NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Norwalk, 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 Norwalk, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 184 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 184
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Norwalk
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Norwalk; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 43 mph winds when its centre passed 34 miles away. Norwalk 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 184 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on March 5, 2022, came within 1 mile. Of the 184, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 101 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 64. The most recent tornado was on July 15, 2024. Norwalk has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 91% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 397 times since 1956, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Norwalk has more hail reports within 10 miles than 96% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Norwalk
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Norwalk: 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 Norwalk
By decade
- 2020s27(1 EF3+)
- 2010s38(1 EF3+)
- 2000s36(1 EF3+)
- 1990s20(2 EF3+)
- 1980s31(1 EF3+)
- 1970s15(2 EF3+)
- 1960s12
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 5, 2022 | EF4 | 1 mi | 70.57 mi | 6 / 5 |
| Jun 18, 1974 | F4 | 9 mi | 15.3 mi | 2 / 50 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F4 | 17 mi | 56 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 28, 1986 | F4 | 20 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 20, 2019 | EF3 | 17 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 2001 | F3 | 13 mi | 76.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F3 | 17 mi | 39 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Mar 29, 1979 | F3 | 8 mi | 57 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF2 | 15 mi | 40.84 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | EF2 | 8 mi | 7.61 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 19, 2018 | EF2 | 18 mi | 2.95 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 2018 | EF2 | 20 mi | 3.68 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 184, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Norwalk
The Storm Prediction Center has 397 hail reports within 10 miles of Norwalk since 1956, made on 170 separate days. Of these, 244 were 1 inch across or larger, and 18 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 3 days, most recently August 19, 2022. The most recent report is from May 19, 2025. June has the most reports, 97.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Norwalk
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Des Moines International Airport, IA, 5 miles north of Norwalk at 957 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 14°F. June is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 36.6 inches over 66 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 22 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 128 nights a year. Snowfall averages 36.5 inches a year, most of it in February. That 36.6 inches is more than at 61 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (49%). Indianola, 10 miles southeast, has its own station (Indianola 2W, IA): 37.8 inches a year, 1.2 more than here, and the same July average high, 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 14 | 1.1 | 3 | 9.4 |
| Feb | 36 | 18 | 1.3 | 4 | 10.2 |
| Mar | 49 | 30 | 2.2 | 5 | 4.4 |
| Apr | 62 | 41 | 4.0 | 8 | 1.2 |
| May | 72 | 52 | 5.2 | 9 | 0.2 |
| Jun | 82 | 62 | 5.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 66 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 64 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 55 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 43 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 48 | 30 | 1.9 | 4 | 2.7 |
| Dec | 36 | 20 | 1.6 | 4 | 7.9 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 36.6 | 66 | 36.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Des Moines International Airport, IA (957 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 Norwalk
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 728 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Norwalk: 358 thunderstorm wind reports, 170 heavy rain events, 140 floods, 51 flash floods and 9 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 45, and the NWS estimated $91.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 120 mph, on June 29, 1998. June has had the most flash floods, 25 of 51. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 225 have had fewer than Norwalk.
June 17, 2014: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Norwalk — 1 killed, $1,000 damage.
June 29, 1998: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Norwalk — 40 injured, $40.0 million damage.
March 30, 2006: thunderstorm wind in Norwalk — 2 injured, $50,000 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
Warren County, which includes Norwalk, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 6 severe storms, 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 Warren County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $18.7 million a year, the 23rd highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.9 million (37%), 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 Norwalk
- Cumming, IA6 mi
- West Des Moines, IA8 mi
- Des Moines, IA9 mi
- Windsor Heights, IA9 mi
- Indianola, IA10 mi
- Carlisle, IA11 mi
- Clive, IA11 mi
- Urbandale, IA11 mi
- Pleasant Hill, IA12 mi
- Waukee, IA13 mi
- Saint Charles, IA13 mi
- Van Meter, IA14 mi
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