NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit West Liberty, 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 West Liberty, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 133 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 133
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for West Liberty
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed West Liberty; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 49 mph winds when its centre passed 16 miles away. West Liberty 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 133 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on June 1, 2007, came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an EF1 on June 24, 2013, killed 1 person. Of the 133, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 56 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 49. The most recent tornado was on March 14, 2025. West Liberty has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 59% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 49 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 91% have more hail reports within 10 miles than West Liberty.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near West Liberty
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in West Liberty: 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 West Liberty
By decade
- 2020s20
- 2010s19
- 2000s17(1 EF3+)
- 1990s30(2 EF3+)
- 1980s22
- 1970s14
- 1960s7(1 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1, 2007 | EF3 | 15 mi | 15.75 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 15, 1998 | F3 | 6 mi | 47 mi | 0 / 47 |
| May 9, 1995 | F3 | 20 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1965 | F3 | 14 mi | 47.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 22, 1962 | F2 | 14 mi | 4.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 7 mi | 19.56 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 14 mi | 16.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 21 mi | 8.97 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 10 mi | 14.69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 19 mi | 16.93 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 6, 2017 | EF2 | 24 mi | 34.68 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 6, 2017 | EF2 | 22 mi | 25.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 133, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in West Liberty
The Storm Prediction Center has 49 hail reports within 10 miles of West Liberty since 1962, made on 30 separate days. Of these, 31 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on August 11, 2005. The most recent report is from May 24, 2024. May has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in West Liberty
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Iowa City, IA, 13 miles west of West Liberty at 640 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 29°F and 12°F. June is the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 38.6 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 24 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 130 nights a year. Snowfall averages 27.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 38.6 inches is more than at 100 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (81%). Wilton, 14 miles east, has its own station (Muscatine 2N, IA): 38.3 inches a year, 0.3 less than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29 | 12 | 1.1 | 3 | 7.6 |
| Feb | 34 | 16 | 1.4 | 4 | 7.5 |
| Mar | 48 | 27 | 2.3 | 5 | 3.2 |
| Apr | 62 | 37 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.5 |
| May | 72 | 49 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 59 | 5.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 63 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 60 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 52 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 40 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 48 | 28 | 2.3 | 4 | 1.1 |
| Dec | 34 | 18 | 1.6 | 4 | 7.2 |
| Year | 60 | 38 | 38.6 | 68 | 27.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Iowa City, IA (640 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 West Liberty
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 105 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of West Liberty: 74 thunderstorm wind reports, 23 floods, 7 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on April 18, 1996. June has had the most flash floods, 6 of 7. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 42 have had fewer than West Liberty.
June 21, 1997: thunderstorm wind in West Liberty — 1 injured, $15,000 damage.
NWS: “An eleven year old girl was injured by flying glass when a tree struck her home. The tree struck the house and smashed a window as the girl and her parents were running to the basement for shelter.”
August 29, 2009: flood 6 miles from the centre of West Liberty — $500,000 damage.
July 25, 2010: flood 9 miles from the centre of West Liberty — $250,000 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 West Liberty's ZIP code 52776 have filed 19 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $178,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 16% 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, 23 have fewer than West Liberty.
Muscatine County, which includes West Liberty, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 floods, 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on May 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Muscatine County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for hail and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $20.3 million a year, the 21st highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $10.1 million (50%), 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 West Liberty
- West Branch, IA8 mi
- Lone Tree, IA11 mi
- Wilton, IA14 mi
- Tipton, IA14 mi
- Iowa City, IA15 mi
- Riverside, IA17 mi
- Muscatine, IA17 mi
- Coralville, IA18 mi
- Durant, IA18 mi
- Solon, IA21 mi
- North Liberty, IA22 mi
- Columbus Junction, IA22 mi
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