NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sumner, 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 Sumner, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 116 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 116
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
17 deaths in all
What the records show for Sumner
The highest rating among the 116 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5 or EF5, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 25, 2008, came within 16 miles. Of the 116, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 48 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 31. The most recent tornado was on July 5, 2022. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 62% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Sumner. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 54 times since 1962, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 88% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Sumner.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Sumner
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s15
- 2000s26(3 EF3+)
- 1990s17
- 1980s12
- 1970s13(3 EF3+)
- 1960s23(4 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 2008 | EF5 | 16 mi | 40.97 mi | 9 / 70 |
| May 15, 1968 | F5 | 13 mi | 13.1 mi | 5 / 156 |
| Jul 12, 1971 | F4 | 16 mi | 10.9 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Sep 1, 1961 | F4 | 18 mi | 26.6 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 11, 2000 | F3 | 18 mi | 18.6 mi | 1 / 25 |
| Jun 24, 1971 | F3 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Apr 16, 1960 | F3 | 25 mi | 29.8 mi | 1 / 5 |
| May 25, 2008 | EF3 | 18 mi | 31.99 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Nov 9, 1975 | F3 | 12 mi | 39.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1964 | F3 | 20 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 14, 2021 | EF2 | 16 mi | 12.88 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 6, 2001 | F2 | 25 mi | 1 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 Sumner
The Storm Prediction Center has 54 hail reports within 10 miles of Sumner since 1962, made on 27 separate days. Of these, 36 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 2 days, most recently June 12, 2013. The most recent report is from April 18, 2025. June has the most reports, 22.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sumner
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Tripoli, IA, 8 miles west of Sumner at 1,055 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 25°F and 7°F. June is the wettest at 6.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 38.7 inches over 68 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 158 nights a year. That 38.7 inches is more than at 102 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (82%). Fairbank, 14 miles south, has its own station (Oelwein 1E, IA): 35.4 inches a year, 3.3 less than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25 | 7 | 1.2 | 4 |
| Feb | 29 | 12 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Mar | 43 | 24 | 2.0 | 5 |
| Apr | 58 | 36 | 3.9 | 8 |
| May | 70 | 48 | 5.1 | 9 |
| Jun | 80 | 59 | 6.0 | 9 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 4.8 | 6 |
| Aug | 81 | 59 | 4.3 | 6 |
| Sep | 75 | 50 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Oct | 61 | 38 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Nov | 44 | 26 | 2.0 | 4 |
| Dec | 31 | 15 | 1.5 | 4 |
| Year | 57 | 36 | 38.7 | 68 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Tripoli, IA (1,055 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 Sumner
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 86 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sumner: 47 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 heavy rain events, 15 flash floods and 6 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $3.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on June 16, 2014. July has had the most flash floods, 8 of 15. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 137 have had fewer than Sumner.
July 20, 2019: thunderstorm wind in Sumner — 2 injured, $2,000 damage.
NWS: “Some inflatables were blown away from a town celebration. Two injuries were sustained at the town celebration from outdoor flying objects.”
June 16, 2014: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Sumner — $940,000 damage.
July 10, 2009: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Sumner — $605,000 damage.
NWS: “A two mile long path of destruction occurred from approximately 150th Street and S and U Avenues. Numerous barns, bins and outbuildings were demolished.”
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 Sumner's ZIP code 50674 have filed 23 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2004, and were paid $312,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2017, with 12. 4% 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, 29 have fewer than Sumner.
Bremer County, which includes Sumner, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 23, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Bremer County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $15.3 million a year, the 34th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.1 million (46%), 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 Sumner
- Tripoli, IA8 mi
- Fairbank, IA14 mi
- Oelwein, IA15 mi
- Denver, IA17 mi
- West Union, IA18 mi
- New Hampton, IA19 mi
- Waverly, IA19 mi
- Nashua, IA23 mi
- Janesville, IA23 mi
- Shell Rock, IA26 mi
- Evansdale, IA27 mi
- Jesup, IA27 mi
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