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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit North Liberty, IA

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of North Liberty, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 147 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
1

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
147

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
9

6 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near North Liberty

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of North Liberty, Iowa, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 112 miTropical storm (48 mph)Category 4

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in North Liberty: 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 North Liberty

By decade

  • 2020s21(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s15
  • 2000s30(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s23(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s26(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s20(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s7(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s5(2 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near North Liberty, Iowa
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jun 7, 1984F417 mi134 mi3 / 64
Mar 31, 2023EF418 mi19.9 mi0 / 3
Apr 30, 1954F425 mi80.4 mi0 / 0
May 21, 2004F323 mi3 mi0 / 0
May 15, 1998F316 mi47 mi0 / 47
May 18, 1971F325 mi4.3 mi0 / 0
May 18, 1971F321 mi4.3 mi0 / 0
Apr 23, 1965F317 mi47.4 mi0 / 1
May 20, 1953F316 mi38.6 mi0 / 7
May 22, 1962F28 mi4.1 mi1 / 0
Mar 31, 2023EF223 mi16.42 mi0 / 0
Mar 31, 2023EF27 mi8.97 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 147, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of North Liberty while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

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