NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit West Union, 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 West Union, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 84 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 84
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for West Union
The strongest of the 84 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 15, 1968; its path came within 9 miles, and it killed 5 people. Of the 84, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 25 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on July 23, 2022. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 95% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than West Union. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 49 times since 1955, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Of the 241 Iowa cities, 91% have more hail reports within 10 miles than West Union.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of West Union
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s8
- 2000s11
- 1990s14
- 1980s10(1 EF3+)
- 1970s12(3 EF3+)
- 1960s19(2 EF3+)
- 1950s4(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 1968 | F5 | 9 mi | 13.1 mi | 5 / 156 |
| Jul 12, 1971 | F4 | 13 mi | 10.9 mi | 0 / 8 |
| May 30, 1985 | F3 | 17 mi | 34 mi | 2 / 27 |
| Jun 24, 1971 | F3 | 6 mi | 0.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Nov 9, 1975 | F3 | 24 mi | 39.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1964 | F3 | 25 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 10, 1953 | F3 | 25 mi | 6.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 7, 1994 | F2 | 24 mi | 9.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 1990 | F2 | 23 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 24, 1988 | F2 | 12 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 29, 1987 | F2 | 20 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 10, 1981 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 84, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in West Union
The Storm Prediction Center has 49 hail reports within 10 miles of West Union since 1955, made on 31 separate days. Of these, 31 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.25 inches, fell on July 24, 2009. The most recent report is from April 12, 2022. July has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in West Union
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Fayette, IA, 7 miles south of West Union at 1,145 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 25°F and 6°F. June is the wettest at 5.9 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.2 inches; the year adds up to 39.6 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 6 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 164 nights a year. Snowfall averages 41.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.6 inches is more than at 118 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (95%). Postville, 16 miles northeast, has its own station (Postville, IA): 39.0 inches a year, 0.6 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25 | 6 | 1.2 | 4 | 10.8 |
| Feb | 29 | 9 | 1.2 | 3 | 9.9 |
| Mar | 42 | 22 | 2.1 | 5 | 5.4 |
| Apr | 57 | 33 | 4.1 | 7 | 1.8 |
| May | 69 | 45 | 5.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 56 | 5.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 60 | 5.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 57 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 48 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 36 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 44 | 24 | 2.1 | 4 | 2.7 |
| Dec | 31 | 13 | 1.7 | 4 | 10.2 |
| Year | 56 | 34 | 39.6 | 71 | 41.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Fayette, IA (1,145 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 Union
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 75 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of West Union: 48 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 floods, 6 heavy rain events and 3 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $6.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on May 21, 2024.
August 7, 1996: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of West Union — 1 injured, $30,000 damage.
June 8, 2008: flood 9 miles from the centre of West Union — $4.8 million damage.
August 24, 2016: flood 4 miles from the centre of West Union — $410,000 damage.
NWS: “Runoff from heavy rain pushed the Turkey River out of its banks near Eldorado. 92 feet.”
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
Fayette County, which includes West Union, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 floods, 8 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 Fayette County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.9 million a year, the 36th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.9 million (53%), 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 Union
- Postville, IA16 mi
- Sumner, IA18 mi
- Oelwein, IA21 mi
- Monona, IA23 mi
- Strawberry Point, IA25 mi
- Decorah, IA25 mi
- Tripoli, IA26 mi
- Waukon, IA26 mi
- New Hampton, IA26 mi
- Fairbank, IA27 mi
- Cresco, IA31 mi
- Denver, IA34 mi
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