NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Peosta, 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 Peosta, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 104 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 104
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Peosta
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Peosta; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 30 miles away. Peosta is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The strongest of the 104 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on March 13, 1990; its path came within 16 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on April 23, 1961, killed 1 person. Of the 104, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 45 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Of the 241 Iowa cities, 79% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Peosta. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 122 times since 1962, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Peosta has more hail reports within 10 miles than 71% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Peosta
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Peosta: 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 Peosta
By decade
- 2020s21
- 2010s13
- 2000s11
- 1990s22(3 EF3+)
- 1980s6
- 1970s10(1 EF3+)
- 1960s16(1 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 13, 1990 | F4 | 16 mi | 19 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | 24 mi | 87.7 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Jun 19, 1993 | F3 | 8 mi | 14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1992 | F3 | 21 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 9, 1970 | F3 | 9 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | EF2 | 14 mi | 2.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 28, 2017 | EF2 | 19 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 1998 | F2 | 23 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F2 | 12 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 5, 1980 | F2 | 21 mi | 70.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 28, 1972 | F2 | 4 mi | 64.5 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Sep 9, 1970 | F2 | 16 mi | 14.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 104, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Peosta
The Storm Prediction Center has 122 hail reports within 10 miles of Peosta since 1962, made on 66 separate days. Of these, 82 were 1 inch across or larger, and 10 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on August 19, 1994. The most recent report is from September 22, 2025. April has the most reports, 34.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Peosta
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Dubuque Regional Airport, IA, 6 miles east of Peosta at 1,056 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 27°F and 11°F. June is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.3 inches; the year adds up to 38.3 inches over 70 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 6 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 144 nights a year. Snowfall averages 42.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 38.3 inches is more than at 95 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (77%). Epworth, 6 miles west, has its own station (Cascade, IA): 39.6 inches a year, 1.3 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 11 | 1.3 | 4 | 10.7 |
| Feb | 31 | 15 | 1.6 | 4 | 10.6 |
| Mar | 44 | 26 | 2.3 | 5 | 5.7 |
| Apr | 58 | 37 | 4.1 | 7 | 1.9 |
| May | 69 | 49 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 59 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 4.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 60 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 52 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 40 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 45 | 28 | 2.2 | 5 | 2.8 |
| Dec | 32 | 17 | 1.8 | 4 | 10.3 |
| Year | 56 | 38 | 38.3 | 70 | 42.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Dubuque Regional Airport, IA (1,056 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 Peosta
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 275 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Peosta: 202 thunderstorm wind reports, 38 flash floods, 25 heavy rain events, 9 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 3 people and injured 7, and the NWS estimated $14.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 30, 2019. July has had the most flash floods, 19 of 38. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 208 have had fewer than Peosta.
July 27, 2011: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Peosta — 3 killed, $7.0 million damage.
June 30, 2019: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Peosta — 2 injured.
April 5, 2010: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Peosta — 1 injured, $25,000 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
Dubuque County, which includes Peosta, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 floods, 8 severe storms, 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 Dubuque 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, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $41.7 million a year, the 8th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $19.4 million (47%), 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 Peosta
- Epworth, IA6 mi
- Dubuque, IA8 mi
- Farley, IA10 mi
- East Dubuque, IL12 mi
- Cascade, IA13 mi
- Dyersville, IA16 mi
- Hazel Green, WI18 mi
- Potosi, WI19 mi
- Galena, IL21 mi
- Bellevue, IA22 mi
- Cuba City, WI22 mi
- Monticello, IA24 mi
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