NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Wendell, ID
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 Wendell, Idaho since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 18 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 18
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Wendell
The strongest of the 18 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on June 9, 1990; its path came within 12 miles. Of the 18, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 4 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 5. The most recent tornado was on June 30, 2016. Wendell has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 66% of the 90 Idaho cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 4 times since 2013, with stones up to 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size). Of the 90 Idaho cities, 87% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Wendell.
Compare Wendell's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Wendell
By decade
- 2010s3
- 2000s1
- 1990s6
- 1980s7
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 9, 1990 | F2 | 12 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 10, 1990 | F1 | 6 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 20, 1988 | F1 | 15 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 20, 1988 | F1 | 12 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 1986 | F1 | 12 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 8, 1985 | F1 | 20 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 2, 1985 | F1 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1956 | F1 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 2016 | EF0 | 14 mi | 1.46 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 2013 | EF0 | 16 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 16, 2011 | EF0 | 13 mi | 7.36 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 4, 2006 | F0 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 18, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Wendell
The Storm Prediction Center has 4 hail reports within 10 miles of Wendell since 2013. Of these, 3 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size), fell on August 22, 2014. The most recent report is from June 5, 2022.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Wendell
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Jerome, ID, 10 miles east of Wendell at 3,740 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 22°F. December is the wettest at 1.5 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.1 inches; the year adds up to 10.4 inches over 33 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 54 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 153 nights a year. That 10.4 inches is more than at 15 of the 66 Idaho stations used on this site (23%). Hagerman, 11 miles west, has its own station (Hagerman 2 SW, ID): 9.8 inches a year, 0.6 less than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 22 | 1.4 | 5 |
| Feb | 41 | 25 | 0.8 | 3 |
| Mar | 52 | 31 | 1.1 | 4 |
| Apr | 60 | 36 | 1.0 | 4 |
| May | 70 | 44 | 1.3 | 3 |
| Jun | 79 | 52 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Jul | 90 | 59 | 0.1 | 0 |
| Aug | 89 | 57 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Sep | 78 | 48 | 0.4 | 1 |
| Oct | 63 | 38 | 0.9 | 3 |
| Nov | 47 | 28 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Dec | 36 | 22 | 1.5 | 5 |
| Year | 62 | 39 | 10.4 | 33 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Jerome, ID (3,740 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 Wendell
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 15 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Wendell: 10 thunderstorm wind reports and 5 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $3.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on August 16, 2021.
February 5, 2017: flood 8 miles from the centre of Wendell — $2.1 million damage.
NWS: “A significant warmup caused massive sheet flooding in Lincoln County beginning early in the month and continuing through the end. Significant damage occurred to private homes and especially roadways.”
February 8, 2017: flood 10 miles from the centre of Wendell — $1.5 million damage.
March 1, 2017: flood 8 miles from the centre of Wendell — $277,000 damage.
NWS: “Snow melt sheet flooding continued into March in the region with continued road and property damage due to the waters. The last two days of the month release from the Magic Reservoir into the Big Wood River caused some flooding 5 miles north of Shoshone and trapped a many in his home for a couple of days.”
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
Gooding County, which includes Wendell, has been named in 7 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1964, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 earthquake, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 9, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Gooding County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.4 million a year, the 28th highest of 44 Idaho counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.0 million (35%), 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 Wendell
- Hagerman, ID11 mi
- Buhl, ID13 mi
- Gooding, ID13 mi
- Jerome, ID13 mi
- Filer, ID14 mi
- Twin Falls, ID20 mi
- Kimberly, ID24 mi
- Shoshone, ID24 mi
- Hansen, ID28 mi
- Hazelton, ID35 mi
- Paul, ID43 mi
- Heyburn, ID49 mi
All Idaho cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Wendell with another place →