NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sac 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 Sac City, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 110 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 110
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Sac City
The highest rating among the 110 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on April 9, 2011, came within 22 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on June 28, 1979, killed 3 people. Of the 110, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 58 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 30. The most recent tornado was on May 31, 2024. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 73% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Sac City. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 55 times since 1964, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 88% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Sac City.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Sac City
By decade
- 2020s26(1 EF3+)
- 2010s26(3 EF3+)
- 2000s6
- 1990s18(2 EF3+)
- 1980s12
- 1970s9(1 EF3+)
- 1960s6
- 1950s7(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 28, 1979 | F4 | 24 mi | 14.9 mi | 3 / 26 |
| Jun 9, 1954 | F4 | 17 mi | 9.9 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF4 | 22 mi | 3.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 1995 | F4 | 7 mi | 36 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 2021 | EF3 | 16 mi | 10.81 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF3 | 9 mi | 29.37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF3 | 14 mi | 10.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F3 | 12 mi | 7.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1953 | F3 | 17 mi | 30.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 6 mi | 17.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF2 | 21 mi | 0.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF2 | 9 mi | 1.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 110, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sac City
The Storm Prediction Center has 55 hail reports within 10 miles of Sac City since 1964, made on 39 separate days. Of these, 39 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently April 19, 2023. The most recent report is from April 23, 2025. May has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sac City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Sac City, IA, 1 mile southeast of Sac City at 1,210 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 26°F and 8°F. June is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 33.1 inches over 64 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 159 nights a year. Snowfall averages 30.9 inches a year, most of it in February. That 33.1 inches is more than at 18 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (15%). Storm Lake, 18 miles northwest, has its own station (Sioux Rapids 4 E, IA): 32.0 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26 | 8 | 0.7 | 3 | 7.0 |
| Feb | 31 | 12 | 1.0 | 3 | 7.4 |
| Mar | 44 | 24 | 1.8 | 4 | 4.2 |
| Apr | 59 | 35 | 3.5 | 7 | 1.9 |
| May | 70 | 47 | 4.6 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 58 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 59 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 50 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 37 | 2.4 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 45 | 24 | 1.6 | 3 | 2.7 |
| Dec | 32 | 14 | 1.2 | 3 | 7.2 |
| Year | 57 | 36 | 33.1 | 64 | 30.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Sac City, IA (1,210 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 Sac City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 55 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sac City: 32 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 heavy rain events, 10 flash floods and 2 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 91 mph, on June 13, 2001. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 10. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 81 have had fewer than Sac City.
May 26, 2013: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Sac City — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Widespread heavy rainfall of up to 8 inches caused flash flooding which was also widespread, affecting the western and southern parts of the county.”
July 23, 2010: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Sac City — $260,000 damage.
NWS: “Sierra road was closed from Shasta Ave to 270th St due to flooding. Other road closures are on 170th St north of Sac City and 350th St near Grant City.”
April 25, 2007: flood 8 miles from the centre of Sac City — $250,000 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
Sac County, which includes Sac City, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on February 23, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Sac County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail; Relatively Low for tornadoes and strong wind; Very Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.7 million a year, the 37th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.4 million (23%), 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 Sac City
- Storm Lake, IA18 mi
- Rockwell City, IA19 mi
- Manson, IA24 mi
- Alta, IA24 mi
- Ida Grove, IA25 mi
- Pocahontas, IA26 mi
- Carroll, IA26 mi
- Denison, IA34 mi
- Manning, IA36 mi
- Cherokee, IA36 mi
- Fort Dodge, IA42 mi
- Jefferson, IA42 mi
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