NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Stuart, 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 Stuart, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 132 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 132
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
13 deaths in all
What the records show for Stuart
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Stuart; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 54 miles away. Stuart is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The strongest of the 132 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 27, 1953; its path came within 20 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an EF4 on March 5, 2022, killed 6 people. Of the 132, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 79 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 57. The most recent tornado was on June 25, 2024. Stuart has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 58% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 106 times since 1971, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Stuart has more hail reports within 10 miles than 63% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Stuart
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Stuart: 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 Stuart
By decade
- 2020s21(2 EF3+)
- 2010s36
- 2000s22(1 EF3+)
- 1990s10(4 EF3+)
- 1980s20
- 1970s10(1 EF3+)
- 1960s8
- 1950s5(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 27, 1953 | F5 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Mar 5, 2022 | EF4 | 19 mi | 70.57 mi | 6 / 5 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF4 | 12 mi | 40.65 mi | 5 / 35 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F4 | 14 mi | 56 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F4 | 8 mi | 49 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 27, 1995 | F4 | 4 mi | 57 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 10, 1959 | F4 | 11 mi | 41.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 11, 2001 | F3 | 24 mi | 76.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 1994 | F3 | 12 mi | 14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F3 | 19 mi | 17.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 2019 | EF2 | 15 mi | 4.75 mi | 1 / 1 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF2 | 6 mi | 14.63 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 132, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Stuart
The Storm Prediction Center has 106 hail reports within 10 miles of Stuart since 1971, made on 57 separate days. Of these, 76 were 1 inch across or larger, and 10 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on July 2, 1999. The most recent report is from May 19, 2024. June has the most reports, 38.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Stuart
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Greenfield, IA, 16 miles southwest of Stuart at 1,316 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 11°F. May is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 36.8 inches over 64 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 19 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 138 nights a year. Snowfall averages 25.5 inches a year, most of it in February. That 36.8 inches is more than at 63 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (51%). Earlham, 11 miles east, has its own station (Winterset 1S, IA): 34.8 inches a year, 2.0 less than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 11 | 0.9 | 3 | 6.8 |
| Feb | 35 | 15 | 1.3 | 3 | 7.3 |
| Mar | 48 | 27 | 2.0 | 5 | 3.0 |
| Apr | 61 | 38 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.8 |
| May | 71 | 50 | 5.3 | 9 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 80 | 60 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 64 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 62 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 53 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 41 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 48 | 28 | 2.0 | 4 | 1.7 |
| Dec | 34 | 17 | 1.5 | 3 | 5.4 |
| Year | 59 | 39 | 36.8 | 64 | 25.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Greenfield, IA (1,316 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 Stuart
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 103 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Stuart: 69 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 heavy rain events, 11 floods, 6 flash floods and 4 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $22.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 1, 2001. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 32 have had fewer than Stuart.
June 12, 2010: flood 6 miles from the centre of Stuart — $20.0 million damage.
April 25, 2007: flood 9 miles from the centre of Stuart — $500,000 damage.
May 24, 2007: flood 7 miles from the centre of Stuart — $500,000 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
Adair County, which includes Stuart, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Adair County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.2 million a year, the 44th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.5 million (18%), 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 Stuart
- Earlham, IA11 mi
- Panora, IA14 mi
- Greenfield, IA14 mi
- Guthrie Center, IA17 mi
- Adel, IA17 mi
- Winterset, IA19 mi
- Van Meter, IA20 mi
- Dallas Center, IA23 mi
- Waukee, IA25 mi
- Perry, IA26 mi
- Cumming, IA28 mi
- Clive, IA29 mi
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