NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Marengo, 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 Marengo, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 116 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 116
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Marengo
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Marengo; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 47 mph winds when its centre passed 13 miles away. Marengo 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 116 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 31, 2023, came within 22 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on June 7, 1984, killed 3 people. Of the 116, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 59 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 32. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Of the 241 Iowa cities, 62% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Marengo. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 80 times since 1971, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 60% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Marengo.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Marengo
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Marengo: 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 Marengo
By decade
- 2020s14(1 EF3+)
- 2010s20
- 2000s25(1 EF3+)
- 1990s9
- 1980s16(1 EF3+)
- 1970s15(4 EF3+)
- 1960s10(3 EF3+)
- 1950s7
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 1984 | F4 | 19 mi | 134 mi | 3 / 64 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF4 | 22 mi | 19.9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Aug 12, 1974 | F4 | 6 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | 24 mi | 87.7 mi | 1 / 12 |
| May 21, 2004 | F3 | 22 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 24 mi | 9.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1971 | F3 | 18 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1971 | F3 | 8 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1966 | F3 | 21 mi | 27.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 23, 1965 | F3 | 19 mi | 47.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 23 mi | 16.93 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 5, 2022 | EF2 | 24 mi | 8.54 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 116, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Marengo
The Storm Prediction Center has 80 hail reports within 10 miles of Marengo since 1971, made on 46 separate days. Of these, 52 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 7, 2023. The most recent report is from May 21, 2024. May has the most reports, 26.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Marengo
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Williamsburg 1E, IA, 10 miles southeast of Marengo at 780 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 28°F and 10°F. May is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.2 inches; the year adds up to 37.8 inches over 68 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 151 nights a year. Snowfall averages 28.1 inches a year, most of it in February. That 37.8 inches is more than at 83 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (67%). Amana, 10 miles east, has its own station (Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport, IA): 36.1 inches a year, 1.7 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 10 | 1.2 | 4 | 7.6 |
| Feb | 33 | 14 | 1.5 | 4 | 7.7 |
| Mar | 47 | 26 | 2.2 | 6 | 3.6 |
| Apr | 60 | 36 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.9 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 81 | 59 | 4.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 63 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 60 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 51 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 39 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 47 | 27 | 2.2 | 4 | 1.6 |
| Dec | 34 | 16 | 1.7 | 4 | 6.3 |
| Year | 59 | 38 | 37.8 | 68 | 28.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Williamsburg 1E, IA (780 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 Marengo
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 110 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Marengo: 75 thunderstorm wind reports, 25 flash floods, 8 floods, 1 heavy rain event and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 10, and the NWS estimated $2.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on June 29, 2012. June has had the most flash floods, 15 of 25. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 185 have had fewer than Marengo.
June 29, 1998: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Marengo — 9 injured, $800,000 damage.
September 7, 2001: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Marengo — 1 injured.
June 22, 2007: flash flood in Marengo — $750,000 damage.
NWS: “Eight to 12 inches of rain fell in the Marengo area, causing widespread major flash flooding throughout town. Water covered numerous roads, closing them or making them completely impassable.”
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 Marengo's ZIP code 52301 have filed 27 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $132,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 15% 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, 36 have fewer than Marengo.
Iowa County, which includes Marengo, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 21 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 floods, 9 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Iowa County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes 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 $11.1 million a year, the 65th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.5 million (40%), 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 Marengo
- Williamsburg, IA10 mi
- Amana, IA10 mi
- Belle Plaine, IA12 mi
- Fairfax, IA17 mi
- Atkins, IA18 mi
- Brooklyn, IA19 mi
- Swisher, IA20 mi
- Tiffin, IA22 mi
- North Liberty, IA24 mi
- Wellman, IA24 mi
- Cedar Rapids, IA25 mi
- Coralville, IA26 mi
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