NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Shenandoah, 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 Shenandoah, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 125 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 125
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Shenandoah
The highest rating among the 125 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on March 29, 1979, came within 20 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on August 28, 1979, killed 2 people. Of the 125, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 51 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 39. 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 Shenandoah. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 75 times since 1955, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 63% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Shenandoah.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Shenandoah
By decade
- 2020s15(1 EF3+)
- 2010s12
- 2000s24
- 1990s16
- 1980s14(1 EF3+)
- 1970s10(3 EF3+)
- 1960s20(5 EF3+)
- 1950s14(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 12, 1964 | F4 | 9 mi | 13.1 mi | 1 / 28 |
| Mar 29, 1979 | F4 | 20 mi | 18.8 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Jun 22, 1964 | F4 | 2 mi | 11.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 5, 1954 | F4 | 10 mi | 6.3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 28, 1979 | F3 | 6 mi | 38.3 mi | 2 / 14 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF3 | 11 mi | 33.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1984 | F3 | 18 mi | 25 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Mar 29, 1979 | F3 | 25 mi | 29.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 22, 1964 | F3 | 8 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 1964 | F3 | 17 mi | 10.6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 19, 1964 | F3 | 2 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 5, 1954 | F3 | 12 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 125, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Shenandoah
The Storm Prediction Center has 75 hail reports within 10 miles of Shenandoah since 1955, made on 55 separate days. Of these, 50 were 1 inch across or larger, and 10 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 28, 2017. The most recent report is from April 17, 2025. June has the most reports, 27.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Shenandoah
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Shenandoah, IA, 2 miles north of Shenandoah at 999 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 14°F. May is the wettest at 6.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 36.4 inches over 63 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 32 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 137 nights a year. Snowfall averages 26.4 inches a year, most of it in February. That 36.4 inches is more than at 52 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (42%). Clarinda, 17 miles east, has its own station (Clarinda, IA): 36.8 inches a year, 0.4 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 14 | 0.9 | 3 | 7.0 |
| Feb | 39 | 18 | 1.2 | 4 | 7.5 |
| Mar | 52 | 29 | 2.1 | 5 | 2.8 |
| Apr | 64 | 40 | 3.3 | 7 | 1.2 |
| May | 74 | 53 | 6.2 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 63 | 5.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 67 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 64 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 79 | 55 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 66 | 42 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Nov | 51 | 29 | 1.8 | 4 | 1.5 |
| Dec | 38 | 19 | 1.4 | 3 | 5.8 |
| Year | 63 | 41 | 36.4 | 63 | 26.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Shenandoah, IA (999 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 Shenandoah
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 76 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Shenandoah: 65 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 floods, 3 flash floods, 1 heavy rain event and 1 lightning strike. They killed 2 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $24.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on August 10, 2025.
March 13, 2019: flood 8 miles from the centre of Shenandoah — 1 killed, 2 injured, $22.0 million damage.
NWS: “Flooding along the Nishnabotna River. 07 feet at 11 am on March 16th.”
August 10, 2025: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Shenandoah — 1 killed.
NWS: “A damaging wind event swept through Page County, Iowa, during the morning of August 10th, 2025. The most severe damage occurred near Shenandoah, where straight-line wind gusts were estimated as high as 95 miles per hour.”
May 6, 2007: flood 8 miles from the centre of Shenandoah — $932,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rainfall over the weekend of May 4th through the 6th, caused the the East Nishnabotna River to flood around the Shenandoah area. Flood waters inundated 45 trailers and some vehicles near town and caused the closure of Highways 59, 48 and old Highway 2.”
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
Page County, which includes Shenandoah, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 4 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 Page County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and heat waves; Relatively Low for strong wind and lightning; Very Low for inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.1 million a year, the 57th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.1 million (26%), 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 Shenandoah
- Clarinda, IA17 mi
- Red Oak, IA19 mi
- Nebraska City, NE27 mi
- Glenwood, IA28 mi
- Plattsmouth, NE34 mi
- Bedford, IA35 mi
- Auburn, NE36 mi
- Corning, IA36 mi
- Maryville, MO38 mi
- Bellevue, NE40 mi
- Council Bluffs, IA42 mi
- Syracuse, NE43 mi
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