NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Van Meter, 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 Van Meter, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 168 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 168
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Van Meter
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Van Meter; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 41 mph winds when its centre passed 43 miles away. Van Meter 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 168 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on March 5, 2022, came within 9 miles. Of the 168, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 85 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 59. The most recent tornado was on July 15, 2024. Van Meter has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 84% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 165 times since 1970, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Van Meter has more hail reports within 10 miles than 83% of the 241 Iowa cities.
Compare Van Meter's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Van Meter
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Van Meter: 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 Van Meter
By decade
- 2020s23(1 EF3+)
- 2010s31
- 2000s31(1 EF3+)
- 1990s18(2 EF3+)
- 1980s33
- 1970s14(3 EF3+)
- 1960s12
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 5, 2022 | EF4 | 9 mi | 70.57 mi | 6 / 5 |
| Jun 18, 1974 | F4 | 21 mi | 15.3 mi | 2 / 50 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F4 | 5 mi | 56 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 27, 1995 | F4 | 16 mi | 57 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 11, 2001 | F3 | 8 mi | 76.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1979 | F3 | 18 mi | 57 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F3 | 18 mi | 17.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF2 | 16 mi | 40.84 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF2 | 16 mi | 14.63 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | EF2 | 19 mi | 7.61 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | EF2 | 23 mi | 13.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 22, 2011 | EF2 | 3 mi | 9.98 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 168, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Van Meter
The Storm Prediction Center has 165 hail reports within 10 miles of Van Meter since 1970, made on 86 separate days. Of these, 99 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently June 28, 2017. The most recent report is from March 14, 2025. May has the most reports, 52.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Van Meter
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Winterset 1S, IA, 13 miles south of Van Meter at 1,100 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 10°F. May is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 34.8 inches over 65 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 145 nights a year. Snowfall averages 30.7 inches a year, most of it in February. That 34.8 inches is more than at 30 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (24%). Cumming, 8 miles east, has its own station (Des Moines International Airport, IA): 36.6 inches a year, 1.8 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 10 | 0.8 | 3 | 7.3 |
| Feb | 35 | 13 | 1.3 | 4 | 8.3 |
| Mar | 48 | 25 | 2.1 | 5 | 4.7 |
| Apr | 61 | 35 | 3.6 | 8 | 0.8 |
| May | 71 | 48 | 5.0 | 9 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 80 | 58 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 62 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 59 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 51 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 38 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.9 |
| Nov | 48 | 26 | 2.0 | 4 | 2.7 |
| Dec | 35 | 16 | 1.2 | 3 | 5.9 |
| Year | 59 | 37 | 34.8 | 65 | 30.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Winterset 1S, IA (1,100 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 Van Meter
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 344 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Van Meter: 160 thunderstorm wind reports, 81 heavy rain events, 74 floods, 24 flash floods and 5 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $34.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 105 mph, on June 30, 2014. June has had the most flash floods, 9 of 24. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 182 have had fewer than Van Meter.
October 5, 2018: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Van Meter — 3 injured.
June 12, 2010: flood 9 miles from the centre of Van Meter — $20.0 million damage.
June 25, 2015: flood 9 miles from the centre of Van Meter — $1.2 million 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
Madison County, which includes Van Meter, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 23, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Madison County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.3 million a year, the 74th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.9 million (38%), 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.