NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sioux 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 Sioux City, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 117 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 117
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Sioux City
The highest rating among the 117 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on June 16, 2014, came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on June 18, 1973, killed 2 people. Of the 117, 14 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 40 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 39. The most recent tornado was on April 16, 2024. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 61% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Sioux City. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 224 times since 1955, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Sioux City has more hail reports within 10 miles than 90% of the 241 Iowa cities.
Compare Sioux City's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Sioux City
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s14(2 EF3+)
- 2000s18
- 1990s24(1 EF3+)
- 1980s16(1 EF3+)
- 1970s17(1 EF3+)
- 1960s15(3 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 16, 2014 | EF4 | 24 mi | 15.84 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 4, 2013 | EF4 | 19 mi | 24.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 28, 1986 | F4 | 10 mi | 52.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 5, 1994 | F3 | 13 mi | 1.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1979 | F3 | 12 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 14, 1967 | F3 | 23 mi | 6.2 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 8, 1964 | F3 | 22 mi | 9.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1964 | F3 | 2 mi | 67 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 18, 1973 | F2 | 16 mi | 2 mi | 2 / 10 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 11 mi | 8.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 4, 2013 | EF2 | 12 mi | 26.56 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 17, 2001 | F2 | 10 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 3 |
The strongest 12 of 117, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sioux City
The Storm Prediction Center has 224 hail reports within 10 miles of Sioux City since 1955, made on 113 separate days. Of these, 125 were 1 inch across or larger, and 10 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.25 inches, fell on June 29, 2017. The most recent report is from June 28, 2025. June has the most reports, 61.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sioux City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Sioux City Gateway Airport, IA, 8 miles south of Sioux City at 1,095 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 10°F. June is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 29.5 inches over 55 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 25 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 154 nights a year. Snowfall averages 36.0 inches a year, most of it in February. That 29.5 inches is more than at 5 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (4%). Hinton, 11 miles northeast, has its own station (Le Mars, IA): 30.0 inches a year, 0.5 more than here, and the same July average high, 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 10 | 0.7 | 2 | 7.7 |
| Feb | 34 | 15 | 0.9 | 3 | 8.7 |
| Mar | 48 | 26 | 1.8 | 4 | 5.7 |
| Apr | 61 | 37 | 3.2 | 6 | 2.3 |
| May | 72 | 49 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 59 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 63 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 61 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 51 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 38 | 2.2 | 4 | 0.8 |
| Nov | 47 | 25 | 1.3 | 3 | 3.2 |
| Dec | 33 | 15 | 1.0 | 3 | 7.6 |
| Year | 59 | 37 | 29.5 | 55 | 36.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Sioux City Gateway Airport, IA (1,095 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 Sioux City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 255 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sioux City: 187 thunderstorm wind reports, 37 floods, 27 flash floods, 2 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $26.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 98 mph, on August 2, 2001. June has had the most flash floods, 11 of 27. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 190 have had fewer than Sioux City.
July 20, 2008: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Sioux City — 1 injured, $5.0 million damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds caused widespread damage in and near Sioux City. Tree damage included large trees blown down, blocking several roads.”
August 2, 2001: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Sioux City — 1 injured, $50,000 damage.
July 16, 1996: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Sioux City — $6.0 million 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Sioux City's 7 ZIP codes have filed 245 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.4 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1990: 131 claims (53% of all) and $699,000, then June Midwest Flooding in 2024 with 14. 63% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 91 Iowa cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 77 have fewer than Sioux City.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1990 | 131 | $699,000 |
| June Midwest Flooding2024 | 14 | $523,000 |
Woodbury County, which includes Sioux City, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on May 21, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Woodbury County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $50.7 million a year, the 5th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $18.2 million (36%), 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.