NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Windsor Heights, 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 Windsor Heights, Iowa since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 198 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 198
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Windsor Heights
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Windsor Heights; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 43 mph winds when its centre passed 42 miles away. Windsor Heights is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 241 Iowa cities on this site. The strongest of the 198 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 13, 1976; its path came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an EF4 on March 5, 2022, killed 6 people. Of the 198, 20 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 107 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 70. The most recent tornado was on July 15, 2024. Windsor Heights has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 97% of the 241 Iowa cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 606 times since 1956, with stones up to 3.25 inches. Windsor Heights has more hail reports within 10 miles than any other of the 241 Iowa cities.
Compare Windsor Heights's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Windsor Heights
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Windsor Heights: 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 Windsor Heights
By decade
- 2020s28(1 EF3+)
- 2010s33
- 2000s46(1 EF3+)
- 1990s22(3 EF3+)
- 1980s33(1 EF3+)
- 1970s18(4 EF3+)
- 1960s12
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 13, 1976 | F5 | 24 mi | 21.3 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Mar 5, 2022 | EF4 | 10 mi | 70.57 mi | 6 / 5 |
| Jun 18, 1974 | F4 | 7 mi | 15.3 mi | 2 / 50 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F4 | 12 mi | 56 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 28, 1986 | F4 | 12 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 2001 | F3 | 18 mi | 76.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1999 | F3 | 21 mi | 39 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Mar 22, 1991 | F3 | 21 mi | 43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1979 | F3 | 16 mi | 57 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 13, 1976 | F3 | 22 mi | 17.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF2 | 6 mi | 40.84 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 26, 2024 | EF2 | 8 mi | 7.61 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 198, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Windsor Heights
The Storm Prediction Center has 606 hail reports within 10 miles of Windsor Heights since 1956, made on 190 separate days. Of these, 389 were 1 inch across or larger, and 38 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.25 inches, fell on July 9, 2021. The most recent report is from May 19, 2025. June has the most reports, 144.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Windsor Heights
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Des Moines International Airport, IA, 5 miles southeast of Windsor Heights at 957 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 14°F. June is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 36.6 inches over 66 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 22 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 128 nights a year. Snowfall averages 36.5 inches a year, most of it in February. That 36.6 inches is more than at 61 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (49%). Urbandale, 3 miles northwest, has its own station (Des Moines Wsfo-Johnston, IA): 36.4 inches a year, 0.2 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 14 | 1.1 | 3 | 9.4 |
| Feb | 36 | 18 | 1.3 | 4 | 10.2 |
| Mar | 49 | 30 | 2.2 | 5 | 4.4 |
| Apr | 62 | 41 | 4.0 | 8 | 1.2 |
| May | 72 | 52 | 5.2 | 9 | 0.2 |
| Jun | 82 | 62 | 5.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 66 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 64 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 55 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 43 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 48 | 30 | 1.9 | 4 | 2.7 |
| Dec | 36 | 20 | 1.6 | 4 | 7.9 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 36.6 | 66 | 36.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Des Moines International Airport, IA (957 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 Windsor Heights
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 1,168 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Windsor Heights: 564 thunderstorm wind reports, 344 heavy rain events, 145 floods, 89 flash floods and 26 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 48, and the NWS estimated $133.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 120 mph, on June 29, 1998. June has had the most flash floods, 52 of 89. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 236 have had fewer than Windsor Heights.
June 17, 2014: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Windsor Heights — 1 killed, $1,000 damage.
June 29, 1998: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Windsor Heights — 40 injured, $40.0 million damage.
October 5, 2018: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Windsor Heights — 3 injured.
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 Windsor Heights's ZIP code 50324 have filed 14 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1993, and were paid $292,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 7% 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, 8 have fewer than Windsor Heights.
Polk County, which includes Windsor Heights, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Polk County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively High for tornadoes, hail and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $137.6 million a year, the highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $60.6 million (44%), 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.