NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Strawberry Point, 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 Strawberry Point, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 99 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 99
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for Strawberry Point
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Strawberry Point; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 49 mph winds when its centre passed 60 miles away. Strawberry Point is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The strongest of the 99 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 15, 1968; its path came within 19 miles, and it killed 5 people. Of the 99, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 52 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 28. The most recent tornado was on April 16, 2024. Of the 241 Iowa cities, 87% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Strawberry Point. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 87 times since 1991, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 53% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Strawberry Point.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Strawberry Point
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Strawberry Point: 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 Strawberry Point
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s15
- 2000s26(1 EF3+)
- 1990s15(2 EF3+)
- 1980s10(1 EF3+)
- 1970s3(1 EF3+)
- 1960s14(2 EF3+)
- 1950s5(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 1968 | F5 | 19 mi | 13.1 mi | 5 / 156 |
| Aug 12, 1974 | F4 | 24 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Apr 30, 1954 | F4 | 4 mi | 80.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1985 | F3 | 11 mi | 34 mi | 2 / 27 |
| May 25, 2008 | EF3 | 9 mi | 31.99 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 27, 1995 | F3 | 10 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 1993 | F3 | 12 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1964 | F3 | 18 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 10, 1953 | F3 | 20 mi | 6.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 6, 2001 | F2 | 12 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1998 | F2 | 9 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 22, 1991 | F2 | 12 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 99, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Strawberry Point
The Storm Prediction Center has 87 hail reports within 10 miles of Strawberry Point since 1991, made on 42 separate days. Of these, 52 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 24, 2009. The most recent report is from April 18, 2025. May has the most reports, 25.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Strawberry Point
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Elkader 6 SSW, IA, 6 miles northeast of Strawberry Point at 788 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 26°F and 6°F. June is the wettest at 6.7 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.3 inches; the year adds up to 38.9 inches over 68 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 164 nights a year. Snowfall averages 35.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 38.9 inches is more than at 108 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (87%). Manchester, 15 miles south, has its own station (Manchester #2, IA): 38.5 inches a year, 0.4 less than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26 | 6 | 1.3 | 4 | 10.2 |
| Feb | 31 | 10 | 1.3 | 4 | 8.0 |
| Mar | 44 | 22 | 2.0 | 5 | 5.4 |
| Apr | 59 | 34 | 4.0 | 7 | 1.3 |
| May | 70 | 46 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 56 | 6.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 60 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 58 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 49 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 37 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 45 | 25 | 2.3 | 4 | 2.3 |
| Dec | 32 | 14 | 1.6 | 4 | 8.1 |
| Year | 57 | 35 | 38.9 | 68 | 35.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Elkader 6 SSW, IA (788 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 Strawberry Point
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 126 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Strawberry Point: 67 thunderstorm wind reports, 24 floods, 23 flash floods and 12 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $31.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on June 24, 1998. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 180 have had fewer than Strawberry Point.
June 7, 2008: flood 6 miles from the centre of Strawberry Point — $24.7 million damage.
NWS: “Most secondary roads were either damaged or under water. Rainfall totals of 3 to 7 inches were reported during the weekend of June 7-8.”
June 1, 2008: flood 6 miles from the centre of Strawberry Point — $4.2 million damage.
September 20, 2018: flood 6 miles from the centre of Strawberry Point — $685,000 damage.
NWS: “After thunderstorms with locally heavy rain moved across Fayette County, water covered some roads across the county and street flooding occurred in Arlington.”
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
Clayton County, which includes Strawberry Point, has been named in 27 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 25 of them major disasters (by incident: 14 floods, 10 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Flooding, on August 25, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Clayton County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.5 million a year, the 40th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $9.2 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 Strawberry Point
- Manchester, IA15 mi
- Oelwein, IA21 mi
- Guttenberg, IA21 mi
- Dyersville, IA24 mi
- Independence, IA25 mi
- West Union, IA25 mi
- Monona, IA26 mi
- Postville, IA28 mi
- Fairbank, IA28 mi
- Prairie Du Chien, WI31 mi
- Farley, IA31 mi
- Sumner, IA32 mi
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