had fewer than Manchester.
July 24, 2010: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Manchester — $25.0 million damage.
NWS: “Record flooding on the Maquoketa River resulted in the failure of the earthen berm on the south side of the Lake Delhi/Hartwick Lake dam during the late morning and afternoon of July 24.”
May 10, 2003: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Manchester — $2.0 million damage.
NWS: “Also reported by law enforcement”
October 7, 2007: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Manchester — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “There were several reports of rainfall of 6 inches in the city of Manchester, with a trained spotter measuring 3 inches in one hour. Considerable basement and street flooding occurred, and there was some damage to gravel roads in the surrounding rural areas.”
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 Manchester's ZIP code 52057 have filed 84 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1999, and were paid $4.0 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Storm in 2008: 10 claims (12% of all) and $111,000. 12% 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, 64 have fewer than Manchester.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Storm2008 | 10 | $111,000 |
Delaware County, which includes Manchester, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 23, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Delaware County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $17.1 million a year, the 26th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.2 million (60%), 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 Manchester
- Strawberry Point, IA15 mi
- Dyersville, IA17 mi
- Central City, IA20 mi
- Independence, IA22 mi
- Monticello, IA22 mi
- Farley, IA23 mi
- Guttenberg, IA26 mi
- Center Point, IA26 mi
- Epworth, IA27 mi
- Cascade, IA27 mi
- Oelwein, IA28 mi
- Anamosa, IA28 mi
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