NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Red Oak, 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
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Red Oak, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 125 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 125
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Red Oak
The highest rating among the 125 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on May 21, 2024, came within 17 miles. Of the 125, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 56 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 40. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 49% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Red Oak. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 91 times since 1960, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Red Oak has more hail reports within 10 miles than 50% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Red Oak
By decade
- 2020s23(2 EF3+)
- 2010s9
- 2000s24
- 1990s17(1 EF3+)
- 1980s21(1 EF3+)
- 1970s9(2 EF3+)
- 1960s14(6 EF3+)
- 1950s8(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2024 | EF4 | 17 mi | 40.65 mi | 5 / 35 |
| Apr 12, 1964 | F4 | 14 mi | 13.1 mi | 1 / 28 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F4 | 20 mi | 49 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 22, 1964 | F4 | 16 mi | 11.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 28, 1979 | F3 | 24 mi | 38.3 mi | 2 / 14 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF3 | 9 mi | 33.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1984 | F3 | 20 mi | 25 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 13, 1974 | F3 | 12 mi | 10.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 18, 1968 | F3 | 23 mi | 21.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1964 | F3 | 18 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 1964 | F3 | 21 mi | 10.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 19, 1964 | F3 | 12 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 125, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Red Oak
The Storm Prediction Center has 91 hail reports within 10 miles of Red Oak since 1960, made on 59 separate days. Of these, 63 were 1 inch across or larger, and 11 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently March 19, 2020. The most recent report is from July 10, 2024. June has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Red Oak
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Red Oak, IA, in Red Oak at 1,040 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 13°F. May is the wettest at 6.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 37.3 inches over 63 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 26 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 142 nights a year. Snowfall averages 27.4 inches a year, most of it in February. That 37.3 inches is more than at 71 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (57%). Shenandoah, 19 miles south, has its own station (Shenandoah, IA): 36.4 inches a year, 0.9 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 13 | 0.9 | 3 | 7.3 |
| Feb | 38 | 16 | 1.1 | 3 | 8.1 |
| Mar | 51 | 28 | 2.0 | 5 | 2.6 |
| Apr | 63 | 38 | 3.8 | 7 | 1.2 |
| May | 73 | 51 | 6.0 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 61 | 5.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 66 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 63 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 53 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 66 | 41 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 50 | 28 | 1.9 | 4 | 1.2 |
| Dec | 37 | 18 | 1.4 | 3 | 6.5 |
| Year | 62 | 40 | 37.3 | 63 | 27.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Red Oak, IA (1,040 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 Red Oak
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 93 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Red Oak: 69 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 floods, 8 heavy rain events and 6 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on June 11, 2026. May has had the most flash floods, 5 of 6. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 32 have had fewer than Red Oak.
May 7, 2007: flash flood 1 mile from the centre of Red Oak — $1.1 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain for the second consecutive night caused flash flooding along Red Oak Creek in Red Oak as the creek backed up because of high flows on the East Nishnabotna River. Authorities attempted to evacuate nearly 1,600 people, beginning around 300 am local time, although not every attempt was successful.”
June 5, 2008: flood 9 miles from the centre of Red Oak — $800,000 damage.
NWS: “Rainfall of 3 to 5 inches fell over much of southwest Iowa during the late afternoon and overnight hours of June 4th and 5th. The heavy rain caused the East Nishnabotna River to flood northwest Page county.”
March 13, 2019: flood 10 miles from the centre of Red Oak — $237,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain and rapid snow melt caused the East Nishnabotna River and Red Oak Creek to flood. Several roads were closed due to high water across Montgomery County.”
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 Red Oak's ZIP code 51566 have filed 46 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $107,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2007, with 14. 7% 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, 49 have fewer than Red Oak.
Montgomery County, which includes Red Oak, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 6 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Montgomery County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for inland flooding and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.2 million a year, the 63rd highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.2 million (38%), 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 Red Oak
- Shenandoah, IA19 mi
- Clarinda, IA21 mi
- Corning, IA24 mi
- Glenwood, IA26 mi
- Atlantic, IA30 mi
- Bedford, IA35 mi
- Council Bluffs, IA36 mi
- Plattsmouth, NE36 mi
- Lenox, IA37 mi
- Bellevue, NE38 mi
- Carter Lake, IA41 mi
- Nebraska City, NE41 mi
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