NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Tripoli, 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 Tripoli, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 120 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 120
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
16 deaths in all
What the records show for Tripoli
The highest rating among the 120 tornadoes within 25 miles is F5 or EF5, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 25, 2008, came within 14 miles. Of the 120, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 50 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 37. The most recent tornado was on May 9, 2024. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 56% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Tripoli. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 68 times since 1975, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 71% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Tripoli.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Tripoli
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s15
- 2000s24(3 EF3+)
- 1990s17
- 1980s14
- 1970s14(2 EF3+)
- 1960s22(4 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 2008 | EF5 | 14 mi | 40.97 mi | 9 / 70 |
| May 15, 1968 | F5 | 19 mi | 13.1 mi | 5 / 156 |
| Jul 12, 1971 | F4 | 21 mi | 10.9 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Sep 1, 1961 | F4 | 12 mi | 26.6 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 11, 2000 | F3 | 17 mi | 18.6 mi | 1 / 25 |
| Apr 16, 1960 | F3 | 25 mi | 29.8 mi | 1 / 5 |
| May 25, 2008 | EF3 | 19 mi | 31.99 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Nov 9, 1975 | F3 | 14 mi | 39.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1964 | F3 | 23 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 14, 2021 | EF2 | 9 mi | 12.88 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 6, 2001 | F2 | 8 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2000 | F2 | 17 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 120, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Tripoli
The Storm Prediction Center has 68 hail reports within 10 miles of Tripoli since 1975, made on 26 separate days. Of these, 53 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 28, 2023. The most recent report is from April 18, 2025. June has the most reports, 34.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Tripoli
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Tripoli, IA, in Tripoli 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%). Denver, 10 miles south, has its own station (Waterloo Municipal Airport, IA): 36.2 inches a year, 2.5 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 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 Tripoli
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 88 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Tripoli: 46 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 heavy rain events, 13 flash floods and 10 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $2.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 23, 2010. July has had the most flash floods, 9 of 13. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 114 have had fewer than Tripoli.
July 20, 2019: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Tripoli — 2 injured, $2,000 damage.
June 23, 2010: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Tripoli — $350,000 damage.
NWS: “Three houses damaged and 2 barns down. One house was shifted on its foundation.”
June 16, 2014: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Tripoli — $200,000 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 Tripoli's ZIP code 50676 have filed 13 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1999, and were paid $438,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 8% 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, 6 have fewer than Tripoli.
Bremer County, which includes Tripoli, 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 Tripoli
- Sumner, IA8 mi
- Denver, IA10 mi
- Waverly, IA11 mi
- Fairbank, IA15 mi
- Janesville, IA15 mi
- Nashua, IA17 mi
- Shell Rock, IA18 mi
- New Hampton, IA18 mi
- Oelwein, IA19 mi
- Clarksville, IA20 mi
- Cedar Falls, IA22 mi
- Waterloo, IA23 mi
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