NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Spencer, 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 Spencer, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 112 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 112
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Spencer
The strongest of the 112 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 23, 1952; its path came within 22 miles. Of the 112, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 48 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 44. The most recent tornado was on August 29, 2024. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 70% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Spencer. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 166 times since 1957, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Spencer has more hail reports within 10 miles than 84% of the 241 Iowa cities.
Compare Spencer's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Spencer
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s12
- 2000s28(1 EF3+)
- 1990s9
- 1980s15(1 EF3+)
- 1970s11(4 EF3+)
- 1960s18(1 EF3+)
- 1950s11(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 23, 1952 | F4 | 22 mi | 24.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 11, 2004 | F3 | 14 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 1980 | F3 | in town | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 10, 1977 | F3 | 20 mi | 14.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 1, 1971 | F3 | 9 mi | 11.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 18 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 23 mi | 8.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1964 | F3 | 15 mi | 67 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 18 mi | 4.77 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2008 | EF2 | 1 mi | 13.08 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2008 | EF2 | 19 mi | 5.73 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2004 | F2 | 9 mi | 5.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 112, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Spencer
The Storm Prediction Center has 166 hail reports within 10 miles of Spencer since 1957, made on 97 separate days. Of these, 92 were 1 inch across or larger, and 13 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.25 inches, fell on May 21, 2004. The most recent report is from April 28, 2025. June has the most reports, 49.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Spencer
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Spencer 1 N, IA, 1 mile north of Spencer at 1,326 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 25°F and 7°F. June is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 31.1 inches over 59 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 16 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 161 nights a year. Snowfall averages 43.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 31.1 inches is more than at 11 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (9%). Milford, 13 miles north, has its own station (Milford 4 NW, IA): 29.5 inches a year, 1.6 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25 | 7 | 0.7 | 2 | 9.8 |
| Feb | 30 | 11 | 0.8 | 3 | 8.9 |
| Mar | 43 | 24 | 1.7 | 4 | 5.9 |
| Apr | 58 | 35 | 3.5 | 7 | 3.0 |
| May | 70 | 47 | 4.2 | 9 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 80 | 58 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 62 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 59 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 50 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 37 | 2.4 | 5 | 0.7 |
| Nov | 44 | 24 | 1.4 | 3 | 5.3 |
| Dec | 30 | 13 | 1.0 | 3 | 9.6 |
| Year | 57 | 36 | 31.1 | 59 | 43.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Spencer 1 N, IA (1,326 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 Spencer
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 236 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Spencer: 125 floods, 103 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on July 28, 2025. June has had the most flash floods, 4 of 7. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 42 have had fewer than Spencer.
May 6, 2008: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Spencer — 1 injured, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds blew down walls of a storage building, causing the building to collapse. Falling rubble injured one man while he was walking to his vehicle after work.”
June 13, 2001: thunderstorm wind in Spencer — $300,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage, with several streets blocked by fallen trees. Some vehicles were damaged by tree debris.”
March 13, 2019: flood 9 miles from the centre of Spencer — $300,000 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 Spencer's ZIP code 51301 have filed 76 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $5.4 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from June Midwest Flooding in 2024: 55 claims (72% of all) and $4.8 million. 80% 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, 60 have fewer than Spencer.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| June Midwest Flooding2024 | 55 | $4.8 million |
Clay County, which includes Spencer, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 7 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 Clay County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding and strong wind; Very Low for lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $17.1 million a year, the 25th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.0 million (64%), 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 Spencer
- Milford, IA13 mi
- Hartley, IA16 mi
- Spirit Lake, IA19 mi
- Emmetsburg, IA23 mi
- Estherville, IA24 mi
- Alta, IA33 mi
- Jackson, MN34 mi
- Cherokee, IA34 mi
- Lakefield, MN35 mi
- Sibley, IA35 mi
- Storm Lake, IA35 mi
- Sheldon, IA36 mi
All Iowa cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Spencer with another place →