Hurricane History Map

Hurricanes that hit Iowa: hurricane history

4 storms have passed within 50 km of Iowa from 1881 to 2020, drawn on the map and coloured by intensity.

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Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

Storms near Iowa

The record holds 4 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Iowa between 1881 and 2020. The busiest month is September, with 2 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached tropical depression strength. 1 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 4storms within 50 km
  • 0major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 0at category 1 strength or more

A storm counts once, however many times it came close. The category is the storm's strongest point within 50 km, which can be weaker than its peak elsewhere.

How strong were the storms near Iowa?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression375%
Tropical storm00%
Category 100%
Category 200%
Category 300%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity125%

The agency behind most of the intensity figures here is the NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

Iowa storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 1 in 1880s.1880s11890s11900s12020s1

The 2020s only run to 2020, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1881, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1880s1
1890s1
1900s1
2020s1

Earlier decades hold fewer storms partly because they were harder to see. Before weather satellites (about the 1960s) many storms that stayed at sea went unrecorded, so compare decades with care.

Storms by month
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 2 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May0Jun1Jul0Aug1Sep2Oct0Nov0Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May0
Jun1
Jul0
Aug1
Sep2
Oct0
Nov0
Dec0

Most recent storms near Iowa

  • Cristobal (2020)1 June 2020 to 12 June 2020, Tropical depression (30 kt) near here, peak Tropical storm (50 kt), 988 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1900 (North Atlantic)27 August 1900 to 15 September 1900, Tropical depression (30 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 936 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1898 (North Atlantic)12 September 1898 to 23 September 1898, Tropical depression (25 kt) near here, peak Tropical storm (50 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of August 1881 (North Atlantic)21 August 1881 to 30 August 1881, Unknown intensity near here, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 970 hPa

Many of these storms killed people and destroyed homes. The figures are the official record's, and this page says nothing about their human cost.

Iowa counties

Every county that a storm has come near is listed, most storms first.

CountyStormsStrongest near the county
Clarke County2Tropical depression
Davis County2Tropical depression
Decatur County2Tropical depression
Des Moines County2Tropical depression
Iowa County2Tropical depression
Jefferson County2Tropical depression
Johnson County2Tropical depression
Keokuk County2Tropical depression
Lee County2Tropical depression
Ringgold County2Tropical depression
Taylor County2Tropical depression
Union County2Tropical depression
Washington County2Tropical depression
Wayne County2Tropical depression
Adams County1Tropical depression
Appanoose County1Tropical depression
Benton County1Tropical depression
Cedar County1Tropical depression
Clayton County1Tropical depression
Clinton County1Tropical depression
Delaware County1Tropical depression
Dubuque County1Tropical depression
Fremont County1Tropical depression
Henry County1Tropical depression
Jackson County1Tropical depression
Jasper County1Tropical depression
Jones County1Tropical depression
Linn County1Tropical depression
Louisa County1Tropical depression
Lucas County1Tropical depression
Madison County1Tropical depression
Mahaska County1Tropical depression
Marion County1Tropical depression
Monroe County1Tropical depression
Muscatine County1Tropical depression
Page County1Tropical depression
Polk County1Tropical depression
Poweshiek County1Tropical depression
Scott County1Tropical depression
Tama County1Tropical depression
Van Buren County1Tropical depression
Wapello County1Tropical depression
Warren County1Tropical depression

Other states

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