NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Milford, 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
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Milford, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 118 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 118
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Milford
The highest rating among the 118 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 7 times; the most recent, on September 20, 1980, came within 13 miles. Of the 118, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 48 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 42. The most recent tornado was on August 29, 2024. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 60% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Milford. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 146 times since 1957, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Milford has more hail reports within 10 miles than 80% of the 241 Iowa cities.
Compare Milford's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Milford
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s15
- 2000s27
- 1990s13
- 1980s16(1 EF3+)
- 1970s15(5 EF3+)
- 1960s18(1 EF3+)
- 1950s8
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 20, 1980 | F3 | 13 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 10, 1977 | F3 | 21 mi | 14.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 1, 1971 | F3 | 15 mi | 11.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 8 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 17 mi | 8.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 18 mi | 46.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1964 | F3 | 17 mi | 67 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Aug 18, 2017 | EF2 | 24 mi | 5.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2008 | EF2 | 13 mi | 13.08 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2004 | F2 | 11 mi | 5.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 1994 | F2 | 19 mi | 13 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F2 | 5 mi | 18 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 118, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Milford
The Storm Prediction Center has 146 hail reports within 10 miles of Milford since 1957, made on 81 separate days. Of these, 71 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 5, 1978. The most recent report is from June 11, 2025. June has the most reports, 57.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Milford
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Milford 4 NW, IA, 4 miles north of Milford at 1,402 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 8°F. June is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 29.5 inches over 56 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 10 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 159 nights a year. Snowfall averages 38.0 inches a year, most of it in February. That 29.5 inches is more than at 4 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (3%). Spirit Lake, 7 miles north, has its own station (Spirit Lake, IA): 29.0 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 8 | 0.7 | 2 | 8.7 |
| Feb | 29 | 12 | 0.7 | 3 | 9.3 |
| Mar | 42 | 24 | 1.6 | 4 | 5.3 |
| Apr | 57 | 35 | 3.3 | 6 | 2.5 |
| May | 70 | 48 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 79 | 59 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 60 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 52 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 39 | 2.2 | 4 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 43 | 25 | 1.4 | 3 | 3.0 |
| Dec | 29 | 13 | 0.8 | 3 | 8.6 |
| Year | 56 | 36 | 29.5 | 56 | 38.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Milford 4 NW, IA (1,402 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 Milford
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 237 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Milford: 108 floods, 106 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 97 mph, on July 17, 2010. June has had the most flash floods, 13 of 22. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 176 have had fewer than Milford.
July 17, 2010: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Milford — $500,000 damage.
June 12, 2001: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Milford — $300,000 damage.
March 13, 2019: flood 7 miles from the centre of Milford — $300,000 damage.
NWS: “59 inches 3 miles south southeast of Lake Park) resulted in significant flooding of agricultural lands and several county roads. 02 feet above flood stage on March 18.”
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
Dickinson County, which includes Milford, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 6 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 Dickinson County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Very Low for lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.4 million a year, the 41st highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.4 million (58%), 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 Milford
- Spirit Lake, IA7 mi
- Spencer, IA13 mi
- Estherville, IA18 mi
- Hartley, IA18 mi
- Jackson, MN22 mi
- Lakefield, MN22 mi
- Emmetsburg, IA28 mi
- Sibley, IA29 mi
- Worthington, MN30 mi
- Sheldon, IA36 mi
- Windom, MN37 mi
- Fairmont, MN42 mi
All Iowa cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Milford with another place →