NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Marshalltown, 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 Marshalltown, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 129 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 129
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
13 deaths in all
What the records show for Marshalltown
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Marshalltown; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 46 mph winds when its centre passed 46 miles away. Marshalltown 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 129 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on March 5, 2022, came within 22 miles. Of the 129, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 66 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 35. The most recent tornado was on June 25, 2024. Marshalltown has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 53% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 73 times since 1960, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 65% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Marshalltown.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Marshalltown
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Marshalltown: 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 Marshalltown
By decade
- 2020s11(1 EF3+)
- 2010s22(1 EF3+)
- 2000s33
- 1990s15(2 EF3+)
- 1980s6(3 EF3+)
- 1970s19(3 EF3+)
- 1960s19(2 EF3+)
- 1950s4(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 5, 2022 | EF4 | 22 mi | 70.57 mi | 6 / 5 |
| May 30, 1989 | F4 | 16 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 24, 1989 | F4 | 11 mi | 66 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 28, 1986 | F4 | 19 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 16, 1978 | F3 | 13 mi | 31.8 mi | 6 / 45 |
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | in town | 87.7 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Jul 19, 2018 | EF3 | in town | 8.41 mi | 0 / 22 |
| Mar 22, 1991 | F3 | 25 mi | 43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F3 | 21 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 4, 1977 | F3 | 12 mi | 17.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 9, 1975 | F3 | 25 mi | 39.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1966 | F3 | 16 mi | 27.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 129, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Marshalltown
The Storm Prediction Center has 73 hail reports within 10 miles of Marshalltown since 1960, made on 50 separate days. Of these, 42 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on July 18, 2003. The most recent report is from September 16, 2025. June and July have the most reports, 15 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Marshalltown
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Marshalltown, IA, 2 miles northwest of Marshalltown at 870 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 9°F. June is the wettest at 5.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 38.0 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 152 nights a year. Snowfall averages 25.3 inches a year, most of it in December. That 38.0 inches is more than at 86 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (69%). State Center, 14 miles west, has its own station (Colo, IA): 36.4 inches a year, 1.6 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 | 9 | 1.0 | 3 | 6.3 |
| Feb | 32 | 13 | 1.2 | 3 | 5.3 |
| Mar | 45 | 25 | 2.1 | 5 | 3.3 |
| Apr | 60 | 36 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.7 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 4.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 59 | 5.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 63 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 60 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 51 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 39 | 2.7 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 47 | 26 | 2.1 | 4 | 1.7 |
| Dec | 34 | 16 | 1.4 | 4 | 7.8 |
| Year | 58 | 37 | 38.0 | 68 | 25.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Marshalltown, IA (870 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 Marshalltown
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 205 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Marshalltown: 115 thunderstorm wind reports, 37 floods, 34 heavy rain events, 17 flash floods and 2 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $258.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 106 mph, on August 10, 2020. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 155 have had fewer than Marshalltown.
June 1, 2008: flood 9 miles from the centre of Marshalltown — $250.1 million damage.
June 27, 2010: flood 9 miles from the centre of Marshalltown — $2.3 million damage.
June 6, 2008: flood 9 miles from the centre of Marshalltown — $600,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Marshalltown's ZIP code 50158 have filed 29 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $170,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 10% 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, 39 have fewer than Marshalltown.
Marshall County, which includes Marshalltown, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 floods, 8 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 Marshall County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and hail; Relatively Low for 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 $22.7 million a year, the 17th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $9.9 million (44%), 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 Marshalltown
- State Center, IA14 mi
- Toledo, IA17 mi
- Tama, IA18 mi
- Grundy Center, IA23 mi
- Grinnell, IA23 mi
- Eldora, IA24 mi
- Traer, IA24 mi
- Newton, IA25 mi
- Reinbeck, IA25 mi
- Nevada, IA28 mi
- Maxwell, IA28 mi
- Colfax, IA30 mi
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