NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Tiffin, 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 Tiffin, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 138 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 138
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for Tiffin
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Tiffin; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 48 mph winds when its centre crossed the city. Tiffin 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 138 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on March 31, 2023, came within 14 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on June 7, 1984, killed 3 people. Of the 138, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 65 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 39. The most recent tornado was on June 25, 2024. Tiffin has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 65% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 143 times since 1968, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Tiffin has more hail reports within 10 miles than 78% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Tiffin
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | overhead | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Tiffin: 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 Tiffin
By decade
- 2020s20(1 EF3+)
- 2010s17
- 2000s28(1 EF3+)
- 1990s18(1 EF3+)
- 1980s23(1 EF3+)
- 1970s20(2 EF3+)
- 1960s7(1 EF3+)
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 1984 | F4 | 13 mi | 134 mi | 3 / 64 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF4 | 14 mi | 19.9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 21, 2004 | F3 | 25 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 1998 | F3 | 16 mi | 47 mi | 0 / 47 |
| May 18, 1971 | F3 | 23 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1971 | F3 | 25 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1965 | F3 | 14 mi | 47.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 20, 1953 | F3 | 19 mi | 38.6 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 22, 1962 | F2 | 8 mi | 4.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 11 mi | 8.97 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 12 mi | 14.69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 3 mi | 16.93 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 138, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Tiffin
The Storm Prediction Center has 143 hail reports within 10 miles of Tiffin since 1968, made on 69 separate days. Of these, 83 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 4 days, most recently June 18, 1998. The most recent report is from July 10, 2025. May has the most reports, 36.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Tiffin
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Iowa City Municipal Airport, IA, 8 miles southeast of Tiffin at 650 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 15°F. June is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 35.7 inches over 63 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 19 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 135 nights a year. That 35.7 inches is more than at 41 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (33%). Swisher, 9 miles north, has its own station (Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport, IA): 36.1 inches a year, 0.4 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 15 | 1.0 | 2 |
| Feb | 36 | 19 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Mar | 50 | 30 | 2.2 | 5 |
| Apr | 63 | 40 | 3.8 | 7 |
| May | 73 | 52 | 4.5 | 8 |
| Jun | 83 | 62 | 5.3 | 8 |
| Jul | 86 | 66 | 3.9 | 5 |
| Aug | 84 | 63 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Sep | 78 | 54 | 3.2 | 5 |
| Oct | 64 | 42 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Nov | 49 | 30 | 2.2 | 4 |
| Dec | 36 | 20 | 1.5 | 3 |
| Year | 61 | 41 | 35.7 | 63 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Iowa City Municipal Airport, IA (650 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 Tiffin
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 219 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Tiffin: 175 thunderstorm wind reports, 35 flash floods, 6 lightning strikes, 2 floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 1 person and injured 15, and the NWS estimated $48.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on July 27, 2011. June has had the most flash floods, 17 of 35. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 204 have had fewer than Tiffin.
May 29, 2011: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Tiffin — 1 killed, $10,000 damage.
June 29, 1998: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Tiffin — 12 injured, $44.7 million damage.
August 20, 2010: lightning strike in Tiffin — 1 injured, $1,000 damage.
NWS: “Lightning struck a home at 283 Woodfield Drive in Tiffin, IA around 310 pm CDT August 20. A teenage male was shocked while using a laptop computer at the time of the lightning strike.”
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
Johnson County, which includes Tiffin, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 floods, 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, on August 17, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Johnson County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively High for tornadoes and hail; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $96.3 million a year, the 2nd highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $36.2 million (38%), is from tornadoes.
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 Tiffin
- North Liberty, IA4 mi
- Coralville, IA5 mi
- Iowa City, IA8 mi
- Swisher, IA9 mi
- Solon, IA11 mi
- Amana, IA13 mi
- Ely, IA14 mi
- Kalona, IA14 mi
- Fairfax, IA15 mi
- Riverside, IA17 mi
- West Branch, IA17 mi
- Williamsburg, IA18 mi
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