NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Oelwein, 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 Oelwein, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 124 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 124
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
18 deaths in all
What the records show for Oelwein
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Oelwein; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 49 mph winds when its centre passed 67 miles away. Oelwein 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 124 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5 or EF5, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 25, 2008, came within 9 miles. Of the 124, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 66 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 34. The most recent tornado was on April 16, 2024. Of the 241 Iowa cities, 52% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Oelwein. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 81 times since 1958, with stones up to 8 inches. Of the 241 Iowa cities, 59% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Oelwein.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Oelwein
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Oelwein: 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 Oelwein
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s16
- 2000s37(3 EF3+)
- 1990s13(1 EF3+)
- 1980s13(1 EF3+)
- 1970s7(1 EF3+)
- 1960s20(3 EF3+)
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 2008 | EF5 | 9 mi | 40.97 mi | 9 / 70 |
| May 15, 1968 | F5 | in town | 13.1 mi | 5 / 156 |
| Apr 30, 1954 | F4 | 23 mi | 80.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1985 | F3 | 23 mi | 34 mi | 2 / 27 |
| May 11, 2000 | F3 | 7 mi | 18.6 mi | 1 / 25 |
| Apr 16, 1960 | F3 | 13 mi | 29.8 mi | 1 / 5 |
| May 25, 2008 | EF3 | 6 mi | 31.99 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 27, 1995 | F3 | 14 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 9, 1975 | F3 | 7 mi | 39.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1964 | F3 | 5 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 24 mi | 4.87 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 2021 | EF2 | 22 mi | 12.88 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 124, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Oelwein
The Storm Prediction Center has 81 hail reports within 10 miles of Oelwein since 1958, made on 46 separate days. Of these, 51 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 8 inches, fell on May 31, 1958. The most recent report is from June 11, 2025. May has the most reports, 29.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Oelwein
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Oelwein 1E, IA, 2 miles east of Oelwein at 1,165 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 9°F. June is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 35.4 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 156 nights a year. Snowfall averages 39.3 inches a year, most of it in February and December. That 35.4 inches is more than at 37 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (30%). Independence, 15 miles south, has its own station (Independence #1, IA): 37.5 inches a year, 2.1 more than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 9 | 1.1 | 3 | 8.7 |
| Feb | 31 | 12 | 1.1 | 4 | 10.9 |
| Mar | 45 | 24 | 1.9 | 5 | 4.4 |
| Apr | 59 | 37 | 3.5 | 7 | 2.2 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 81 | 60 | 5.4 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 63 | 5.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 61 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 52 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 40 | 2.6 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 46 | 27 | 1.6 | 4 | 1.8 |
| Dec | 33 | 16 | 1.4 | 5 | 10.9 |
| Year | 58 | 37 | 35.4 | 67 | 39.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Oelwein 1E, IA (1,165 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 Oelwein
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 159 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Oelwein: 115 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 flash floods, 14 floods, 9 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $14.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on June 23, 2010. June has had the most flash floods, 7 of 19. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 164 have had fewer than Oelwein.
August 24, 2021: thunderstorm wind in Oelwein — 1 injured, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “An estimated 60 mph wind gust in Oelwein snapped or uprooted numerous trees. One person sustained injuries when they became trapped under the branches of a fallen tree.”
June 21, 1997: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Oelwein — 1 injured.
June 7, 2008: flood 4 miles from the centre of Oelwein — $5.3 million damage.
NWS: “Numerous secondary roads were flooded. Over 5 inches of rain was reported for the weekend of June 7-8.”
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 Oelwein's ZIP code 50662 have filed 46 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $219,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2010, with 18. Of the 91 Iowa cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 49 have fewer than Oelwein.
Fayette County, which includes Oelwein, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 floods, 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 23, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Fayette County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.9 million a year, the 36th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.9 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 Oelwein
- Fairbank, IA8 mi
- Independence, IA15 mi
- Sumner, IA15 mi
- Jesup, IA18 mi
- Tripoli, IA19 mi
- Strawberry Point, IA21 mi
- Denver, IA21 mi
- West Union, IA21 mi
- Evansdale, IA23 mi
- Waterloo, IA25 mi
- Manchester, IA28 mi
- Waverly, IA28 mi
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