NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Waverly, 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 Waverly, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 125 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 125
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
12 deaths in all
What the records show for Waverly
The strongest of the 125 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF5 on May 25, 2008; its path came within 10 miles, and it killed 9 people. Of the 125, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 57 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 39. The most recent tornado was on May 9, 2024. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 49% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Waverly. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 92 times since 1960, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Waverly has more hail reports within 10 miles than 51% of the 241 Iowa cities.
Compare Waverly's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Waverly
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s16
- 2000s30(3 EF3+)
- 1990s15
- 1980s14
- 1970s19(1 EF3+)
- 1960s17(2 EF3+)
- 1950s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 2008 | EF5 | 10 mi | 40.97 mi | 9 / 70 |
| Sep 1, 1961 | F4 | 9 mi | 26.6 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 11, 2000 | F3 | 15 mi | 18.6 mi | 1 / 25 |
| Apr 16, 1960 | F3 | 24 mi | 29.8 mi | 1 / 5 |
| May 20, 1953 | F3 | 24 mi | 116.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 25, 2008 | EF3 | 24 mi | 31.99 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Nov 9, 1975 | F3 | 20 mi | 39.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 2021 | EF2 | 3 mi | 12.88 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 6, 2001 | F2 | in town | 11.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2000 | F2 | 19 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2000 | F2 | 17 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 1999 | F2 | 18 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 125, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Waverly
The Storm Prediction Center has 92 hail reports within 10 miles of Waverly since 1960, made on 46 separate days. Of these, 69 were 1 inch across or larger, and 14 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.25 inches, fell on May 25, 2008. The most recent report is from September 22, 2025. June has the most reports, 32.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Waverly
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Tripoli, IA, 11 miles northeast of Waverly 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%). Janesville, 7 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 Waverly
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 166 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Waverly: 87 thunderstorm wind reports, 43 floods, 19 heavy rain events, 11 flash floods and 6 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 9, and the NWS estimated $31.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on September 13, 2005. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 95 have had fewer than Waverly.
July 20, 2019: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Waverly — 9 injured, $20,000 damage.
NWS: “Numerous tents on the fairgrounds were blown down with people in them causing some injuries. In another place in town a woman had a broken arm when a tree fell on her while mowing the lawn.”
June 12, 2010: flood 6 miles from the centre of Waverly — $20.0 million damage.
June 1, 2008: flood 8 miles from the centre of Waverly — $1.5 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 Waverly's ZIP code 50677 have filed 548 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $12.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Storm in 2008: 320 claims (58% of all) and $11.2 million, then Midwest Flooding in 1993 with 22. 63% 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, 85 have fewer than Waverly.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Storm2008 | 320 | $11.2 million |
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 22 | $81,000 |
Bremer County, which includes Waverly, 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.