NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Tama, 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 Tama, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 114 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 114
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for Tama
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Tama; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 46 mph winds when its centre passed 33 miles away. Tama is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The highest rating among the 114 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 24, 1989, came within 17 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on September 16, 1978, killed 6 people. Of the 114, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 51 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 33. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Of the 241 Iowa cities, 66% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Tama. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 30 times since 1966, with stones up to 3.75 inches. Of the 241 Iowa cities, 99% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Tama.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Tama
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Tama: 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 Tama
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s13(1 EF3+)
- 2000s29
- 1990s12
- 1980s8(2 EF3+)
- 1970s21(5 EF3+)
- 1960s14(2 EF3+)
- 1950s8(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 1989 | F4 | 17 mi | 66 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 28, 1986 | F4 | 25 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 12, 1974 | F4 | 25 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 16, 1978 | F3 | 20 mi | 31.8 mi | 6 / 45 |
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | 8 mi | 87.7 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Jul 19, 2018 | EF3 | 16 mi | 8.41 mi | 0 / 22 |
| May 4, 1977 | F3 | 11 mi | 17.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 9, 1975 | F3 | 18 mi | 39.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 18 mi | 9.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1966 | F3 | 2 mi | 27.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 1, 1951 | F3 | 19 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Mar 5, 2022 | EF2 | 2 mi | 8.54 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 114, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Tama
The Storm Prediction Center has 30 hail reports within 10 miles of Tama since 1966, made on 26 separate days. Of these, 20 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.75 inches, fell on August 16, 1987. The most recent report is from July 28, 2023. June has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Tama
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Toledo 3N, IA, 6 miles north of Tama at 935 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 27°F and 9°F. June is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 35.3 inches over 66 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 152 nights a year. Snowfall averages 32.8 inches a year, most of it in January and December. That 35.3 inches is more than at 34 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (27%). Brooklyn, 15 miles southeast, has its own station (Belle Plaine, IA): 36.1 inches a year, 0.8 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 9 | 1.0 | 3 | 8.6 |
| Feb | 32 | 13 | 1.0 | 3 | 7.9 |
| Mar | 45 | 25 | 1.8 | 5 | 4.2 |
| Apr | 59 | 36 | 3.5 | 7 | 1.1 |
| May | 70 | 48 | 4.8 | 9 | 0.2 |
| Jun | 80 | 59 | 5.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 59 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 51 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 39 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 46 | 27 | 2.0 | 4 | 1.8 |
| Dec | 33 | 16 | 1.2 | 3 | 8.6 |
| Year | 58 | 37 | 35.3 | 66 | 32.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Toledo 3N, IA (935 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 Tama
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 86 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Tama: 54 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 heavy rain events, 11 flash floods and 6 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $24.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 115 mph, on July 11, 2011. May has had the most flash floods, 5 of 11. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 95 have had fewer than Tama.
June 12, 2010: flood 9 miles from the centre of Tama — $20.0 million damage.
June 29, 1998: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Tama — $1.1 million damage.
July 11, 2011: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Tama — $800,000 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 Tama's ZIP code 52339 have filed 26 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1982, and were paid $201,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Midwest Flooding in 1993: 23 claims (88% of all) and $201,000. 88% 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, 33 have fewer than Tama.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 23 | $201,000 |
Tama County, which includes Tama, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 floods, 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Tama County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.6 million a year, the 53rd highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.6 million (37%), 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 Tama
- Toledo, IA5 mi
- Brooklyn, IA15 mi
- Belle Plaine, IA17 mi
- Grinnell, IA17 mi
- Traer, IA17 mi
- Marshalltown, IA18 mi
- Montezuma, IA26 mi
- Reinbeck, IA26 mi
- Marengo, IA28 mi
- Newton, IA29 mi
- Hudson, IA30 mi
- Grundy Center, IA30 mi
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