NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Vinton, 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 Vinton, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 139 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 139
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Vinton
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Vinton; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 48 mph winds when its centre passed 36 miles away. Vinton 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 139 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on August 26, 1965, came within 7 miles. Of the 139, 14 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 76 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 30. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Vinton has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 66% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 116 times since 1971, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Vinton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 67% of the 241 Iowa cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Vinton
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 36 mi | 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 Vinton: 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 Vinton
By decade
- 2020s22
- 2010s18
- 2000s36(1 EF3+)
- 1990s17
- 1980s14
- 1970s13(5 EF3+)
- 1960s9(4 EF3+)
- 1950s10(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 26, 1965 | F4 | 7 mi | 4.7 mi | 1 / 17 |
| Apr 30, 1954 | F4 | 15 mi | 80.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | 2 mi | 87.7 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Apr 16, 1960 | F3 | 21 mi | 29.8 mi | 1 / 5 |
| May 21, 2004 | F3 | 13 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 1977 | F3 | 18 mi | 17.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 9, 1975 | F3 | 21 mi | 39.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 8 mi | 9.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1971 | F3 | 14 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1971 | F3 | 15 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1966 | F3 | 13 mi | 27.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | EF2 | 16 mi | 6.74 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 139, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Vinton
The Storm Prediction Center has 116 hail reports within 10 miles of Vinton since 1971, made on 67 separate days. Of these, 75 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently August 8, 1988. The most recent report is from July 11, 2025. June has the most reports, 42.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Vinton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Vinton, IA, in Vinton at 850 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 26°F and 8°F. June is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.2 inches; the year adds up to 38.1 inches over 70 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 146 nights a year. Snowfall averages 33.6 inches a year, most of it in December. That 38.1 inches is more than at 89 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (72%). Atkins, 15 miles southeast, has its own station (Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport, IA): 36.1 inches a year, 2.0 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26 | 8 | 1.2 | 4 | 8.3 |
| Feb | 30 | 12 | 1.3 | 4 | 8.5 |
| Mar | 44 | 24 | 2.1 | 5 | 4.4 |
| Apr | 59 | 35 | 3.9 | 7 | 1.4 |
| May | 69 | 47 | 5.0 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 57 | 5.6 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 60 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 58 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 50 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 37 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 44 | 25 | 2.1 | 4 | 1.8 |
| Dec | 31 | 15 | 1.6 | 4 | 8.8 |
| Year | 56 | 36 | 38.1 | 70 | 33.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Vinton, IA (850 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 Vinton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 158 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Vinton: 136 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 flash floods, 6 floods and 2 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $779.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 120 mph, on July 11, 2011. June has had the most flash floods, 6 of 14. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 124 have had fewer than Vinton.
June 1, 2008: flood 10 miles from the centre of Vinton — $750.0 million damage.
August 10, 2006: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Vinton — $15.1 million damage.
NWS: “Severe straight line winds estimated around 61 knots (70 mph) began in the western part of the county southwest of Garrison and moved across the southern third to 40 percent of the county affecting about 160 square miles.”
June 1, 2008: flood 9 miles from the centre of Vinton — $10.0 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Vinton's ZIP code 52349 have filed 90 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1982, and were paid $1.7 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Storm in 2008: 26 claims (29% of all) and $953,000. 33% 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, 65 have fewer than Vinton.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Storm2008 | 26 | $953,000 |
Benton County, which includes Vinton, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 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 Benton County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes 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 $15.7 million a year, the 31st highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.2 million (52%), 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 Vinton
- Center Point, IA12 mi
- La Porte City, IA14 mi
- Atkins, IA15 mi
- Hiawatha, IA19 mi
- Robins, IA19 mi
- Jesup, IA20 mi
- Fairfax, IA21 mi
- Independence, IA22 mi
- Cedar Rapids, IA22 mi
- Belle Plaine, IA24 mi
- Traer, IA24 mi
- Marion, IA24 mi
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