NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Mediapolis, 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 Mediapolis, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 105 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 105
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Mediapolis
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Mediapolis; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 48 mph winds when its centre passed 55 miles away. Mediapolis 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 105 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on June 1, 2007, came within 18 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on January 24, 1967, killed 1 person. Of the 105, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 41 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 27. The most recent tornado was on June 3, 2025. Of the 241 Iowa cities, 79% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Mediapolis. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 37 times since 1965, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 97% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Mediapolis.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Mediapolis
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Mediapolis: 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 Mediapolis
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s20
- 2000s13(1 EF3+)
- 1990s16
- 1980s13
- 1970s16
- 1960s15(2 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 1967 | F3 | 22 mi | 4.3 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Jun 1, 2007 | EF3 | 18 mi | 15.75 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Aug 25, 1965 | F3 | 13 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 16, 2024 | EF2 | 5 mi | 41.66 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | in town | 0.95 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 2019 | EF2 | 5 mi | 1.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 2019 | EF2 | 5 mi | 1.82 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 6, 2017 | EF2 | 20 mi | 0.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 16, 2015 | EF2 | 25 mi | 1.72 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 2015 | EF2 | 19 mi | 6.75 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1998 | F2 | 19 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 1977 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 105, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Mediapolis
The Storm Prediction Center has 37 hail reports within 10 miles of Mediapolis since 1965, made on 23 separate days. Of these, 23 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on August 25, 1965. The most recent report is from October 24, 2024. June has the most reports, 11.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Mediapolis
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Gladstone Dam 18, IL, 11 miles southeast of Mediapolis at 538 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 16°F. May is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.4 inches; the year adds up to 37.3 inches over 66 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 21 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 122 nights a year. Snowfall averages 16.9 inches a year, most of it in February. That 37.3 inches is more than at 71 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (57%). Wapello, 11 miles north, has its own station (New Boston Dam 17, IL): 36.3 inches a year, 1.0 less than here, and the same July average high, 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 16 | 1.4 | 4 | 4.9 |
| Feb | 37 | 20 | 1.7 | 4 | 6.3 |
| Mar | 49 | 30 | 2.4 | 5 | 1.8 |
| Apr | 62 | 42 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.3 |
| May | 73 | 53 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 63 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 67 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 65 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 56 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 65 | 45 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 50 | 33 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Dec | 37 | 22 | 1.8 | 4 | 3.2 |
| Year | 61 | 43 | 37.3 | 66 | 16.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Gladstone Dam 18, IL (538 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 Mediapolis
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 67 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Mediapolis: 52 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 floods and 4 flash floods. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $10.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on June 17, 2026.
June 14, 2008: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Mediapolis — 1 killed.
May 12, 2010: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Mediapolis — $4.0 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rains resulted in the flash flooding of parts of Des Moines County during the early morning hours of May 12. The Burlington area and locations north were some of the hardest hit areas.”
June 1, 2008: flood 9 miles from the centre of Mediapolis — $3.8 million damage.
NWS: “73 feet. Flood stage is 15 feet.”
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
Des Moines County, which includes Mediapolis, has been named in 27 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 25 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 floods, 10 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on June 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Des Moines County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $19.5 million a year, the 22nd highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.3 million (43%), 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 Mediapolis
- Wapello, IA11 mi
- West Burlington, IA13 mi
- Burlington, IA13 mi
- New London, IA15 mi
- Columbus Junction, IA21 mi
- Mt Pleasant, IA23 mi
- Aledo, IL25 mi
- Monmouth, IL26 mi
- West Point, IA27 mi
- Fort Madison, IA28 mi
- Muscatine, IA29 mi
- Donnellson, IA32 mi
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