NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Nora Springs, 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 Nora Springs, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 110 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 110
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
14 deaths in all
What the records show for Nora Springs
The strongest of the 110 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 15, 1968; its path came within 12 miles, and it killed 13 people. Of the 110, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 53 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 29. The most recent tornado was on July 28, 2025. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 73% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Nora Springs. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 99 times since 1965, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Nora Springs has more hail reports within 10 miles than 56% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Nora Springs
By decade
- 2020s26
- 2010s8
- 2000s19
- 1990s15
- 1980s12
- 1970s9(2 EF3+)
- 1960s16(7 EF3+)
- 1950s5(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 1968 | F5 | 12 mi | 62.1 mi | 13 / 462 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F4 | 23 mi | 7.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F4 | 13 mi | 13.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1965 | F4 | 13 mi | 41.6 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Sep 1, 1961 | F4 | 25 mi | 26.6 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 10, 1953 | F4 | 24 mi | 26.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 20, 1953 | F3 | 15 mi | 116.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 28, 1974 | F3 | 16 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 12, 1971 | F3 | 13 mi | 15.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F3 | 16 mi | 17.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F3 | 15 mi | 7.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 24 mi | 7.49 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 110, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Nora Springs
The Storm Prediction Center has 99 hail reports within 10 miles of Nora Springs since 1965, made on 65 separate days. Of these, 62 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 18, 1974. The most recent report is from October 24, 2024. May has the most reports, 26.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Nora Springs
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mason City, IA, 10 miles west of Nora Springs at 1,105 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 7°F. June is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 36.4 inches over 64 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 161 nights a year. That 36.4 inches is more than at 51 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (41%). Osage, 14 miles northeast, has its own station (Osage, IA): 37.7 inches a year, 1.3 more than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 7 | 0.9 | 3 |
| Feb | 29 | 11 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Mar | 41 | 23 | 2.0 | 4 |
| Apr | 56 | 35 | 3.9 | 7 |
| May | 69 | 47 | 5.6 | 9 |
| Jun | 79 | 58 | 5.7 | 9 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 4.6 | 7 |
| Aug | 80 | 59 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Sep | 74 | 50 | 3.2 | 5 |
| Oct | 60 | 38 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Nov | 43 | 25 | 1.8 | 3 |
| Dec | 30 | 14 | 1.3 | 3 |
| Year | 55 | 36 | 36.4 | 64 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Mason City, IA (1,105 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 Nora Springs
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 149 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Nora Springs: 99 thunderstorm wind reports, 26 heavy rain events, 12 flash floods and 12 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $4.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 82 mph, on December 15, 2021. June has had the most flash floods, 7 of 12. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 107 have had fewer than Nora Springs.
August 4, 1996: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Nora Springs — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.
June 7, 2008: flood 2 miles from the centre of Nora Springs — $1.5 million 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
Floyd County, which includes Nora Springs, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 8 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 Floyd County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and hail; Relatively Low for inland flooding and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.6 million a year, the 38th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.7 million (53%), 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 Nora Springs
- Mason City, IA10 mi
- Osage, IA14 mi
- Charles City, IA18 mi
- Saint Ansgar, IA18 mi
- Clear Lake, IA19 mi
- Greene, IA20 mi
- Northwood, IA24 mi
- Nashua, IA27 mi
- Riceville, IA28 mi
- Hampton, IA30 mi
- Clarksville, IA30 mi
- Garner, IA31 mi
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