NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Story 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
1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Story City, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 176 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 176
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Story City
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Story City; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 44 mph winds when its centre passed 73 miles away. Story City is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The strongest of the 176 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 13, 1976; its path passed within a mile of the city centre. The deadliest, an F3 on November 12, 2005, killed 1 person. Of the 176, 15 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 89 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 49. The most recent tornado was on July 19, 2025. Story City has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 87% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 126 times since 1968, with stones up to 5 inches. Story City has more hail reports within 10 miles than 73% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Story City
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Story City: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Story City
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s34
- 2000s40(1 EF3+)
- 1990s31(2 EF3+)
- 1980s11(2 EF3+)
- 1970s17(2 EF3+)
- 1960s21
- 1950s7(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 13, 1976 | F5 | in town | 21.3 mi | 0 / 9 |
| May 30, 1989 | F4 | 23 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 24, 1989 | F4 | 3 mi | 66 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 12, 2005 | F3 | 18 mi | 17.6 mi | 1 / 3 |
| May 20, 1953 | F3 | 3 mi | 116.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Mar 22, 1991 | F3 | 10 mi | 43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 1990 | F3 | 15 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F3 | 9 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1950 | F3 | 14 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF2 | 16 mi | 40.84 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 17 mi | 12.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 16 mi | 16.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 176, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Story City
The Storm Prediction Center has 126 hail reports within 10 miles of Story City since 1968, made on 57 separate days. Of these, 90 were 1 inch across or larger, and 18 reached 2 inches. The largest, 5 inches, fell on May 30, 1998. The most recent report is from June 20, 2025. May has the most reports, 41.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Story City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ames Municipal Airport, IA, 14 miles south of Story City at 930 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 29°F and 11°F. May and June are the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 36.1 inches over 62 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 17 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 147 nights a year. That 36.1 inches is more than at 43 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (35%). Nevada, 13 miles southeast, has its own station (Colo, IA): 36.4 inches a year, 0.3 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29 | 11 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Feb | 33 | 15 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Mar | 47 | 27 | 2.0 | 4 |
| Apr | 61 | 38 | 3.9 | 7 |
| May | 72 | 50 | 5.2 | 8 |
| Jun | 81 | 60 | 5.2 | 8 |
| Jul | 84 | 63 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Aug | 82 | 60 | 4.9 | 7 |
| Sep | 76 | 51 | 3.3 | 5 |
| Oct | 63 | 39 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Nov | 47 | 27 | 1.9 | 4 |
| Dec | 34 | 17 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Year | 59 | 38 | 36.1 | 62 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ames Municipal Airport, IA (930 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 Story City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 199 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Story City: 109 thunderstorm wind reports, 59 heavy rain events, 17 floods, 13 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $25.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on April 13, 2018. August has had the most flash floods, 6 of 13. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 114 have had fewer than Story City.
April 8, 1999: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Story City — 4 injured, $20,000 damage.
April 8, 1999: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Story City — 1 injured, $40,000 damage.
June 12, 2010: flood 6 miles from the centre of Story City — $20.0 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
Story County, which includes Story City, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 severe storms, 6 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Story County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes; Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $36.1 million a year, the 10th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $16.4 million (45%), 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 Story City
- Ames, IA11 mi
- Nevada, IA13 mi
- Boone, IA16 mi
- Huxley, IA20 mi
- Webster City, IA22 mi
- Madrid, IA24 mi
- Maxwell, IA24 mi
- Ogden, IA25 mi
- State Center, IA25 mi
- Eldora, IA28 mi
- Woodward, IA28 mi
- Iowa Falls, IA28 mi
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