NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Waukon, 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 Waukon, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 49 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 49
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Waukon
The strongest of the 49 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 30, 1954; its path came within 17 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 24, 1971, killed 1 person. Of the 49, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 15 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 12. The most recent tornado was on June 25, 2025. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 100% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Waukon. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 31 times since 1974, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 99% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Waukon.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Waukon
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s7
- 2000s3
- 1990s8(1 EF3+)
- 1980s6
- 1970s8(1 EF3+)
- 1960s9
- 1950s3(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 1954 | F4 | 17 mi | 80.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 1971 | F3 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1994 | F3 | 19 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1953 | F3 | 18 mi | 6.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 24, 1988 | F2 | 24 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 29, 1987 | F2 | 2 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1980 | F2 | 22 mi | 70.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 1973 | F2 | 17 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 25, 1965 | F2 | 14 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 25, 1965 | F2 | 16 mi | 14.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 4, 1964 | F2 | 21 mi | 12.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 4, 1964 | F2 | 14 mi | 9.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 49, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Waukon
The Storm Prediction Center has 31 hail reports within 10 miles of Waukon since 1974, made on 22 separate days. Of these, 16 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on April 17, 2004. The most recent report is from April 13, 2018. April has the most reports, 10.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Waukon
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Postville, IA, 13 miles south of Waukon at 1,165 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 26°F and 7°F. June is the wettest at 5.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 39.0 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 161 nights a year. Snowfall averages 39.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.0 inches is more than at 110 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (89%). Decorah, 16 miles west, has its own station (Decorah, IA): 37.7 inches a year, 1.3 less 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 | 26 | 7 | 1.1 | 4 | 12.0 |
| Feb | 30 | 11 | 1.2 | 4 | 10.4 |
| Mar | 43 | 22 | 2.1 | 5 | 5.0 |
| Apr | 58 | 34 | 4.1 | 7 | 1.6 |
| May | 69 | 47 | 5.0 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 58 | 5.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 61 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 58 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 49 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 37 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 45 | 26 | 2.1 | 4 | 2.7 |
| Dec | 31 | 14 | 1.6 | 4 | 8.0 |
| Year | 57 | 35 | 39.0 | 71 | 39.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Postville, IA (1,165 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 Waukon
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 74 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Waukon: 53 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 flash floods, 7 floods and 4 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 19, 2013. June has had the most flash floods, 6 of 10. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 81 have had fewer than Waukon.
July 19, 2017: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Waukon — 1 injured, $30,000 damage.
NWS: “A farmer sustained injuries when the barn he was doing chores in was blown down on top of him.”
June 8, 2008: flood 9 miles from the centre of Waukon — $1.3 million damage.
NWS: “m. 46 feet.”
August 24, 2016: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Waukon — $400,000 damage.
NWS: “Runoff from heavy rain caused flooding to occur in and around Waukon. Several rescues had to be performed to save people from the flooding.”
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
Allamakee County, which includes Waukon, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 floods, 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Flooding, on August 25, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Allamakee County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.4 million a year, the 73rd highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.9 million (57%), 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 Waukon
- Postville, IA12 mi
- Monona, IA15 mi
- Decorah, IA16 mi
- Prairie Du Chien, WI24 mi
- Caledonia, MN25 mi
- West Union, IA26 mi
- Stoddard, WI32 mi
- Cresco, IA32 mi
- Viroqua, WI35 mi
- Houston, MN35 mi
- Guttenberg, IA39 mi
- Strawberry Point, IA39 mi
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