NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rockwell 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
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Rockwell City, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 136 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 136
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Rockwell City
The highest rating among the 136 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 7 times; the most recent, on April 9, 2011, came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on June 28, 1979, killed 3 people. Of the 136, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 73 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 37. The most recent tornado was on June 4, 2024. Rockwell City has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 61% of the 241 Iowa cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 78 times since 1965, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 61% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Rockwell City.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Rockwell City
By decade
- 2020s32(1 EF3+)
- 2010s24(2 EF3+)
- 2000s17
- 1990s20(2 EF3+)
- 1980s16
- 1970s10(2 EF3+)
- 1960s11(2 EF3+)
- 1950s6(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 28, 1979 | F4 | 11 mi | 14.9 mi | 3 / 26 |
| Jun 9, 1954 | F4 | 3 mi | 9.9 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF4 | 24 mi | 3.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 1995 | F4 | 16 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 27, 1995 | F4 | 11 mi | 36 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 1967 | F4 | 25 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1965 | F4 | 11 mi | 9.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 2021 | EF3 | 9 mi | 10.81 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF3 | 25 mi | 29.37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 21, 1973 | F3 | 23 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1953 | F3 | 11 mi | 30.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 12, 2022 | EF2 | 18 mi | 7.17 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 136, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rockwell City
The Storm Prediction Center has 78 hail reports within 10 miles of Rockwell City since 1965, made on 51 separate days. Of these, 47 were 1 inch across or larger, and 13 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on June 30, 2014. The most recent report is from March 14, 2025. May has the most reports, 31.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rockwell City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Rockwell City, IA, in Rockwell City at 1,214 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 27°F and 8°F. May and June are the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 33.8 inches over 62 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 154 nights a year. Snowfall averages 32.1 inches a year, most of it in February. That 33.8 inches is more than at 22 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (18%). Sac City, 19 miles west, has its own station (Sac City, IA): 33.1 inches a year, 0.7 less than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 8 | 0.8 | 2 | 7.4 |
| Feb | 31 | 12 | 1.0 | 3 | 7.6 |
| Mar | 45 | 24 | 2.0 | 4 | 4.9 |
| Apr | 59 | 36 | 3.8 | 7 | 1.9 |
| May | 70 | 49 | 5.0 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 60 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 63 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 61 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 51 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 38 | 2.4 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Nov | 46 | 25 | 1.5 | 3 | 2.4 |
| Dec | 32 | 15 | 1.3 | 3 | 7.3 |
| Year | 58 | 37 | 33.8 | 62 | 32.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Rockwell City, IA (1,214 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 Rockwell City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 85 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rockwell City: 57 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 heavy rain events, 9 flash floods, 3 floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on June 23, 1998. August has had the most flash floods, 5 of 9. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 66 have had fewer than Rockwell City.
July 22, 2010: flash flood in Rockwell City — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Highway 4 south of Rockwell City is closed due to flooding. Humpty Dumpty Park in Rockwell City is flooded.”
June 23, 1998: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Rockwell City — $240,000 damage.
June 26, 2005: flood 6 miles from the centre of Rockwell City — $124,000 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
Calhoun County, which includes Rockwell City, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1979, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Calhoun County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate 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 $13.3 million a year, the 49th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.8 million (21%), is from tornadoes.
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 Rockwell City
- Manson, IA10 mi
- Sac City, IA19 mi
- Pocahontas, IA23 mi
- Fort Dodge, IA24 mi
- Carroll, IA26 mi
- Jefferson, IA29 mi
- Humboldt, IA31 mi
- Storm Lake, IA33 mi
- Ogden, IA39 mi
- Manning, IA40 mi
- Alta, IA40 mi
- Eagle Grove, IA41 mi
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