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Storms That Hit

NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Panora, 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 Panora, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 129 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
1

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
129

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
8

2 deaths in all

What the records show for Panora

None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Panora; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 67 miles away. Panora is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The strongest of the 129 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 27, 1953; its path came within 25 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an EF2 on May 22, 2019, killed 1 person. Of the 129, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 72 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 53. The most recent tornado was on May 24, 2024. Panora has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 53% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 121 times since 1963, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Panora has more hail reports within 10 miles than 70% of the 241 Iowa cities.

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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Panora

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Panora, Iowa, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1167 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4

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

By decade

  • 2020s19
  • 2010s23
  • 2000s30
  • 1990s20(5 EF3+)
  • 1980s18
  • 1970s8(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s6
  • 1950s5(2 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Panora, Iowa
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jun 27, 1953F525 mi0.1 mi1 / 2
Apr 8, 1999F421 mi56 mi0 / 1
Apr 8, 1999F416 mi49 mi0 / 3
May 27, 1995F416 mi30 mi0 / 1
May 27, 1995F49 mi57 mi0 / 2
May 10, 1959F4in town41.1 mi0 / 1
Apr 14, 1994F324 mi14 mi0 / 0
Jun 13, 1976F314 mi17.9 mi0 / 0
May 22, 2019EF218 mi4.75 mi1 / 1
May 21, 2024EF219 mi14.63 mi0 / 0
Dec 15, 2021EF225 mi17.69 mi0 / 0
Dec 15, 2021EF221 mi5.83 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 129, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Panora

The Storm Prediction Center has 121 hail reports within 10 miles of Panora since 1963, made on 51 separate days. Of these, 82 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on June 24, 2015. The most recent report is from September 3, 2025. June has the most reports, 54.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Panora

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Perry, IA, 16 miles northeast of Panora at 950 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 10°F. May is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 36.2 inches over 66 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 20 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 151 nights a year. That 36.2 inches is more than at 47 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (38%). Guthrie Center, 8 miles west, has its own station (Audubon, IA): 35.0 inches a year, 1.2 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 85°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Perry, IA
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"
Jan30101.03
Feb34141.13
Mar48262.04
Apr61374.17
May72495.29
Jun82604.99
Jul85644.47
Aug83614.16
Sep77523.46
Oct64392.76
Nov48271.94
Dec35171.43
Year603836.266

Averages for 1991–2020 at Perry, IA (950 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.

Iowa weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Panora

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 126 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Panora: 75 thunderstorm wind reports, 33 heavy rain events, 14 flash floods, 2 floods and 2 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $4.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 21, 2008. April has had the most flash floods, 6 of 14. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 124 have had fewer than Panora.

  • July 10, 2002: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Panora — $2.1 million damage.

  • July 10, 2002: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Panora — $1.0 million damage.

  • August 31, 2014: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Panora — $115,000 damage.

    NWS: “Three whole trees of 12 inch diameter snapped. Corn field flattened, with corn laying in same direction.”

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

Guthrie County, which includes Panora, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on February 23, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Guthrie County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $13.9 million a year, the 47th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.2 million (30%), 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 Panora

All Iowa cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Panora with another place →

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