NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Polk City, 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 Polk City, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 201 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 201
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Polk City
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Polk City; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 43 mph winds when its centre passed 53 miles away. Polk City is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The strongest of the 201 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 13, 1976; its path came within 13 miles. The deadliest, an EF4 on March 5, 2022, killed 6 people. Of the 201, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 92 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 65. The most recent tornado was on July 19, 2025. Polk City has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 98% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 277 times since 1958, with stones up to 5.5 inches. Polk City has more hail reports within 10 miles than 92% of the 241 Iowa cities.
Compare Polk City's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Polk City
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 53 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 Polk City: 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 Polk City
By decade
- 2020s22(1 EF3+)
- 2010s24
- 2000s46
- 1990s31(4 EF3+)
- 1980s30(1 EF3+)
- 1970s21(4 EF3+)
- 1960s18
- 1950s9(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 13, 1976 | F5 | 13 mi | 21.3 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Mar 5, 2022 | EF4 | 21 mi | 70.57 mi | 6 / 5 |
| Jun 18, 1974 | F4 | 6 mi | 15.3 mi | 2 / 50 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F4 | 8 mi | 56 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 27, 1995 | F4 | 22 mi | 57 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 28, 1986 | F4 | 6 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1959 | F4 | 21 mi | 41.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 22, 1991 | F3 | 9 mi | 43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F3 | 24 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F3 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F3 | 18 mi | 17.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1950 | F3 | 15 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 5 |
The strongest 12 of 201, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Polk City
The Storm Prediction Center has 277 hail reports within 10 miles of Polk City since 1958, made on 112 separate days. Of these, 182 were 1 inch across or larger, and 21 reached 2 inches. The largest, 5.5 inches, fell on May 22, 2004. The most recent report is from May 19, 2025. June has the most reports, 71.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Polk City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Des Moines Wsfo-Johnston, IA, 3 miles south of Polk City at 959 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 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 36.4 inches over 65 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 135 nights a year. Snowfall averages 38.0 inches a year, most of it in February. That 36.4 inches is more than at 54 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (44%). Ankeny, 7 miles southeast, has its own station (Ankeny, IA): 37.2 inches a year, 0.8 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 13 | 1.0 | 3 | 9.7 |
| Feb | 35 | 17 | 1.3 | 4 | 10.5 |
| Mar | 49 | 29 | 2.2 | 5 | 5.0 |
| Apr | 62 | 40 | 4.0 | 7 | 1.6 |
| May | 72 | 52 | 4.8 | 9 | 0.2 |
| Jun | 81 | 62 | 5.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 66 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 64 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 55 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 43 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 48 | 30 | 2.0 | 4 | 2.2 |
| Dec | 35 | 19 | 1.5 | 3 | 8.3 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 36.4 | 65 | 38.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Des Moines Wsfo-Johnston, IA (959 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 Polk City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 585 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Polk City: 317 thunderstorm wind reports, 181 heavy rain events, 59 flash floods, 14 floods and 14 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 8, and the NWS estimated $61.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 120 mph, on June 29, 1998. June has had the most flash floods, 28 of 59. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 228 have had fewer than Polk City.
June 18, 2009: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Polk City — 3 injured.
May 22, 2004: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Polk City — 2 injured.
September 6, 2001: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Polk City — 1 injured, $85,000 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
Polk County, which includes Polk City, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Polk County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively High for tornadoes, hail and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $137.6 million a year, the highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $60.6 million (44%), 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.