NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sibley, 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 Sibley, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 137 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 137
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Sibley
The strongest of the 137 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF4 on June 25, 2010; its path came within 1 mile. The deadliest, an F2 on April 26, 1986, killed 1 person. Of the 137, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 71 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 39. The most recent tornado was on July 28, 2025. Sibley has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 63% of the 241 Iowa cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 101 times since 1965, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Sibley has more hail reports within 10 miles than 58% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Sibley
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s28(1 EF3+)
- 2000s33
- 1990s20(1 EF3+)
- 1980s14
- 1970s14(3 EF3+)
- 1960s13(1 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25, 2010 | EF4 | 1 mi | 13.65 mi | 0 / 13 |
| Aug 7, 1994 | F3 | 2 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 21 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 12 mi | 8.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 4 mi | 46.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1964 | F3 | 22 mi | 67 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 26, 1986 | F2 | 10 mi | 18.5 mi | 1 / 4 |
| Aug 18, 2017 | EF2 | 6 mi | 5.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 25, 2000 | F2 | 22 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1993 | F2 | 2 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Aug 18, 1990 | F2 | 24 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1982 | F2 | 1 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 137, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sibley
The Storm Prediction Center has 101 hail reports within 10 miles of Sibley since 1965, made on 61 separate days. Of these, 56 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 12, 2001. The most recent report is from September 21, 2025. June and July have the most reports, 22 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sibley
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Sibley, IA, in Sibley at 1,529 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 23°F and 5°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 30.4 inches over 59 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 173 nights a year. Snowfall averages 41.5 inches a year, most of it in December. That 30.4 inches is more than at 10 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (8%). Sheldon, 16 miles south, has its own station (Sheldon, IA): 31.1 inches a year, 0.7 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23 | 5 | 0.7 | 2 | 8.1 |
| Feb | 28 | 9 | 0.8 | 3 | 7.4 |
| Mar | 41 | 21 | 1.6 | 4 | 7.0 |
| Apr | 56 | 33 | 3.3 | 7 | 3.7 |
| May | 69 | 46 | 4.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 57 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 60 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 58 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 49 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 36 | 2.3 | 5 | 1.1 |
| Nov | 43 | 22 | 1.4 | 3 | 5.1 |
| Dec | 28 | 11 | 1.1 | 3 | 9.1 |
| Year | 55 | 34 | 30.4 | 59 | 41.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Sibley, IA (1,529 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 Sibley
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 76 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sibley: 66 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 floods, 3 flash floods and 2 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $955,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on August 17, 2019.
July 18, 1998: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Sibley — $200,000 damage.
June 13, 2001: thunderstorm wind in Sibley — $200,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage, blew down power lines, and destroyed or damaged several large sheds and a silo on a farm. The severe winds also resulted in four calves being killed.”
June 13, 2001: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Sibley — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds destroyed an airplane hangar, a small airplane in the hangar, and a machine shed.”
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
Osceola County, which includes Sibley, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 4 severe storms, 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 Osceola 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 $5.5 million a year, the 99th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.7 million (30%), 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 Sibley
- Sheldon, IA16 mi
- Worthington, MN17 mi
- Hartley, IA21 mi
- Rock Rapids, IA22 mi
- Hull, IA25 mi
- Milford, IA29 mi
- Luverne, MN30 mi
- Orange City, IA32 mi
- Spirit Lake, IA32 mi
- Lakefield, MN32 mi
- Fulda, MN32 mi
- Sioux Center, IA32 mi
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