NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ottumwa, 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 Ottumwa, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 89 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 89
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for Ottumwa
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Ottumwa; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 45 mph winds when its centre passed 27 miles away. Ottumwa is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The strongest of the 89 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 7, 1984; its path came within 14 miles, and it killed 3 people. Of the 89, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 34 have come since 2000. April and June have had the most tornadoes, 20 each. The most recent tornado was on November 5, 2024. Of the 241 Iowa cities, 92% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Ottumwa. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 92 times since 1964, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Ottumwa has more hail reports within 10 miles than 51% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Ottumwa
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Ottumwa: 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 Ottumwa
By decade
- 2020s3(1 EF3+)
- 2010s11
- 2000s20
- 1990s19(1 EF3+)
- 1980s15(1 EF3+)
- 1970s12
- 1960s8(2 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 1984 | F4 | 14 mi | 134 mi | 3 / 64 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF3 | 5 mi | 26.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F3 | 13 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 24, 1967 | F3 | 21 mi | 25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 1965 | F3 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 11, 2001 | F2 | 3 mi | 8.4 mi | 2 / 3 |
| Mar 6, 2017 | EF2 | 24 mi | 9.66 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | EF2 | 21 mi | 1.71 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2008 | EF2 | 24 mi | 19.18 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Jun 16, 1990 | F2 | 5 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 1989 | F2 | 14 mi | 18 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 15, 1988 | F2 | 6 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 89, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ottumwa
The Storm Prediction Center has 92 hail reports within 10 miles of Ottumwa since 1964, made on 59 separate days. Of these, 56 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), was reported on 4 days, most recently June 24, 2023. The most recent report is from July 17, 2023. April has the most reports, 27.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ottumwa
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ottumwa Industrial Airport, IA, 6 miles north of Ottumwa at 842 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 14°F. June is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 36.9 inches over 66 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 19 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 131 nights a year. Snowfall averages 23.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 36.9 inches is more than at 65 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (52%). Albia, 20 miles west, has its own station (Albia 3 NNE, IA): 36.5 inches a year, 0.4 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 14 | 1.0 | 3 | 7.1 |
| Feb | 37 | 18 | 1.4 | 4 | 5.8 |
| Mar | 50 | 29 | 2.2 | 5 | 3.0 |
| Apr | 63 | 39 | 3.8 | 7 | 1.4 |
| May | 73 | 51 | 5.0 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 61 | 5.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 65 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 62 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 53 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 42 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 50 | 30 | 2.1 | 4 | 1.6 |
| Dec | 37 | 20 | 1.4 | 3 | 4.2 |
| Year | 61 | 40 | 36.9 | 66 | 23.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ottumwa Industrial Airport, IA (842 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 Ottumwa
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 272 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ottumwa: 150 thunderstorm wind reports, 62 heavy rain events, 31 floods, 28 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 10, and the NWS estimated $9.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 91 mph, on April 27, 2014. August has had the most flash floods, 10 of 28. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 192 have had fewer than Ottumwa.
April 27, 2014: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Ottumwa — 10 injured, $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm wind damage was reported in the 1000 block of west Mary St. in Ottumwa.”
August 1, 2010: flood 8 miles from the centre of Ottumwa — $1.5 million damage.
July 1, 2010: flood 8 miles from the centre of Ottumwa — $750,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Ottumwa's ZIP code 52501 have filed 95 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1981, and were paid $2.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2010, with 33. 12% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 91 Iowa cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 67 have fewer than Ottumwa.
Wapello County, which includes Ottumwa, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 floods, 7 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 Wapello County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $24.1 million a year, the 15th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $12.4 million (51%), 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 Ottumwa
- Albia, IA20 mi
- Bloomfield, IA20 mi
- Oskaloosa, IA22 mi
- Sigourney, IA24 mi
- Fairfield, IA24 mi
- New Sharon, IA31 mi
- Centerville, IA32 mi
- Pella, IA37 mi
- Montezuma, IA39 mi
- Memphis, MO40 mi
- Knoxville, IA41 mi
- Washington, IA42 mi
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