NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Mount Vernon, 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 Mount Vernon, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 153 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 153
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Mount Vernon
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Mount Vernon; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 49 mph winds when its centre passed 10 miles away. Mount Vernon 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 153 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on March 13, 1990, came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on May 22, 1962, killed 1 person. Of the 153, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 78 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 43. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Mount Vernon has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 78% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 89 times since 1968, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 51% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Mount Vernon.
Compare Mount Vernon's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Mount Vernon
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 10 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 Mount Vernon: 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 Mount Vernon
By decade
- 2020s29
- 2010s20
- 2000s29(1 EF3+)
- 1990s30(3 EF3+)
- 1980s21
- 1970s8(1 EF3+)
- 1960s9(1 EF3+)
- 1950s7(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 13, 1990 | F4 | 21 mi | 19 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1954 | F4 | 20 mi | 80.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | 20 mi | 87.7 mi | 1 / 12 |
| May 21, 2004 | F3 | 20 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 1998 | F3 | 17 mi | 47 mi | 0 / 47 |
| Jul 13, 1992 | F3 | 23 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1971 | F3 | 20 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 20, 1953 | F3 | 5 mi | 38.6 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 22, 1962 | F2 | 16 mi | 4.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | EF2 | 18 mi | 6.74 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 18 mi | 16.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 1 mi | 8.97 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 153, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Mount Vernon
The Storm Prediction Center has 89 hail reports within 10 miles of Mount Vernon since 1968, made on 51 separate days. Of these, 54 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 31, 1971. The most recent report is from June 25, 2024. May has the most reports, 33.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Mount Vernon
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cedar Rapids #1, IA, 11 miles northwest of Mount Vernon at 813 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 13°F. June is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.2 inches; the year adds up to 38.8 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 134 nights a year. Snowfall averages 34.3 inches a year, most of it in December. That 38.8 inches is more than at 105 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (85%). Lisbon, 4 miles east, has its own station (Anamosa 1 WNW, IA): 40.2 inches a year, 1.4 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 13 | 1.2 | 4 | 8.7 |
| Feb | 35 | 17 | 1.3 | 4 | 8.3 |
| Mar | 49 | 28 | 2.1 | 5 | 4.0 |
| Apr | 63 | 38 | 4.0 | 8 | 1.5 |
| May | 74 | 50 | 4.7 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 60 | 5.7 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 63 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 61 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 53 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 42 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.6 |
| Nov | 48 | 29 | 2.2 | 5 | 2.2 |
| Dec | 35 | 19 | 1.7 | 4 | 9.0 |
| Year | 61 | 39 | 38.8 | 69 | 34.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Cedar Rapids #1, IA (813 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 Mount Vernon
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 118 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Mount Vernon: 99 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 flash floods, 7 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 125 mph, on August 19, 2009. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 10. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 81 have had fewer than Mount Vernon.
July 11, 2011: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Mount Vernon — $250,000 damage.
April 17, 2013: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Mount Vernon — $250,000 damage.
June 30, 2014: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Mount Vernon — $200,000 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
Linn County, which includes Mount Vernon, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 21 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 floods, 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, on August 17, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Linn County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively High for tornadoes, hail and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $79.1 million a year, the 3rd highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $36.2 million (46%), 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.