NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sheldon, 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 Sheldon, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 142 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 142
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Sheldon
The strongest of the 142 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF4 on June 25, 2010; its path came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on April 26, 1986, killed 1 person. Of the 142, 15 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 78 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 50. The most recent tornado was on July 28, 2025. Sheldon has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 67% of the 241 Iowa cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 119 times since 1968, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Sheldon has more hail reports within 10 miles than 69% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Sheldon
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s30(1 EF3+)
- 2000s33
- 1990s18(1 EF3+)
- 1980s14
- 1970s12(3 EF3+)
- 1960s13(2 EF3+)
- 1950s7
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25, 2010 | EF4 | 15 mi | 13.65 mi | 0 / 13 |
| Aug 7, 1994 | F3 | 17 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 1, 1971 | F3 | 22 mi | 11.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 19 mi | 8.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 5 mi | 46.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 22, 1968 | F3 | 10 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1964 | F3 | 15 mi | 67 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 26, 1986 | F2 | 17 mi | 18.5 mi | 1 / 4 |
| Aug 18, 2017 | EF2 | 13 mi | 5.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2008 | EF2 | 20 mi | 5.73 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 1, 2008 | EF2 | 22 mi | 12.95 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2004 | F2 | 24 mi | 5.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 142, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sheldon
The Storm Prediction Center has 119 hail reports within 10 miles of Sheldon since 1968, made on 61 separate days. Of these, 62 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on July 9, 2009. The most recent report is from September 16, 2025. July has the most reports, 33.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sheldon
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Sheldon, IA, in Sheldon at 1,420 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 25°F and 5°F. June is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 31.1 inches over 60 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 171 nights a year. Snowfall averages 40.8 inches a year, most of it in December. That 31.1 inches is more than at 11 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (9%). Hull, 15 miles west, has its own station (Sioux Ctr 2 SE, IA): 30.0 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25 | 5 | 0.9 | 3 | 8.7 |
| Feb | 30 | 9 | 1.0 | 3 | 7.2 |
| Mar | 43 | 21 | 1.9 | 4 | 6.6 |
| Apr | 57 | 32 | 3.2 | 7 | 3.3 |
| May | 69 | 46 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Jun | 79 | 57 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 60 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 58 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 48 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 35 | 2.4 | 4 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 44 | 22 | 1.5 | 3 | 4.7 |
| Dec | 30 | 11 | 1.2 | 3 | 9.6 |
| Year | 56 | 34 | 31.1 | 60 | 40.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Sheldon, IA (1,420 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 Sheldon
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 133 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sheldon: 81 thunderstorm wind reports, 32 floods, 16 flash floods, 3 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $10.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on June 22, 2015. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 145 have had fewer than Sheldon.
July 24, 2005: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Sheldon — 1 killed, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds flipped over a camper, twisted swing sets, blew down power poles, and caused widespread tree damage. Several trees were blown down, including one which fell on a tent, killing a participant in a bicycle ride across Iowa.”
June 1, 2019: flood 5 miles from the centre of Sheldon — $3.6 million damage.
NWS: “During crop planting season, prolonged flooding led to the loss of or inability to plant crops across the area. Crop loss estimates provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.”
March 13, 2019: flood 5 miles from the centre of Sheldon — $2.6 million damage.
NWS: “Flooding resulted in extensive damage to public infrastructure including numerous county and township roads, culverts, and some bridges.”
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
O'Brien County, which includes Sheldon, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on June 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives O'Brien 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 $11.1 million a year, the 66th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.9 million (35%), 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 Sheldon
- Hull, IA15 mi
- Orange City, IA16 mi
- Sibley, IA16 mi
- Sioux Center, IA18 mi
- Hartley, IA20 mi
- Rock Rapids, IA23 mi
- Rock Valley, IA23 mi
- Remsen, IA28 mi
- Le Mars, IA31 mi
- Worthington, MN33 mi
- Hawarden, IA33 mi
- Cherokee, IA34 mi
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