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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Saint Charles, 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 Saint Charles, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 156 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
1

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
156

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
7

8 deaths in all

What the records show for Saint Charles

None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Saint Charles; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 41 mph winds when its centre passed 28 miles away. Saint Charles 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 156 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 5, 2022, came within 6 miles. Of the 156, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 80 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 51. The most recent tornado was on July 15, 2024. Saint Charles has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 79% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 143 times since 1961, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Saint Charles has more hail reports within 10 miles than 78% of the 241 Iowa cities.

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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Saint Charles

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Saint Charles, Iowa, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1128 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 4

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Saint Charles: 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 Saint Charles

By decade

  • 2020s23(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s29(1 EF3+)
  • 2000s28(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s16(2 EF3+)
  • 1980s29
  • 1970s14(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s13
  • 1950s4
Strongest tornadoes near Saint Charles, Iowa
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Mar 5, 2022EF46 mi70.57 mi6 / 5
Jun 18, 1974F420 mi15.3 mi2 / 50
Apr 8, 1999F417 mi56 mi0 / 1
Aug 20, 2019EF315 mi5.4 mi0 / 0
Apr 11, 2001F37 mi76.5 mi0 / 0
Apr 8, 1999F319 mi39 mi0 / 5
Mar 29, 1979F33 mi57 mi0 / 4
Apr 26, 2024EF220 mi7.61 mi0 / 1
Apr 26, 2024EF217 mi5.84 mi0 / 0
Apr 26, 2024EF224 mi6.65 mi0 / 0
Apr 26, 2024EF218 mi13.86 mi0 / 0
Apr 14, 2012EF224 mi16.59 mi0 / 2

The strongest 12 of 156, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Saint Charles

The Storm Prediction Center has 143 hail reports within 10 miles of Saint Charles since 1961, made on 74 separate days. Of these, 86 were 1 inch across or larger, and 10 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on July 3, 2001. The most recent report is from September 16, 2025. June has the most reports, 48.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Saint Charles

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Indianola 2W, IA, 9 miles northeast of Saint Charles at 924 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 12°F. June is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 37.8 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 143 nights a year. Snowfall averages 30.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 37.8 inches is more than at 82 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (66%). Winterset, 13 miles west, has its own station (Winterset 1S, IA): 34.8 inches a year, 3.0 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 86°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Indianola 2W, IA
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow in
Jan32120.938.5
Feb36151.448.2
Mar50271.953.7
Apr62383.971.0
May72505.690.3
Jun81605.780.0
Jul86644.360.0
Aug84623.960.0
Sep78523.960.0
Oct65403.050.5
Nov50281.941.9
Dec37171.436.7
Year613937.86530.8

Averages for 1991–2020 at Indianola 2W, IA (924 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.

Iowa weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Saint Charles

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 157 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Saint Charles: 74 thunderstorm wind reports, 36 heavy rain events, 32 floods and 15 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $6.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 105 mph, on June 30, 2014. June has had the most flash floods, 7 of 15. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 137 have had fewer than Saint Charles.

  • June 26, 2010: flood 9 miles from the centre of Saint Charles — $550,000 damage.

  • June 15, 2013: flood 9 miles from the centre of Saint Charles — $525,000 damage.

  • July 28, 2015: flood 6 miles from the centre of Saint Charles — $500,000 damage.

    NWS: “90 feet at 2:15 PM CDT on 29 July.”

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

Madison County, which includes Saint Charles, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 23, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Madison County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.3 million a year, the 74th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.9 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 Saint Charles

All Iowa cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Saint Charles with another place →

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