NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Pleasantville, 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 Pleasantville, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 147 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 147
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
9 deaths in all
What the records show for Pleasantville
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Pleasantville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 43 mph winds when its centre passed 18 miles away. Pleasantville 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 147 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on March 5, 2022, came within 15 miles. Of the 147, 13 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 81 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 45. The most recent tornado was on July 15, 2024. Pleasantville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 73% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 96 times since 1974, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Pleasantville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 54% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Pleasantville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 18 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 Pleasantville: 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 Pleasantville
By decade
- 2020s25(2 EF3+)
- 2010s26(3 EF3+)
- 2000s30
- 1990s16(1 EF3+)
- 1980s21
- 1970s12(2 EF3+)
- 1960s13(1 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 5, 2022 | EF4 | 15 mi | 70.57 mi | 6 / 5 |
| Jun 18, 1974 | F4 | 17 mi | 15.3 mi | 2 / 50 |
| Mar 5, 2022 | EF3 | 25 mi | 11.28 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Aug 20, 2019 | EF3 | 13 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 2018 | EF3 | 18 mi | 9.17 mi | 0 / 13 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | EF3 | 17 mi | 11.12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F3 | 5 mi | 39 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Mar 29, 1979 | F3 | 19 mi | 57 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Oct 14, 1966 | F3 | 6 mi | 29.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | EF2 | 19 mi | 7.61 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 19, 2018 | EF2 | 24 mi | 2.95 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2008 | EF2 | 13 mi | 19.18 mi | 0 / 10 |
The strongest 12 of 147, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Pleasantville
The Storm Prediction Center has 96 hail reports within 10 miles of Pleasantville since 1974, made on 58 separate days. Of these, 65 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on June 30, 2014. The most recent report is from May 19, 2025. June has the most reports, 30.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Pleasantville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Knoxville, IA, 10 miles southeast of Pleasantville at 895 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 13°F. June is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.2 inches; the year adds up to 37.7 inches over 62 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 133 nights a year. That 37.7 inches is more than at 79 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (64%). Milo, 10 miles southwest, has its own station (Indianola 2W, IA): 37.8 inches a year, 0.1 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 13 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Feb | 35 | 17 | 1.7 | 3 |
| Mar | 48 | 28 | 1.9 | 5 |
| Apr | 61 | 39 | 3.9 | 7 |
| May | 71 | 51 | 5.0 | 8 |
| Jun | 81 | 61 | 5.6 | 8 |
| Jul | 85 | 66 | 4.3 | 5 |
| Aug | 83 | 63 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Sep | 76 | 54 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Oct | 63 | 42 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Nov | 48 | 30 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Dec | 36 | 19 | 1.6 | 2 |
| Year | 60 | 40 | 37.7 | 62 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Knoxville, IA (895 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 Pleasantville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 199 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Pleasantville: 104 thunderstorm wind reports, 49 heavy rain events, 28 floods, 15 flash floods and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $8.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 21, 1997. July has had the most flash floods, 11 of 15. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 137 have had fewer than Pleasantville.
August 20, 2019: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Pleasantville — 1 injured, $20,000 damage.
June 21, 1997: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Pleasantville — $1.0 million damage.
July 29, 2015: flood 2 miles from the centre of Pleasantville — $750,000 damage.
NWS: “Law Enforcement reported Iowa Highway 92 remained closed due to water flowing over it, west of Pleasantville. In addition several secondary roads across the county remain closed with water flowing over them.”
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
Marion County, which includes Pleasantville, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 floods, 5 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 Marion County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.2 million a year, the 43rd highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.5 million (46%), 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 Pleasantville
- Milo, IA10 mi
- Knoxville, IA10 mi
- Runnells, IA12 mi
- Carlisle, IA13 mi
- Monroe, IA13 mi
- Prairie City, IA14 mi
- Indianola, IA16 mi
- Pella, IA19 mi
- Pleasant Hill, IA19 mi
- Mitchellville, IA20 mi
- Altoona, IA21 mi
- Colfax, IA21 mi
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