NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Northwood, 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 Northwood, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 145 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 15 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 145
- EF3 or stronger
- 15
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
14 deaths in all
What the records show for Northwood
The highest rating among the 145 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 6 times; the most recent, on June 17, 2010, came within 22 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on May 10, 1953, killed 6 people. Of the 145, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 61 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 49. The most recent tornado was on July 28, 2025. Northwood has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 70% of the 241 Iowa cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 81 times since 1960, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 59% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Northwood.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Northwood
By decade
- 2020s20
- 2010s20(3 EF3+)
- 2000s21
- 1990s23
- 1980s20(2 EF3+)
- 1970s8(2 EF3+)
- 1960s22(7 EF3+)
- 1950s11(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 1967 | F4 | 13 mi | 38.7 mi | 5 / 35 |
| Jun 17, 2010 | EF4 | 22 mi | 16.91 mi | 1 / 14 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F4 | 4 mi | 7.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F4 | 10 mi | 13.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1965 | F4 | 24 mi | 41.6 mi | 0 / 11 |
| May 10, 1953 | F4 | 7 mi | 26.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F3 | 23 mi | 18.4 mi | 2 / 23 |
| Jun 17, 2010 | EF3 | 22 mi | 5.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 17, 2010 | EF3 | 20 mi | 18.15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1984 | F3 | 17 mi | 14 mi | 0 / 12 |
| May 17, 1982 | F3 | 10 mi | 46 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 1974 | F3 | 7 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 3 |
The strongest 12 of 145, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Northwood
The Storm Prediction Center has 81 hail reports within 10 miles of Northwood since 1960, made on 44 separate days. Of these, 54 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 19, 2022. The most recent report is from September 19, 2024. May has the most reports, 25.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Northwood
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Northwood, IA, in Northwood at 1,190 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 79°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 21°F and 4°F. June is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 35.4 inches over 63 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 4 days a year, almost all from June to July. Lows fall below freezing on about 164 nights a year. Snowfall averages 40.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 35.4 inches is more than at 37 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (30%). Saint Ansgar, 15 miles east, has its own station (Osage, IA): 37.7 inches a year, 2.3 more than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 79°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | 4 | 1.1 | 3 | 10.9 |
| Feb | 26 | 8 | 1.0 | 3 | 9.3 |
| Mar | 38 | 21 | 2.0 | 4 | 6.2 |
| Apr | 54 | 33 | 3.8 | 7 | 3.3 |
| May | 66 | 45 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 76 | 56 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 79 | 59 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 76 | 57 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 48 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 57 | 35 | 2.7 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 41 | 23 | 1.7 | 4 | 2.6 |
| Dec | 27 | 11 | 1.3 | 4 | 7.6 |
| Year | 53 | 33 | 35.4 | 63 | 40.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Northwood, IA (1,190 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 Northwood
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 72 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Northwood: 44 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 heavy rain events, 9 flash floods, 4 floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on April 17, 2004. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 66 have had fewer than Northwood.
September 2, 2011: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Northwood — $350,000 damage.
April 9, 2011: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Northwood — $300,000 damage.
NWS: “Large barn destroyed with damage of $250,000-300,000.”
July 5, 2022: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Northwood — $300,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain caused flooding across much of western, southern, and central Freeborn County, with significant damage to numerous roads, bridges, and ditches in multiple townships, affecting areas in and near Shell Rock Watershed.”
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
Worth County, which includes Northwood, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 5 floods, 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 Worth County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes and strong wind; Very Low for hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $7.0 million a year, the 95th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.1 million (29%), 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 Northwood
- Lake Mills, IA14 mi
- Saint Ansgar, IA15 mi
- Albert Lea, MN16 mi
- Mason City, IA20 mi
- Austin, MN20 mi
- Clear Lake, IA22 mi
- Osage, IA24 mi
- Nora Springs, IA24 mi
- Forest City, IA25 mi
- Garner, IA30 mi
- Wells, MN31 mi
- Blooming Prairie, MN32 mi
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