NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Wilton, 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 Wilton, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 160 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 160
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Wilton
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Wilton; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 49 mph winds when its centre passed 19 miles away. Wilton is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The strongest of the 160 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 11, 1965; its path came within 17 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an EF1 on June 24, 2013, killed 1 person. Of the 160, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 72 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 54. The most recent tornado was on July 11, 2025. Wilton has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 81% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 57 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 83% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Wilton.
Compare Wilton's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Wilton
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 19 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 Wilton: 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 Wilton
By decade
- 2020s30
- 2010s25
- 2000s17(1 EF3+)
- 1990s31(2 EF3+)
- 1980s24(1 EF3+)
- 1970s16(3 EF3+)
- 1960s13(2 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 17 mi | 91.5 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Jun 1, 2007 | EF3 | 10 mi | 15.75 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 15, 1998 | F3 | 15 mi | 47 mi | 0 / 47 |
| May 9, 1995 | F3 | 7 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1988 | F3 | 15 mi | 32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 1978 | F3 | 24 mi | 6.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1974 | F3 | 23 mi | 48.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 13, 1974 | F3 | 21 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1962 | F3 | 16 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 1962 | F2 | 25 mi | 4.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 2025 | EF2 | 16 mi | 7.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 23 mi | 18.02 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 160, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Wilton
The Storm Prediction Center has 57 hail reports within 10 miles of Wilton since 1962, made on 41 separate days. Of these, 38 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on September 18, 2022. The most recent report is from May 24, 2024. May has the most reports, 22.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Wilton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Muscatine 2N, IA, 9 miles south of Wilton at 680 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 14°F. June is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.4 inches; the year adds up to 38.3 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 125 nights a year. Snowfall averages 29.4 inches a year, most of it in February. That 38.3 inches is more than at 95 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (77%). Tipton, 12 miles northwest, has its own station (Tipton, IA): 36.5 inches a year, 1.8 less than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 14 | 1.4 | 3 | 7.0 |
| Feb | 35 | 18 | 1.6 | 4 | 8.6 |
| Mar | 48 | 28 | 2.4 | 5 | 4.0 |
| Apr | 61 | 39 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.7 |
| May | 72 | 51 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 61 | 5.4 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 64 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 62 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 54 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 43 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 49 | 31 | 2.2 | 5 | 1.4 |
| Dec | 36 | 20 | 2.0 | 5 | 7.4 |
| Year | 60 | 40 | 38.3 | 68 | 29.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Muscatine 2N, IA (680 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 Wilton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 118 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Wilton: 86 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 floods and 14 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 10, and the NWS estimated $3.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 98 mph, on March 14, 2025. June has had the most flash floods, 8 of 14. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 124 have had fewer than Wilton.
June 29, 1998: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Wilton — 10 injured, $1.5 million damage.
July 6, 2003: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Wilton — $375,000 damage.
May 10, 1996: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Wilton — $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
Cedar County, which includes Wilton, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 7 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 Cedar County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.5 million a year, the 55th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.3 million (42%), 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.