NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Spirit Lake, 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 Spirit Lake, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 116 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 116
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Spirit Lake
The highest rating among the 116 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 7 times; the most recent, on September 20, 1980, came within 19 miles. Of the 116, 14 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 47 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 38. The most recent tornado was on August 29, 2024. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 62% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Spirit Lake. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 141 times since 1960, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Spirit Lake has more hail reports within 10 miles than 78% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Spirit Lake
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s15
- 2000s26
- 1990s12
- 1980s15(1 EF3+)
- 1970s17(5 EF3+)
- 1960s18(1 EF3+)
- 1950s7
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 20, 1980 | F3 | 19 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 10, 1977 | F3 | 22 mi | 14.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 1, 1971 | F3 | 22 mi | 11.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 6 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 17 mi | 8.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 15 mi | 46.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1964 | F3 | 24 mi | 67 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 11, 2008 | EF2 | 19 mi | 13.08 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2004 | F2 | 19 mi | 5.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 1994 | F2 | 23 mi | 13 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 1991 | F2 | 13 mi | 18 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 18, 1990 | F2 | 4 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 116, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Spirit Lake
The Storm Prediction Center has 141 hail reports within 10 miles of Spirit Lake since 1960, made on 78 separate days. Of these, 74 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on June 24, 1978. The most recent report is from June 11, 2025. June has the most reports, 57.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Spirit Lake
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Spirit Lake, IA, 2 miles west of Spirit Lake at 1,420 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 7°F. June is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 29.0 inches over 53 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 149 nights a year. Snowfall averages 41.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 29.0 inches is more than at 1 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (1%). Milford, 7 miles south, has its own station (Milford 4 NW, IA): 29.5 inches a year, 0.5 more than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 7 | 0.6 | 2 | 9.5 |
| Feb | 28 | 11 | 0.6 | 2 | 8.2 |
| Mar | 42 | 23 | 1.4 | 3 | 6.0 |
| Apr | 56 | 35 | 3.0 | 6 | 5.1 |
| May | 68 | 48 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 79 | 59 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 63 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 60 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 52 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 59 | 39 | 2.1 | 4 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 42 | 25 | 1.4 | 3 | 4.2 |
| Dec | 29 | 13 | 0.8 | 2 | 8.0 |
| Year | 55 | 36 | 29.0 | 53 | 41.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Spirit Lake, 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 Spirit Lake
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 201 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Spirit Lake: 102 thunderstorm wind reports, 76 floods, 22 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 97 mph, on July 17, 2010. June has had the most flash floods, 12 of 22. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 176 have had fewer than Spirit Lake.
July 17, 2010: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Spirit Lake — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds caused significant damage to crops, especially corn, according to the county farm Service Agency director. The winds also destroyed or damaged several small farm buildings and shelters.”
June 12, 2001: thunderstorm wind in Spirit Lake — $300,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage, including large trees blown down. Some of the trees landed on vehicles and houses and caused further damage.”
March 13, 2019: flood 8 miles from the centre of Spirit Lake — $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 Spirit Lake's ZIP code 51360 have filed 12 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2015, and were paid $296,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 75% 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, 4 have fewer than Spirit Lake.
Dickinson County, which includes Spirit Lake, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 6 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 Dickinson County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, 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 $14.4 million a year, the 41st highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.4 million (58%), 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 Spirit Lake
- Milford, IA7 mi
- Jackson, MN15 mi
- Estherville, IA15 mi
- Lakefield, MN16 mi
- Spencer, IA19 mi
- Hartley, IA25 mi
- Worthington, MN28 mi
- Emmetsburg, IA30 mi
- Windom, MN31 mi
- Sibley, IA32 mi
- Fairmont, MN36 mi
- Mountain Lake, MN37 mi
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