NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Nevada, 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 Nevada, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 164 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 164
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
9 deaths in all
What the records show for Nevada
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Nevada; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 44 mph winds when its centre passed 60 miles away. Nevada is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The strongest of the 164 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 13, 1976; its path came within 13 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on September 16, 1978, killed 6 people. Of the 164, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 81 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 39. The most recent tornado was on July 19, 2025. Nevada has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 83% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 157 times since 1968, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Nevada has more hail reports within 10 miles than 80% of the 241 Iowa cities.
Compare Nevada's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Nevada
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Nevada: 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 Nevada
By decade
- 2020s14
- 2010s31(1 EF3+)
- 2000s36
- 1990s25(2 EF3+)
- 1980s12(3 EF3+)
- 1970s20(4 EF3+)
- 1960s21
- 1950s5(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 13, 1976 | F5 | 13 mi | 21.3 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Jun 18, 1974 | F4 | 22 mi | 15.3 mi | 2 / 50 |
| May 30, 1989 | F4 | 23 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 24, 1989 | F4 | 13 mi | 66 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 28, 1986 | F4 | 19 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 16, 1978 | F3 | 14 mi | 31.8 mi | 6 / 45 |
| May 20, 1953 | F3 | 15 mi | 116.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 2018 | EF3 | 22 mi | 8.41 mi | 0 / 22 |
| Mar 22, 1991 | F3 | 3 mi | 43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F3 | 4 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F3 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1950 | F3 | 4 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 5 |
The strongest 12 of 164, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Nevada
The Storm Prediction Center has 157 hail reports within 10 miles of Nevada since 1968, made on 81 separate days. Of these, 94 were 1 inch across or larger, and 12 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on July 26, 2000. The most recent report is from June 20, 2025. May has the most reports, 54.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Nevada
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Colo, IA, 7 miles east of Nevada at 1,000 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 27°F and 10°F. June is the wettest at 5.8 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 36.4 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 151 nights a year. Snowfall averages 30.6 inches a year, most of it in February. That 36.4 inches is more than at 52 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (42%). Ames, 10 miles west, has its own station (Ames Municipal Airport, IA): 36.1 inches a year, 0.3 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 10 | 1.0 | 3 | 7.4 |
| Feb | 31 | 14 | 1.2 | 3 | 7.6 |
| Mar | 45 | 26 | 2.0 | 5 | 4.5 |
| Apr | 59 | 37 | 3.5 | 7 | 1.7 |
| May | 70 | 49 | 4.8 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 60 | 5.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 63 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 61 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 52 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 39 | 2.7 | 5 | 0.7 |
| Nov | 46 | 27 | 2.0 | 4 | 1.9 |
| Dec | 32 | 16 | 1.5 | 4 | 6.8 |
| Year | 58 | 38 | 36.4 | 68 | 30.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Colo, IA (1,000 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 Nevada
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 365 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Nevada: 193 thunderstorm wind reports, 104 heavy rain events, 34 flash floods, 29 floods and 5 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $59.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on July 30, 1999. June has had the most flash floods, 8 of 34. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 201 have had fewer than Nevada.
July 13, 2018: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Nevada — 2 injured.
NWS: “Two men were taken to the hospital after being struck by lightning at a golf course. Both men were injured and then released the following day from the hospital.”
September 7, 2001: thunderstorm wind in Nevada — 1 injured, $13,000 damage.
June 20, 2005: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Nevada — 1 injured, $10,000 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 Nevada's ZIP code 50201 have filed 21 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1984, and were paid $336,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Midwest Flooding in 1993: 11 claims (52% of all) and $162,000. 57% 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, 27 have fewer than Nevada.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 11 | $162,000 |
Story County, which includes Nevada, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 severe storms, 6 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Story County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes; Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; 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 $36.1 million a year, the 10th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $16.4 million (45%), 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 Nevada
- Ames, IA10 mi
- Maxwell, IA11 mi
- Huxley, IA12 mi
- Story City, IA13 mi
- State Center, IA14 mi
- Madrid, IA21 mi
- Polk City, IA22 mi
- Boone, IA22 mi
- Bondurant, IA22 mi
- Ankeny, IA23 mi
- Mitchellville, IA26 mi
- Colfax, IA26 mi
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